Traveller-digest       Monday, August 2 1999       Volume 1999 : Number 912



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Test 
Re: Real life Flywheel Energy stores (AKA HPGs)
Re: Icelandic Babelfish?
Re: Multi-system Polities
Re: Re :- the Inyx and the Devi Intelligence
Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0
Re: Yet more filk
Re: Average Density of Cargo?
RE: Spacecraft Combat ratings questions
Something odd in the GT book.
Re: Damn ! Busted !
Re: Spacecraft Combat ratings questions 
Re: Book Reviews Requested
Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0
Anyone goiong to WorldCon 99?
RE: RL:There's Oil in them thar Saturnian satellites...
FW: Average Density of Cargo?
RE: Re World Builder Deluxe
GT Alien Races 2
Re: Book Reviews Requested
Re: Icelandic babelfish
Re: Xenobiology 101 : Ecology, Environment, and Evolution (long)
Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0
RE: Yet more filk
Re: Real life Flywheel Energy stores (AKA HPGs)
Re: Book Reviews Requested
Re: Ground To Space Laser Fire....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 19:16:34 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Re: Test 

> At 02:38 PM 8/1/99 -0400, you wrote:
> >Been getting some weirdness in my system here.  Just testing to see
> if I got 
> >rid of it...
> 
> 	Oh, right. That's it. Send US the weirdness. That's *just* what we
> need.

Heheh.  Why not?  <grin>
 
> 	Hmm ... how would we tell the difference?

Good question.

Keven

- -- 
tc++ tm+ tn t4- to ru++ ge+ 3i c+ jt au st- ls pi+ ta+ he+ so- vi zh sy
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In Reavers' Deep

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 09:17:10 +1000
From: "Robert O'Connor" <robocon@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: Real life Flywheel Energy stores (AKA HPGs)

Dom Mooney wrote :-
<regarding the interesting flywheel bits>:-
> Gearhead challenge: Why is the flycylinder arrangement inherently more safe
> than the flywheel (disk arrangement)?
> 
My Cr 0.02...

The flycylinder is equivalent to a group of flywheels with a small
radius. So I'd go with smaller moments of inertia and a reduced torque
requirement to stop the thing in event of a problem.

Robert O'Connor
Medico, Gamer

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 00:17:24 GMT
From: jzeitlin@cyburban.com (Jeff Zeitlin)
Subject: Re: Icelandic Babelfish?

On Sun, 1 Aug 1999 14:40:45 -0400 (EDT), "Douglas E. Berry"
<dberry@hooked.net> wrote:

>Somebody recently mention an alta-vista like page that di English-Icelandic
>translations.  Could someone send me that URL?  I seem to have deleted the
>original message.

Guilty as charged, your honor.

The URI that you should point your forms-supporting browser to is
http://www.translation-experts.com/intert.htm
- --
Jeff Zeitlin
jzeitlin@cyburban.com

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 99 19:11:43 -0500
From: "Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>
Subject: Re: Multi-system Polities

On 08/01/99 at 04:08 PM,  "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net> said:

>At 05:09 PM 8/1/99 -0500, you wrote:

>>We need a better *general* name for multi-system polities than
>>"empire" or "pocket empire."  Something general that can be used to
>>refer to *any* multi-system polity. 

>Just call them MSPs.

Smile, when you say that pardner!  ;-p

Okay, that's fine for the academics and diplomats, but I was looking
for something a little more colorful.

Eris 
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
"Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 20:50:11 -0400
From: "Paul Schirf" <Paul@Schirf.com>
Subject: Re: Re :- the Inyx and the Devi Intelligence

Robert O'Connor is my hero...  and I can't wait for the BtC alien case
studies.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 18:46:28 -0700
From: "Brian A. Howard" <bruadh@iname.com>
Subject: Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0

At 06:07 PM 7/30/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Version 5.0 of my World Builder Deluxe software has been released. The new
>version has a significant number of improvements:-
>
>1) Generation of full World Details for Satellites.
>2) Mainworlds may be a Satellite orbiting a Gas Giant.
>3) Trade & Commerce Details may be generated.
>4) Important NPCs who are present on the World may be generated.
>5) System Maps may be generated.

