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My 10 year old and I were building some small swooshing ships the other week, and he asked a question I didn't have a good answer for: "What is the difference between a drive and an engine" And while trying to come up with an answer based on my (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(...) Ok, I certainly don't claim to be any expert but....... Thrusters are small thrust generating devices of any type that are used to change direction or to be used when no other mode of propulsion is available/appropriate (e.g. in a planets (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space, FTX)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(...) Just thought I might clarify on the warp-drive part. I think that the purpose of the warp drive is to deform (warp) space-time in such a fashion that the craft is accelerated forwards. If the space-time is compressed in an area in front of the (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space, FTX)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(...) And this is my question :) Is it a warp _drive_ or a warp _engine_? Peter's division would indicate that a drive needs an engine... I've always called them "warp drives" ( and ion drives etc.) but was trying to think of why they are not (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(...) My limited understanding is that, in Star Trek at least, the warp *drive* creates the "warp bubble," that moves surrounds and moves along with the ship and within which the normal light-speed limitation does not hold. The warp *engines* propel (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(URL) an excellent description of the Star Trek warp drives - from what I can see in it it has components which fulfil the requirements of being an engine, and other components which fulfil the requirements of being a drive. :-) Google is quite a (...) (19 years ago, 2-Nov-05, to lugnet.space)
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| | Re: Looking for a terminology clarification
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(...) Drive is the theory used to move through space. Engine is the technology used to implement the theory. The engines changes as technology increases, but the drives only change as theory/knowledge increases. Few people keep up with which engine (...) (19 years ago, 3-Nov-05, to lugnet.space)
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