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Re: Explorer Power Gain Problem
- To: KellySt@aol.com, kgstar@most.fw.hac.com, stevev@efn.org, jim@bogie2.bio.purdue.edu, zkulpa@zmit1.ippt.gov.pl, hous0042@maroon.tc.umn.edu, rddesign@wolfenet.com, David@InterWorld.com, lparker@destin.gulfnet.com, bmansur@oc.edu, DotarSojat@aol.com
- Subject: Re: Explorer Power Gain Problem
- From: T.L.G.vanderLinden@student.utwente.nl (Timothy van der Linden)
- Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 12:59:05 +0100
>> The formula is right, but the number is only valid when the velocity of the
>> starship is 5 m/s. The problem with the document is that the meaning of the
>> number is not told.
>
>Now I remember. I calculated the power the drive system would need for a one
>second boost, and assumed it would be constant for the flight. I.E. if
>it takes X watts to push the ship at a ship G for a secound. Multiply that
>by the number of seconds of boost to get to desired speed, and ....
>
>Given that the engine should need to output the same power, to accelerate the
>same mass, at the same rate, at diferent speeds. It seems like it should
>work.
Ah that makes some sence, you indeed can use this trick to calculate the
power needed for a self-fueled ship. But keep in mind that the mass of the
ship may decrease significantly due to the "burning" of the fuel.
Timothy