O.K. I switched on the mapping function, but where is the map of the system?

Sincerely,

Brian A. Howard

Beware the sound of a Babel fish,
For a Vogon constructor fleet cannot be far behind.

http://home.earthlink.net/~bruadh/index.htm

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 22:15:27 -0400
From: "Sword Worlder" <swordworlder@clinic.net>
Subject: Re: Yet more filk

{snif} Thanks, Doug.  I really needed a good cry.  I'm just so emotional
since the collector edition announcement.. {snif, whimper}  I need to go
blow my nose, now.

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Douglas E. Berry <dberry@hooked.net>
>        The Traveller Saga
>    Douglas and Kirsten Berry
> (music: American Pie, by Don McLean)



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The TRAVELLER Domain
http://www.downport.com
Colin Michael, Webslinger

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 16:47:53 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Average Density of Cargo?

In mail you write:

> Side issue: has anyone (former Air Force loadmasters, maybe?) considered
> weight and balance in the design of starships and the stowage of freight?
> Specifically: can the use of artificial gravity and/or contragravity
> compensate for unbalanced loads -- both design loads and cargo -- and if
> so, how? 

My take on load balancing is that while you *can* compensate for an
unbalanced load by messing with "thrust offsets" with the drive, no
pilot in his right mind will do it if there's *any* other choice
(Including abandoning the cargo!).

This is one of those situations where a normally survivable systems
failure would be near-fatal. 

This is one of the reason I figure that ships intended for cargo have
"spare" tankage for water in the "waste space" of the hull as well as
carefully space "bulk" tanks. That way you can pump water around to
help balance the load. 

Thankfully, they'll have computers to help figure this stuff out (even
a personal laptop can run he calculations in real time. 

The *big* problem is that not only do you need the *mass* of the cargo,
you need some idea as to how it is distributed. That's so you can do
moment of inertia calculations for both the ship and for "tie downs" on
things. 

You'll need a *much* different tie down arrangement for a container
with the CG 50 cm from one end than for one with it roughly centered.
Even if they have the same total mass.

Luckily, space ships don't impart a lot of "twisting" loads on their
contents. 

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 13:31:56 +1000
From: "Alan Bradley" <alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au>
Subject: RE: Spacecraft Combat ratings questions

> From: Thad Coons 
> After some
> grumbling and headscratching, I have some revised fudge factors
> for conversion among these.
> 

> 3]   Figure SDB squadrons are 1 Billion credits each, with the
> limits IS gives.
> 4]   Each SDB squadron is 1/100 of a PE Combat ATT or DEF point
> for space forces.

A Billion credits doesn't buy many SDBs.  You would only get about 2-4 of
them, I suspect.  Anything cheaper wouldn't be able to fight.  

I suggest your fudge factor should be about 10 billion.  That would match
the 1/100 of a PE ATT/DEF point figure too.

ISTR some figure in Invasion Earth, or somewhere like that, quoting SDB
wings as being around 50 SDBs.  The 10 billion figure would give you
something in that order of magnitude.

Just a suggestion.

Alan Bradley
alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 13:32:09 +1000
From: "Alan Bradley" <alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au>
Subject: Something odd in the GT book.

I was flicking through the GT book yesterday and ran into something
strange.

In the sidebar on page 56, there's the following stuff:

"The Terran Confederation dates as a centralized world government to the
signing of the Treaty of New York in 2022 (although it was not officially
called that for another century).  This treaty allowed the placement of the
armed forces of the major nations of Terra under the centralized control of
the United Nations (until them, a loose organization of nation-states, with
no governmental authority)."

This seems to contradict previous canon, including material elsewhere in
the book.  I also don't like it!  My reading of the other material suggests
that the UN wasn't a "centralized world government" at this point, even
though agencies like UNSCA were controlling aspects of space operations.

Fortunately there is a fudge - this text is presented as part of a
Vilani-prepared history of the Ziru Sirka.  It could well be incorrect in
its details of Terran history, or be mistaking a loose coordinating body as
a world government.

