Geeking : 774


Off-Topic / Geek / 774

Transit Time to Mars —Steve Bliss

Basic physics word problem, which I thought of because of NASA's publicity about renewed Mars exploration, and putting people on Mars: If a spaceship could accelerate at a constant rate of 1G, how long would it take to get safely to Mars? Assume the (...) (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Terry King

The 1G for days is what's hard to believe, given current technology.... (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Hmm, what about small unmanned craft for overnight package delivery? (FedEx in Space ;-) How much fuel is in one of those space shuttle booster rockets and how much of that is wasted getting to escape velocity? I bet if a small rocket were (...) (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Bruce Schlickbernd

(...) Solid fuel rockets are essentially big fireworks: ya light 'em and they burn until nothing is left. They are great bang for your buck, but they don't last long. And in your scenario, you still have to get the boosters up to the space station. (...) (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) OK, can that idea then. So, what about flour and water mixtures? :o) --Todd (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Bruce Schlickbernd

(...) Paper mache rockets? The delivery system burns up with the fuel it contains? __ :-O (Edvard Munch's "The Scream") -- Bruce (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

(...) Actually, you can make them burn at almost any rate you want to. It is a question of how much exposed area there is to burn at once. The SRB motors have a * shaped hole in the middle of them right from top to bottom. This produces a very large (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) (Unless you believe in subspace ruptures. ;) --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Selçuk Göre

James Powell <wx732@freenet.victoria.bc.ca> wrote in message news:FMt9In.55E@lugnet.com... (...) boosters (...) motors (...) burn (...) solid, (...) much (...) into (...) 1G (...) rocket, a (...) difference (...) Wow!..My first job was designing (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Terry King

I think the problem with long-burn-time solid fuel engines is that the nozzle heats up so much that it erodes rapidly. Typical liquid-fueled engines cool the nozzle with the fuel just before it's burned. IsThere some Space-Age (Pardon the ancient (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Patrick Justison

(...) Yes, a form of carbon called Diamond would do the trick. But what do you attach to the diamond is still a problem, as it is an excelent heat conductor and would melt most materials you attach to it. Pat Justison (1.5 years until PhD in (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Dave Schuler

(...) I have another ignorant question, relating to a half-remembered tidbit from my Chem1 class in high school, way back when the periodic table consisted of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I seem to remember something about diamond reverting (my (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jeremy Sproat

(...) My first true glove... But that's immaterial to the discussion. Cheers, - jsproat (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Brown

(...) Aww, Jeremy, now you're just needling him. Or am I posting to the wrong thread? James (URL) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jeff Stembel

(...) I'm a frayed knot. Actually, that reminds me of a long yarn someone once told me. Although it took a while, it was a rather thimble story. Jeff (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) How do those work? and how much fallout do they leave behind, hanging in space, waiting for the next vehicle to pass through? I mean, it's not like radiation shielding isn't difficult enough already.. Anyway, what was it again, Project Orion? (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

(...) a (...) difference (...) You use Hydrogen gas as the coolant on a nuclear reactor, then vent it out the backside ('hot' as in thermally hot, not radioactive) The radiation from it is not all that intense...space is a vast area, and radiation (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) Ah, right. What's the v on the gas? You're still using reaction mass. (...) Well yeah, but the stuff does hang there waiting for the next rocket to bump into that. That's what I was asking about. (...) Yick. To be honest. I mean, Nukyuler (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

(...) (the web page has more info, I just knew it was more effiecent than a conventional rocket...V is not the problem, it is the Specific R that is higher than with a chemical rocket (around 825 on NERVA test plant, verses about 450 for "O2H2" (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Steve Bliss

(...) Care to expand on these "USAF experiments"? Got links? Steve (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

(...) (URL) some information on the subject in question. apparently it is not all that bad even in atm, but 250 K lbs thrust is not all that much when launching large objects, especially from a 15-20K lb + fuel motor. (It's the burn times that are (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Richard Dee

On Thu, 16 Dec 1999 01:59:11 GMT, James Powell uttered the following profundities... (...) Weren't these banned under one of the START treaties? I seem to recall some treaty of some description banning most types of Nuclear rockets. It could, (...) (25 years ago, 30-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

