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starship-design: FTL Drive designs



In reply to Kelly Starks' message:


My estimates and ideas are sketchy, but at least they're something
to go on.

Power requirements: When you speak of this, I assume you mean just
for the drive, but I'll include this note: Remember, you have to 
accelerate away from a massive body to start the drive. That means
leaving the solar system under sublight engines. I don't have 
exact numbers, but an energy density of in excess of 10^28 w/cm
would be required to maintain the negative gravitation on the
rear stator. We can't begin to produce this energy, but I think
it safe to say that 10^23 watts could be boosted via means 
(those means have been proven, even though we don't know why they
work) to this amount. To reach this energy level, and to charge the 
massive area, I propose using controlled zero-point-fluctuation
energy. To the direct rear of the ship 2 plates of superconducting
metal would be placed, to be charged with the energy needed to cause
negative warping of space, and accomplish FTL. Negative gravitation 
produced by the rear plates would be coupled with positive gravitation
caused by a large, shaped mass at the front of the ship in the manner
demonstrated by the GIF diagram I have included. The energy input 
necessary would most probably be similar to the output of your
Explorer-class designs fusion reactors. It would then be simple
to accelerate to the destination, rotate retrograde at the halfway 
point and slow below lightspeed before entering the Tau Ceti system.
Depending on how much acceleration you apply, you will arrive in much
less time than is possible with conventional travel. 

The drive itself
would be two 180 degree arcs placed at either end of the ship, one being
the positive gravity supply (just by being there) and the double plate
at the other end that generates negative gravity by ZPE fluctuations.
The weight of the drives would depend on the size of the ship and
material used for their construction, but they could be very large since 
they would be outside the ship's main systems. The drive segments would
be placed at least 1.25 ship radii away from the exact center of the
main
ship, and would be the same size in diameter (Remember, they're arc
shaped).

As far as the sublight engines to accelerate, well you'll figure out 
something on where to place them. But for heavens sake, not near the
ZPE plates! Tidal disruptions would tear them apart. Acceleration would
(until we've mastered positive gravity generation) depend on a 
combination of factors: The naturalgravitation caused by the mass of
the front segment (the heavier, the more graity etc.), and the amount
of negative gravitation produced by the rear segment (the more power,
the
more negative gravitation, etc.). But whose to say that if we can make
antigravity, that we can't make regular gravity? That would save bulk.

I have various other theories on FTL travel, some including warping
space
by magnetic fields. This is just a theory, so it might work and it might
not, but I think we can at least estimate on FTL drives for use in our
starship. 

If you would like to know about my other ideas, let me know.

Kyle Mcallister