I would rather not see this suggestion becoming the canon truth - it tends
to foreclose too many opportunities for interesting 21st century "history".

Is this stuff based on Marc's article on Luna in The Dragon?

Alan Bradley
alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 13:32:03 +1000
From: "Alan Bradley" <alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au>
Subject: Re: Damn ! Busted !

> From: Ian 

> 
> **** News Flash ***
> 
> FS is in turmoil as Ditzie's private hash oil supply has been identified
by
> an elite team of combat astronomers at Livermore.
> 
> *** Flash Ends ***

Don't worry, it's legal on Titan.

Besides, all FS has to do is get there first.  Claiming it as FS property
might be an option, too, as long as FS doesn't mind revealing its existence
to the proles....

Alan Bradley
alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 23:59:16 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Re: Spacecraft Combat ratings questions 

> > 3]   Figure SDB squadrons are 1 Billion credits each, with the
> > limits IS gives.
> > 4]   Each SDB squadron is 1/100 of a PE Combat ATT or DEF point
> > for space forces.
> 
> A Billion credits doesn't buy many SDBs.  You would only get about 2-4 of
> them, I suspect.  Anything cheaper wouldn't be able to fight.  

Supplement 9 says they're about 254.5 MCr each at TL15.  Obviously, a 
customised design would let you build 5 for 1 billion.
 
Might take some work, but it's do-able.

Keven

- -- 
tc++ tm+ tn t4- to ru++ ge+ 3i c+ jt au st- ls pi+ ta+ he+ so- vi zh sy
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In Reavers' Deep

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 23:00:28 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: Book Reviews Requested

I was looking through the web catalogs for what I might buy next, and T4 
Central Supply Catalog really caught my eye. So did the Alien Archive,
regardless of its Newt infestation. I am, as previously noted, highly CT
oriented, but open-minded too (I hope ;) ), and was wondering if any one had
any strong opinions here. Additionally, when T5 comes out, what books out
now are likely to not be covered in that material and/or highly compliments
it? I like what I here about T5, so I'll be avoiding core rule stuff till
then as I have enough CT to get by there. Still debating between World
Builders Handbook and First In, opinions there?
BZA
////////////////////////////////////////
Akella 0609 C654474-6 S kk+ hi++ as+ va+ dr+ da+ so@ zh- vi+  A523
IMTU tc++ ?t4 ru@ 3i+(-) c+ jt au@ st- ls+ pi+ ta@ he+

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 11:06:03 +0200
From: "Jens Maskus" <1141-504@onlinehome.de>
Subject: Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0

On Fri, 30 Jul 1999 18:07:42 +0100, Stuart Ferris wrote:

>5) System Maps may be generated.

I'm not able to create system maps!

Jens

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 17:59:50 +1000
From: Bill and Melissa Kendell <billk@planet.net.au>
Subject: Anyone goiong to WorldCon 99?

Anyone on this list going to Worldcon in Melbourne Australia.
Would love to meet up with people on the list, maybe even get up a game of
Traveller (version doesn't matter - so long as I get an idea of what
version will be going to the con so I can at least bring some of my books)
- - can't bring everything unfortunately - I don't drive so I'm travelling by
train from Sydney.
- --------------------------------------------------------
Bill, Melissa & Karina Kendell
Sydney, NSW, Australia
billk@planet.net.au	http://www.planet.net.au/~billk
kendw@ozemail.com.au	http://www.ozemail.com.au/~kendw
wkendell@railservices.com.au
- --------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 17:33:27 +0800
From: "Antony Farrell" <Skaran@bigpond.com>
Subject: RE: RL:There's Oil in them thar Saturnian satellites...

Oh dat verse dat verse that strained verse!

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 17:33:42 +0800
From: "Antony Farrell" <Skaran@bigpond.com>
Subject: FW: Average Density of Cargo?

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
[mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com] On Behalf Of David J.
Golden
Sent: Monday, 2 August 1999 9:06
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
Subject: Re: Average Density of Cargo?