(...) As far as I can tell, they are not banned...either the "lucifer" type, using multi nuke bombs to push you, or a constant nuke reactor type. However, the Lucifer type is -not- something I want to be on the _planet_ that they test it out on, (...) (25 years ago, 30-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jeff Thompson

(...) not (...) Detonating nuclear weapons in space was prohibited by the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which banned detonating nuclear devices in the air, in the ocean, or in space. -- jthompson@esker.com "Float on a river, forever and ever, (...) (25 years ago, 31-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Not to be nitpicky here, and I haven't bothered to look it up, but is it it possible that this treaty doesn't apply for either of the following two charmingly definitional loopholes? 1. The treaty bans weapons usage in these spheres. A drive, (...) (25 years ago, 31-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) Don't forget that the space shuttle accelerates with only a few g relative to earth, so that's (a few + 1) when applied in space. And as someone mentioned, unless you have manufacturing in space, or very cheap earth -> LEO methods (which is (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Steve Bliss

(...) I didn't *say* the problem was realistic. OTOH, if you're interested in some powerful interplanetary propulsion devices, I've got an idea that just needs a few more giga-bucks to bring to completion ... Steve (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Wow, cool, I get just over 1 day (~30 hours), which is probably short enough to ignore the fact that the source and target are both moving. I used s=½at² and solved for t. For s I used 5.8 x 10^10 m (36 x 10^6 miles) and for a I used 9.8 m/s². (...) (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) You too? (...) Oops. Jasper (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Powell

Jasper Said: (...) Isn't that what the NASA guy said when they lost contact with the last martian probe? :) (Running, Ducking, and hiding under something very soild...like down a mine shaft...after all, after 30 hrs at 1 G acceleration, I don't want (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) I refer you to: (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Larry Pieniazek

(...) about (...) take (...) if you thought THAT was amazing, try it to Pluto... or to Alpha Centauri! RAH (1) did a science fact article on this, way before most of us were born. It drives home how fast you can go if you can just keep accelerating. (...) (25 years ago, 15-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Ben Olmstead

(...) Of course, when you're going *that* far, you also have to count relativistic effects. Is '1g of acceleration' from the frame of the guy on the rocket, of the frame of the guy on Earth? (Important difference...) And then you have to figure out (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) This is my cue to chant "The ringworld is unstable! the ringworld is unstable!", right? Jasper (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeff Thompson

(...) I smell a fun geek topic. Best books by these authors? I would submit: "Rendezvous with Rama" as Clarke's best work. "Ender's Game" as Card's. Either "Dune" (the obvious choice) or "God Emperor of Dune" for Herbert. "The Mote In God's Eye" by (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) Quite possibly. Ironically, the sequels are some of his worst. (...) Definitely. (...) Dune, I'd say. (...) Caves of Steel, I think. I'm not too big a fan of the Foundation series. Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles William Gibson: (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) **snip of several authors about whom my opinion varies widely** (...) I like some of his short stories, but I haven't read much of his stuff overall. (...) I haven't read it all the way through, but I understand Mona Lisa Overdrive is quite (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) Well, this book is kinda cheating in a list like this, because it's actually a collection of short stories. For novels, I'd hafta go with Fahrenheit 451. (...) Agreed. Which is why I chose the first one. :) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeff Thompson

(...) Ain't that the truth. I pretend in my mind that Gentry Lee wrote those entirely by himself and that Clarke just, in a display of incipent senility, allowed his name to be used to give the books more sales oomph. (...) I have "The Gods (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) Fahrenheit. Definitely Fahrenheit. Jasper (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeremy Sproat

(...) Agreed. I read this in one night when I was 15. Couldn't put the dang book down. (...) _The Worthing Saga_ might be a close second, though it's an collection and not technically a "book" per se. And then there's _Folk on the Fringe_, but that (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Ben Roller

(...) I loved The Folk OF the Fringe. I'd never read Card until I recieved that book as a Christmas present about 10 years ago. I had never seen anything like his style of writing, and I liked it. Recently I've read (all but the last half of (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) It's good. I still need to read 2001 some time, though, to compare. Oh, and I think the space-elevator one (first edition hardback, whoopee!) is as good as Rama. (...) Yup. All of the sequels sucked. (...) _Heorot_ was a great book. Up there (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeremy Sproat

