starship-design: Re: Uh Oh, a problem

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/21/97 10:29:53 PM, stk@sunherald.infi.net (kyle) wrote:

>Hello Starship designers, Kevin, Kelly:
>
>I went back and did some calculations, and found that my specifications
>on the NEGATIVE gravity part of the FTL drive were _more or less_
>correct. But I found a problem: You need an equal positive gravity
>source at the front. How do you make positive gravity? With mass. How
>much mass at the front do you need to accelerate at 1 g? ONE EARTH!
>SHAPED according to the necessary warp geometry. Even if you attached
>phobos to the front, shaped it and flew the ship, it would take 250
>years round trip to tau ceti and back. You would have so little
>acceleration that you would never get near lightspeed. Wouldn't it be
>nice if you could move yourself at superluminal speed with just negative
>gravity generation? But it could be dangerous. What if you hit
>something? What if your ZPQF generator got out of whack? Any ideas on
>these or moving negative mass around? Then what happens when you touch
>negative mass? Tidal distortions, and everthing else starts up when you
>throw the switch, and all hell breaks loose. Now you have no ship, no
>crew, no money, no mission. I don't like that at all. Any ideas are
>welcome.
>
>Kyle Mcallister
>
>"It ain't over till its over" -Yogi Berra

Thats a very serious opps their Kyle.  ;)  We all made them here.  Can't see
as I can see a solution to yours.  Unless you can convert all that zero point
energy into a virtual mass or something.

Kelly