At 08:07 AM 8/1/99 -0600, you wrote:
>Side issue: has anyone (former Air Force loadmasters, maybe?)
considered
>weight and balance in the design of starships and the stowage of
freight?
>Specifically: can the use of artificial gravity and/or contragravity
>compensate for unbalanced loads -- both design loads and cargo --
and if
>so, how?

	I've always assumed balance taken into account in loading the
starship, and that you could (and did) compensate in flight by
shifting fuel around between different tanks. In fact, that's one of
my "stock" malfunctions: something goes wrong with the automatic
balancing system; all piloting tasks are +1 difficulty (trying to
compensate). More of an annoyance than a life-threatener.

I don't know it could be a life threatener on vessels without contra grav or
inertial compensation such as TL9 merchants. Or even at later TLs where
compensation may be inadequate.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 17:33:39 +0800
From: "Antony Farrell" <Skaran@bigpond.com>
Subject: RE: Re World Builder Deluxe

World builder deluxe is really good, but I must be missing something for it
insists that every main world UPP I enter belongs to a satellite of a gas
giant, even though I specify that the world is not a moon.
Perhaps the program could also accept a name for the world being done?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 00:28:55 +0100
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
Subject: GT Alien Races 2

Has anyone actually got this (GT Alien Races 2) yet, and if so would
someone be good enough to post a review? I don't expect it here in the UK
for at least a week, maybe two. I'm interested what people think of Dave
and Andy's work....

Dom

- ----------Dom Mooney---dom@cybergoths.u-net.com------------
"In the End I found beginnings, not a vision, a wake up call.
Raised from the dead by a beating heart and at last I can
  see it all. And my eyes were opened to the darkness.."
                  Fish /Raingods with Zippos/
Rob Prior's Mac software @ http://www.bits.org.uk/ 

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 07:33:49 EDT
From: AveNelso@aol.com
Subject: Re: Book Reviews Requested

Central Supply Catalogue in my opninion was better than the Alien Archive, 
but only if you are going to use the T4 rules.  The vehicle design system in 
this book is easier than FFS2, although a spreadsheet still helps.   My 
favorite T4 book is still Emperor's Arsenal.

        Dave Nelson

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 08:36:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: William Prankard <cmdrx@magicnet.net>
Subject: Re: Icelandic babelfish

>Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 10:16:41
>From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
>Subject: Icelandic Babelfish?

>Somebody recently mention an alta-vista like page that di
English-Icelandic
>translations.  Could someone send me that URL?  I seem to have deleted
the
>original message.

>Thanks!
>- -- 

http://www.searchspot.com/translate.htm

Oh and BTW, you should have put a "Spewage Warning" on that filk of yours.
Almost covered my monitor and keyboard with a fine layer of sticky
caffinated goo! :-)

\\  // Commander X
 \\//  CEO X-TEK Industries of Deneb, LIC
T E K  Military & Civilan Starship Contractor
 //\\  High Energy Weapons Research
//  \\ http://www.magicnet.net/~cmdrx/xtek/xtek.htm

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 23:05:30 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Xenobiology 101 : Ecology, Environment, and Evolution (long)

In mail you write:

>         Local differences in the albedo or surface reflectivity of a
> planet causes heat gradients to develop in the atmosphere. For 
> example, water (oceans) is less reflective than land which is usually
> less reflective than clouds.

>         These heat gradients, in combination with planetary rotation
> (the Coriolis effect), form the basis of weather.

Also, since worlds are more or less spherical, light strikes much of
the planet at an angle from the vertical. The greater the angle the
greater the area the energy is spread over. Thus you get less heating
the farther from the sub-solar point you get. 

For those who aren't aware of it, the "Tropics" are defined by two
lines on the globe that delimit the farthest north and farthest south
that the sun can be overhead at noon. 

The Arctic and Antarctic circles are defined by something similar (at a
guess the line where you get a "sun never rises/sun never sets"
phenomenon). 