(...) 2001 is more "Let's find out what God is saying" and less "Let's figure out how to survive this mess". I found it to be less enjoyable than _Rama_, but more profound. (...) I personally love his Beowulf Schaeffer stories. Actually, most of his (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) The post-nuclear-war smart-house story near the end is wonderful. (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Selçuk Göre

Jasper Janssen <jasper@janssen.dynip.com> wrote in message news:387994b8.189490...net.com... (...) book (...) (another (...) Like gasoline and lighther?..:-) Great book anyway. Movie was also very nice. By the way, why no body mentions Douglas (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) Possibly because, while it's entertaining, it's also fairly straightforward farce with uneven characterization and plot. Don't get me wrong--I've read it all, and I quite enjoy it, but it lacks, to me, much of the strength of these other (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeff Thompson

(...) I do think it's canonical farce, up there with Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings" and Gaimen/Pratchett's "Good Omens." -- jthompson@esker.com "Float on a river, forever and ever, Emily" (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) it (...) Ugh! I found "Bored" to be perfectly dreadful! As for Pratchett, he differs from Adams, and always has, in that Pratchett's work has been satire without being baggy-pants farce in line with the stereotypical (as commonly held by some (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeff Thompson

(...) Well, we read it aloud, and it was enjoyable that way, in a group. I might not have enjoyed it as a solo read. (...) I'm trying to think of conventional sci fi that's laugh-out-loud-worthy. Peter David writes excellent laugh-worthy stuff (...) (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —James Brown

(...) I can't manage to slog my way through most of the Lampoon stuff. I got about three pages farther into "Bored" than I did into "Doon" Good Omens, on the other hand, is one of my all-time favorite books. "A demon who did not so much fall as (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) A personal favorite here, as well, but it suffers from Pratchett's formerly widespread problem of creating a problem too big to solve by the end of the book. That is, the crisis escalates and escalates, then in the course of two paragraphs he (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeremy Sproat

(...) I disagree. Douglas Adams is more a satirist. His books use incredible and unbelievable situations to bring to light many human characteristics, mainly greed and waste. Take his stuff in the same view as Mark Twain. Cheers, - jsproat (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —James Brown

(...) Or Swift. "A Modest Proposal" is the best piece of satire I've ever read. James (URL) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) Well, Swift is widely regarded as the all-time best satirist, so he's a little over-the-top for this discussion! 8^) In 1992 I saw Adams speak in Austin, and he was witty, intelligent, and engaging. At about that time his book "Last Chance to (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) Let's not forget the Dirk Gently books! (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) Chance." (...) Embarrassingly, I haven't read those yet... Dave! (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeremy Sproat

(...) I haven't seen this one anywhere. ...still ambivilant about ordering via amazon.com, so I'm scouring the local used-book stores... I had the impression that it was non-fiction, though. Perhaps a coffee-table picture book or some such. (...) (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Oh, let's do. (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) :) You don't like them? The second one is so-so, but the first one is awesome. But it's not particularly science fiction, so it probably doesn't belong in this discussion anyway. (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jeremy Sproat

(...) Oh no? How is it *not* science fiction? Cheers, - jsproat (25 years ago, 20-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) Oh, let's not go there. (25 years ago, 20-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) That was _satire_? Oh, the embarassment. Jasper (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

On Fri, 17 Dec 1999 12:07:31 GMT, "Selçuk <teyyareci>" <sgore@nospam.superonline.com> wrote: <451F's got everything a book needs> (...) Yup ;) (...) There's a movie? (...) Probably because everyone thinks he's a hack, or something. Whyfor is pterry (...) (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) If he's ignored, it's because people insist on calling him pterry. Anyway, ignored by whom? Not this thread, to be sure. He left AFP for the right reason: too much garbage and nonsense floating around for it to be worth his while. And rightly (...) (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) It's his email address. It's his _name_. Jasper (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) Oops! Well, it's obviously derived from Pyramids--that's what I was erroneously referring to. My mistake. I wasn't aware that he'd chosen it. Anyway, the rest of my post still stands! 8^) Dave! (25 years ago, 19-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) Top be a bit more precise, his email address is pterry@something (something.demon.co.uk, IIRC), he sometimes signs off with it IIRC, and it makes a nice convenient shorthand. ;) (...) It is? I think I've read Pyramids, but I didn't get that. (...) (25 years ago, 19-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) I'm deriving it from Ptraci, Ptaclusp, and the like. I've also read a discussion of this, though whether it was on Usenet or elsewhere, I can't recall. I'll look into it if you're really curious. (...) When I say substandard, by the way, I (...) (25 years ago, 20-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jasper Janssen

