Subject:
|
Re: Wings [was: Re: Building big]
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.space, lugnet.loc.au
|
Date:
|
Wed, 20 Jun 2001 07:54:58 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
24 times
|
| |
|
|
On 20/6/01 5:54 AM, "William R Ward" <bill@wards.net> wrote:
> Actually, this is false. Space is a vacuum - there is no air, only a
> few stray molecules of gas or cosmic dust. As a result, there is no
> friction and thus no need for wings or streamlined shapes on space
> craft. Also, there is very little gravitational pull, so the lifting
> power of wings is useless.
Actually, if you're travelling at near-light velocities, the density of the
interstellar medium becomes high enough (especially within solar systems, so
I guess that would be intrastellar medium) that a streamlined shaped would
become essential. Even then, there would be both heavy erosion of whatever
impact-shielding you have, and heavy drag on the ship.
Unless of course you have a star-trek type deflector shield that pushes all
the gunk away from your ship. :)
Later,
David Drew
Famous quote from a convention...
Q: How do the inertial dampeners work on Star Trek?
A: Very nicely, thank you.
|
|
Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Wings [was: Re: Building big]
|
| (...) That may be true, but I don't think anyone knows for sure, because we haven't tried going that fast yet. My spacecraft follow a very "hard SF" policy - no FTL travel, no artificial gravity, etc. But that's not to say that it's the only way... (...) (23 years ago, 20-Jun-01, to lugnet.space, lugnet.loc.au)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | Wings [was: Re: Building big]
|
| "Jesse Alan Long" <joyous4god2@yahoo.com> writes: [...] (...) [...] Actually, this is false. Space is a vacuum - there is no air, only a few stray molecules of gas or cosmic dust. As a result, there is no friction and thus no need for wings or (...) (23 years ago, 19-Jun-01, to lugnet.space, lugnet.loc.au)
|
195 Messages in This Thread:
(Inline display suppressed due to large size. Click Dots below to view.)
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