For a planet with no axial tilt, the tropics and the equator are the
same line. Likewise, the Arctic and Antarctic will be the poles. 

For a planet with a 45 degree tilt, the tropics and the arctic/antartic
circles will be the same line. No Temperate zone. (I do *not* want to
find out whatweather is like there!).

And for planets with greater tilts, not only is there no temperate
zone, but the artic and the tropics *overlap* to a greater or lesser
extent. 

At 90 degree tilt you hit the limit. Climit is best described by
reading the article by an astronomer that is included in the back of H.
Beam Piper's "Uller Uprising".

>         Solvent (and some nutrient) cycles will have an atmospheric
> phase. Vapour will be taken up into warm atmospheric gases, and 
> precipitate out as liquid or solid from cold ones - e.g. rain. 
> In the case of some nutrients, some living things actively incorporate
> compounds into their bodies.

And the biggest limit on growth of most organisms. The phosporus cycle.

Rain, being acidic, washes small amounts of soluble phospates from
rocks (mountains, especially fresh volcanic ones). This gets caught in
the soil or washed into streams and bodies of water. Some seasonal
lakes form deposits of phospates on the bottom. 

Plants extract phosporus from the soil. Animals eat the plants and get
phosporus. Also, animals excrete phosporus (it was first isolated from
the residue of fermented urine). that puts it back in the soil. So do
their bones when they die.

A lot of phosporus gets tied up in sedimentary desposits. 

Calcium follows a similar path, but isn't as critical. 

Note that these elements are *so* critical on earth that even nominally
herbivorous animals such as field mice will gnaw on bones or discarded
antlers just to get the calcium and phosphorus.

Also, the deep waters of the oceans tend to be rich in
nitrogen/phosporus. Thus the equatorial oceans are a virtusl desert,
but the areas in the far north and south where the deep currents come
to the surface are the richest fisheries. 

As I recall, at one time the phosporus  was blamed for algae blooms.
Later they started wondering if it was the nitrogen in the same wastes
(mostly treated sewage and farm runoff). 

Trace nutrient requirements can have *major* effects on what lives
where. 

>         As mentioned above, natural selection is based upon the 
> gradual accumulation of improvements.
>         Consider flight as an example. There are many theories as to
> how flight began. Given the long history of life on Earth, it was
> probably discovered independently several times throughout the 
> animal kingdom.
>         Wings may have begun as radiators for insects ; as the insects
> grew larger over evolutionary time, their radiators grew too - 
> eventually attaining a critical wingspan. Halteres or wing stubs still
> persist on flies, but act as control surfaces during flight.

There's also been some recently discovered evidence that rudimentary
wings on some insects were useful for propulsion (but not flight). Sort
of a water strider with wing stubs. It can (could? I don't recall if
this was a current insect or a fossil) skim across the water like an
insectile airboat!

That gives a niche where even a stub of a wing is useful.

>         In secondary succession, nutrient rich soil is already 
> present; because of this, changes in plant communities are more rapid 
> and are driven by the availability of light and water. An example 
> would be an old field becoming forest. 

Or recovery after a forest fire.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 10:17:24 EDT
From: TDRandall@aol.com
Subject: Re: World Builder Deluxe V5.0

In a message dated 8/1/99 9:50:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, bruadh@iname.com 
writes:

<< O.K. I switched on the mapping function, but where is the map of the 
system?
  >>

It was under one of the right-most menu items - "special", I think.  But that 
was only if you generated an entire system.

I keep running into a file path error when I'm switching between generating 
one world and generating a whole system (or vice versa).  It will unstick 
after a while, but I don't know what I've done to make it disappear.

What I'd like to see is a "now that I've got a nice world, generate a system 
that this fits into" and "now that I've got this nice system, show me all the 
separate worlds stats".  It looks like you should be able to save one and 
generate the other from it, but I'm evidently not doing it right.

Can anybody give some straightforward instructions please?

Don't get me wrong Stuart, this is still WAY beyond what I could ever hope 
for, includes a lot of the details I always forget to include, and saves a 
lot of time and wrist-wear from rolling dice.  Thank you!