(...) Ah, right. (...) Nah, let it slide. (...) Publishers are usually of the opinion "he's selling a lot... so he should be able to sell a lot more!". Jasper (25 years ago, 20-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Dave Schuler

(...) Too true, alas. That's how formulaic writing is spawned... I'm glad we got our differences straightened, though, since we're obviously both fans! Dave! (25 years ago, 21-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Larry Pieniazek

(...) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is beter. I think it originated (or developed to a much greater degree) several neat topics, including magnetic catapults, kinetic weapons, and a computer that becomes self aware spontaneously and makes his (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —James Brown

(...) Spider. One of my friends swears by him, I tend to find him somewhat blindly optimisitic. That being said, though, Calahan's (et al) is fantastic. James (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Christopher Lannan

(...) I agree- my favorite author and onr of my favorite of his books. It seems that early on he was more about hard sf and moved later into social questions. I really liked "To Sail Beyond the Sunset"- he actually has a father sleep with his (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Ben Olmstead

(...) Haven't read it, actually, so no opinion. (...) Of the Card books I've read: definitely. (...) Either _Dune_ or _The Dosadi Experiment_, in my opinion. (Yes, Herbert did write some non-Dune-series books. Most of them were _really_ bad.) (...) (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) Have you read The Big U? (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Michael Horvath

(...) Anyone read Ursula K. LeGuin? My favorite is "The Lathe of Heaven". All her books make me kind of paranoid. Probably because of how she integrtates religion so seamlessly. But then, religious ideas do tend to hit you in a certain spot more (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Selçuk Göre

Michael Horvath <mikehorvath@juno.com> wrote in message news:FMutJp.8yG@lugnet.com... (...) mattdm@mattdm.org (...) (URL) > (...) her (...) you (...) I like her books. They are different, though. Much less technology, much more social tid bits. (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jordan Maynard

Didn't know where I should insert this into the thread... (...) V. Vinge: "A Fire upon the Deep" - anyone who's ever been upset by a non- sensical off-topic post should read this Hugo Award winner ;) I've even had some conversations with Dr. Vinge (...) (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Larry Pieniazek

(...) I can hardly wait for "deepness" to come out. Fire was *that* good. My only beef with Dr. Vinge is that he doesn't write as a full time job... Many of his works have decided libertarian bents (the tinker character is another John Galt, just (...) (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Jordan Maynard

(...) "A Deepness in the Sky" is out in hardcover now. Will be out in paperback soon, check your favorite online book-seller ; ) I was at a local (San Diego) signing for Deepness, and he happened to mention that he wrote the entire thing (~1000pp) (...) (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Well, when I meant come out I meant paperback, I'm too cheap to buy hardcover. It would break me, I go through a lot of books... (...) Whoa, that's cool! (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Mike Stanley

(...) I used to mainly buy paperback as well, and used at that. I still buy used paperbacks, but with the various coupons and promotions I find on the web, I've been buying new hardbacks from B&N, Borders, Amazon, etc for usually 1/4 - 1/3 cover (...) (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Selçuk Göre

Larry Pieniazek <lar@voyager.net> wrote in message news:38639005.70A15C...ger.net... (...) You can "hardly" wait for the "soft"?..:-) Selçuk (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) That's what libraries are for. :) (25 years ago, 24-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Last time I checked, most libraries don't fit in the overhead compartment, much less under the seat in front of you. :-) So taking the library with me is out, that only leaves borrowing individual books. Run the numbers here with me, if you (...) (25 years ago, 25-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Science Fiction (was Re: Transit Time to Mars) —Matthew Miller

