Re: starship-design: antimatter--designs

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/24/99 2:44:40 PM, bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca writes:

>KellySt@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>> > Why do you doubt the 20,000 pound figure for the pion
>> > engine?  The pion engine could simply be a 1 meter long,
>> > 1 meter diameter  2 inch thick steel cyclinder with about
>> >  10,000 turns of copper wire carrying ten amps of
>> >  electric current  wrapped around it, with a 2 inch thick
>> > 2 meter long by 2 meter wide  square of steel behind it
>> > as the radiation shield. Matter antimatter annhilation
>> > produces only one kind of radiation which is gamma rays.
>> > A light weight material such as beyrellium metal can
>> > also be used to make the gamma radiation shield.
>> >Timothy J Mayes
>> 
>> Prove it.  How much waste heat will the engine need to stand?  All the
>> radiation heading toward the shield will be come heat.  The pipe and
>wire
>> will heat up too.
>> 
>> Are you sure that will be all it takes to turn your relatavistic pion
>stream
>> toward the rear of the ship?  The magnetic feild would have to at least
>be
>> strong enough to lift the 600,000 lb ship, since its the force transmiting
>> the thrust to the ship.  Past that though it has to have more power to
>turn
>> the random pion stream.
>> 
>> Thats just off the top of my head.
>> 
>> Kelly
>
>Still confused here. What is "pion"? 

A sub atomic partical produced during anti mater conversion to energy.

>Are we talking a anti-matter launch vehicle here or a general purpose
>space tug type engine. =

He was talking stardrive.

>==Will the engine design scale ok for larger 
>thrust.What trust and size is optimon?
>Post Blue prints!!!!