Tony

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 09:26:29 -0500 
From: "Smart, David J (David)" <dasmart@lucent.com>
Subject: RE: Yet more filk

From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>

> Since my last attempts weren't greeted with death threats, allow me to
> inflict this one on you:
>
>        The Traveller Saga
>    Douglas and Kirsten Berry
> (music: American Pie, by Don McLean)

WOW!

Doug, you and Kirsten are *truly* filk meisters!

You've mirrored _my_ feelings about Traveller perfectly.

I sit in awe with head bowed in respect.

David

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 08:27:52 -0700
From: shudson@lightspeed.bc.ca (Steven Hudson)
Subject: Re: Real life Flywheel Energy stores (AKA HPGs)

>From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
>Subject: Re: Real life Flywheel Energy stores (AKA HPGs)
...
>Gearhead challenge: Why is the flycylinder arrangement inherently more safe
>than the flywheel (disk arrangement)?

  For a given energy storgae requirement the unit will be more
structurally reliable? (i.e., does the cylinders greater single
volume provide more cohesion if a flaw exists or develops?)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 08:46:37 -0700
From: "Shawn Campbell" <electric-stitch@w-link.net>
Subject: Re: Book Reviews Requested

I like Central Supply Catalog and Aliens Archive because they fill a gap in
my Traveller collection ;)

I haven't seen First In, but I am very happy with World Builders Handbook.

Shawn Campbell
electric-stitch@w-link.net
IMTU tc+ tm+(++) !tn t4 ru+ ge>+ !3i+ c+ jt au+ st+ ls(+) pi+ ta he+(++)

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella <xrp@sierratel.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 1999 11:00 PM
Subject: Re: Book Reviews Requested


> I was looking through the web catalogs for what I might buy next, and T4
> Central Supply Catalog really caught my eye. So did the Alien Archive,
> regardless of its Newt infestation. I am, as previously noted, highly CT
> oriented, but open-minded too (I hope ;) ), and was wondering if any one
had
> any strong opinions here. Additionally, when T5 comes out, what books out
> now are likely to not be covered in that material and/or highly
compliments
> it? I like what I here about T5, so I'll be avoiding core rule stuff till
> then as I have enough CT to get by there. Still debating between World
> Builders Handbook and First In, opinions there?
> BZA
> ////////////////////////////////////////
> Akella 0609 C654474-6 S kk+ hi++ as+ va+ dr+ da+ so@ zh- vi+  A523
> IMTU tc++ ?t4 ru@ 3i+(-) c+ jt au@ st- ls+ pi+ ta@ he+
>

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Aug 1999 08:56:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Ground To Space Laser Fire....

misha@empire.atlantic-online.ns.ca writes:
>      
>      Question...  would a 100Mw chemically-pumped laser, if fired from
> the ground be sufficient to incinerate something the size of the Hubble?
> Say firing time is in the 3 to 6 second range.  Or would the energy level
> have to be higher?  Doing a reality-check on a game situation and was
> wondering.  Thanks.

Define 'incinerate' -- objects in orbit can't burn, which is the normal definition of incinerate.  That's also dramatically (several orders of magnitude) too little energy to actually vaporize the Hubble.  However, it's probably plenty of power to disable the Hubble if it's focused in a small area, most satellites aren't very tough.  Of course, an unlucky shot might just kill a solar panel or something similar.

misha@empire.atlantic-online.ns.ca writes:
> Well, for starters, energy delivered is:
>       (power * time) * atmospheric absorption
> 
> Where the absorption is a number from 0 to 1. 
> 
> So assuming *no* absoroption, you've delivered 3-6 Mj. For reference, a
> "kilo of TNT" is 4.2 Mj. 

No, for starters he's delivered 300-600 MJ (100 MW * 3-6 seconds), equivalent to maybe 100 kilos of high explosive.  However, he isn't delivering the energy fast enough for explosive vaporization (unless he happens to hit a coolant tank) so the damage is even less efficient than a comparable amount of high explosive.

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End of Traveller-digest V1999 #912
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