(...) True, that can be a problem. You can skip the first part by using an online catalog, though. Most decent-sized libraries have them these days. (25 years ago, 25-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) Assume that a mile is 1.6 km, because dammit, you don't calculate these things in imperial (you'd need g in miles/sec. Ugh.) (...) All right. x == v0 * t + 0.5 * a * t x == 57.6e9 m v0 == 0 (this means I'm calculating from reaching orbit, (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Rob Hendrix

try "anti-matter" fuel cells...(use your imagination here)...you could travel to mars and back on like 1 atom of it. (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Wow, if you could get there that cheaply, then I suppose the speed wouldn't matter. --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Brown

(...) Ouch! Careful how you toss those puns around, some of us have negative reaction to the things. James (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Sometimes they just escape by themselves. --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Michael Horvath

(...) Theoretically, they could approach the speed of light, but I wouldn't want to hit a dust particle at that speed! (Not to mention that you would have to convert conventional matter into a more basic type of particle in order to go that fast. Of (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Well, you might be able to steer out of the way dust in time. --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Lindsay Frederick Braun

(...) Do you really 'speck us to believe that? -LFB (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Dag-burnit, is there no escape from this crazy atmosphere of punnery? --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Brown

(...) We'd have to be fuels to try. James (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) Does anyone fuel that these puns are getting annoying? Ummm, G, we'd better stop! --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —John Neal

(...) Well, this happuns to be the corerect N, er... G for it. -John (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Ben Roller

(...) Well if John has the N er G for it, then I say we continue. Ben Roller (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Brown

(...) I don't know - I don't think there's much potential there. James (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Larry Pieniazek

I try to avoid re-entry to this group(1) but the accelerating badness of these puns forces me to ask for a brake, aero or otherwise. I know it doesn't matter to the rest of you but I prefer quality to quantity. High specific impulses to post should (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jeff Stembel

(...) I, for pun, kinda like them. Does anypun besides Larry dislike them? Jeff (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Lindsay Frederick Braun

(...) Aw, Larry's just got his i-on causing trouble...I'd say that it's only a stage, but I'd just be a booster if I did. -LFB. (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —James Brown

(...) Gah. Your capacity for a dirty pun has overwhelmed me. You might say I've been swept away... James (URL) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Todd Lehman

(...) I'd better vacuum, then. --Todd (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —John Neal

(...) *That* job sucks. -John (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) Lightsails. (...) You need a Ramjet-type magnetic field to safeguard you.. (...) No. I don't know where you got that idea, but all SF series on TV today are usually simply wrong when it comes to advenced theory explanation. So is Scientific (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Michael Horvath

(...) more (...) I've heard of nanobots being able to construct atoms. Get a lot of those working in sync and you could construct a whole new me! (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) I think you just proved my point. Jasper (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Michael Horvath

(...) I read it in a magazine. Mike (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.pun)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jason Cordes

(...) Oddly enough most of the technology being discussed here actually exists, even though many of you would debate that fact. I would like to share my thoughts on this matter, as well as addressing the poster's original question here. Flight Time (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Dave Schuler

(...) By way of a purely information-gathering question, as opposed to some smart- alec sniping, I ask the following: Using this 1G acceleration, rather than having some last minute braking once you get to Mars, could you (or would you want to) (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Steve Bliss

(...) Yes, that was (assumed? implied? you choose) in the question. See Todd's solution, (URL) Steve (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Dave Schuler

(...) smart- (...) once (...) 24- (...) Thanks for the clarification! (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Steve Bliss

(...) Huh? Standard rockets carry all the fuel they need -- no air required. That's mostly what we've been using way up there, from the start. (...) But rockets aren't about efficient production of energy, they are about the efficient *storage* and (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Jasper Janssen

(...) Yeah. But that's not the problem - 1G constant acceleration is utterly impossible with current tech. (...) Quite possibly. (...) And when the Shuttle solid-fuel-booster blows, you get what? I don't think any of us are going to forget that day (...) (25 years ago, 18-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Larry Pieniazek

(...) No it doesn't. It takes a tremendous amount of CHEMICAL fuel, but you need to use something with a much higher specific impulse. The problem is that your chemical exhaust is going WAY too slow, hence you're not transferring much momentum. (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)

Re: Transit Time to Mars —Chris Moseley

Steve Bliss wrote (...) It's not. And also it's not a straight line, nor is it flat. At best, you could slingshot off the moon with a grazing orbit (about 100m at perihelion, and hit atmosphere in less than 24 hours I think. Only once per orbit, and (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-99, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)