Re: starship-design: Re: FTL travel

[Ben Franchuk <bfranchuk@jetnet.ab.ca>]

Steve VanDevender wrote:
> 
> Ben Franchuk writes:
>  > Finding the equation just recently  Power (in watts) = ISP ( impulse )
>  > * 9.8 ( g ) * N ( newtons of thrust ) / 2. Any propulsion system
>  > would require MAMMOTH amounts of power. Heat dissipation is the limiting
>  > factor here.

I don't claim a power-source here,but this is the limiting factor
regardless of the power source. Fusion is the most likely power source
but a tiny black-hole would give the most matter to energy conversion
factor.
I am not thinking of a real black hole, but more of high compression of
matter, with densities near white dwarf material. Anti-matter is hard to
produce
but not much work has been done in this field. I belive beta+ reactions
produce
anti-electrons but the reaction is slow.

 
> As has been pointed out before, fuel is the real limiting factor.
> Fusion power is barely capable of driving a ship to relativistic speeds
> with large, but not completely untenable, fuel-to-payload ratios.
> Talking about building an interstellar spacecraft that uses fission
> power is just plain ludicrous.  There isn't enough fissible material in
> the solar system to power a spacecraft at 1 g acceleration for a whole
> year.

-- 
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 We borrow it from our children."
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