[LMB] Wood, etc.

[Martin Gill]

On 01/06/07, James Nicoll <jdnicoll at panix.com> wrote:
>
>    You oculd fill the holds wiht pure N2, which is relatively inert.
>

True.

>         I thought they had some kind of space-grippy drive?
>

I'm not sure it's actually mentioned anywhere. I wonder if someone has
some texev.

>         Even with rockets, some designs place the cargo/crew section
> behind the rocket on a very long cable. MEDUSA (a more advanced version of
> ORION) is like that.

Don't get the reference. I don't think I'd ever be the fan of a system
like that. In effect your umbilical and life-line is constantly being
fried by your engines. Unless you have the lines our on long arms,
which just creates an unnecessary weak spot. I really cannot think
what possible advantage you could gain from having the engines in
front and blasting back at you.

The thing with bulk cargo is that I don't think wormhole jump
mechanics/economics have ever really been explained.

It could well be that wormhole jumps are volume limited/related and as
such bulk transport becomes uneconomic, e.g. you need to load stuff
into lots of smaller ships, or use a disproportionately high amount of
energy to make the jump.

If the mass/volume of the ship has no real bearing on the
energy/mechanics of a wormhole jump then I'd expect to see some truly
massive ships plying the space lanes. The type that don't mind taking
a couple of days to get up to cruising speed for the next wormhole.

Regards,

  Martin