Subject:
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Re: Libertador - Light Penetration Fighter
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Fri, 15 Dec 2000 20:18:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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932 times
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Mike Petrucelli wrote:
> Of course it could be argued that smaller mass means more efficent engines and
> faster more manuverable fighters.
Just to argue a technical and semantic point; assuming that the smaller mass also
corresponds to smaller engines, they may not be more *efficient*. Turbomachinery
tends to increase in efficiency with increasing size ... while manufacturing
tolerances remain constant, larger components mean that the small gaps, leaks, and
imbalances are proportionally smaller compared to the whole, and therefore have
less of an effect. The limit comes from several hurdles: maintaining component
quality at large scale, and the stress limitations of currently available materials
(the larger you make something, the faster the outside radius will be going while
rotating, and the more stress at the root of the device). A large scale gas
turbine engine can therefore be more efficient (which is a measure of the useful
energy produced compared to the energy input, i.e. the latent energy within the
fuel) than a smaller turbine.
The relative *effect* of a smaller engine powering a smaller ship may be
substantially more than with a larger ship, though. At full thrust a small ship
could zip around like a dragonfly, while the larger ship is just starting to
visibly move.
Of course, with the prospect of ion, plasma, antimatter, and the like drives, who
knows? This may all be moot ;)
-s
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Libertador - Light Penetration Fighter
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| (...) Isn't that basicly irrelivent if the capital ship can use its heavy weapons on such a large target? Of course it could be argued that smaller mass means more efficent engines and faster more manuverable fighters. This of course would be more (...) (24 years ago, 7-Dec-00, to lugnet.space)
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