Super-Jump to Lightspeed!

PTTG · 01-20-2013, 12:33 AM

So in a simple supers game we were trying out this evening, one player decided to buy a few levels of superjump (For his Gigantism-afflicted albino).

He would go on to propel himself as a human projectile, destroying three helicopters with ease simply by landing on them at mach 6.

So then, I wanted to figure out how much the ability to reach lightspeed with a jump would cost. Including room to run up, but demanding an otherwise ordinary human, it would be possible to reach 304226850.13 meters per second with a mere 28 levels of superjump- 280 points.

For much less than that, it's possible to hop up to orbital velocities, at which point you could certainly take off at that velocity, but it's extremely unlikely that you would land, as you'd effectively be jumping into a solid wall of air.

This is all a long way of saying that GMs should probably keep an eye on superjump and remember the very important point which is, every sentence in the rulebook includes the unwritten fragment, "with GM's permission".

RobKamm · 01-20-2013, 08:09 AM

How much DR/IT did the Jumper have to survive multiple high speed colisions with (presumably airborne) vehicles?

Mateus · 01-20-2013, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobKamm

How much DR/IT did the Jumper have to survive multiple high speed colisions with (presumably airborne) vehicles?

That was exactly my first thinking. Probably the DR to survive such task is much more expensive than the Super Jump by itself.

Xplo · 01-20-2013, 11:43 AM

I'm a little fuzzy on what would happen if you literally tried to jump to light speed - relativistic physics isn't something I'm well-schooled on - but I suppose that as you accelerated to a significant fraction you would find it much more difficult to continue accelerating, and also your perception of time would change drastically.

Also, doing this in an atmosphere would presumably result in a giant explosion as you impart insane quantities of kinetic energy to the air around you.

zoncxs · 01-20-2013, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xplo

I'm a little fuzzy on what would happen if you literally tried to jump to light speed - relativistic physics isn't something I'm well-schooled on - but I suppose that as you accelerated to a significant fraction you would find it much more difficult to continue accelerating, and also your perception of time would change drastically.

Also, doing this in an atmosphere would presumably result in a giant explosion as you impart insane quantities of kinetic energy to the air around you.

this would happen: http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

awesome site for awesome science!

Disliker of the mary sue · 01-20-2013, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoncxs

this would happen: http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

awesome site for awesome science!

Woo more XKCD,

So if I'm reading it correctly firing things at the speed of light would cause nuclear explosions? Hm and that just with a baseball, with something the size of a human the explosion would probably be much worse (I think, then again I only got a bare grasp of theoritical physics and that has a tendency to throw common sense out of the window)

ericthered · 01-20-2013, 06:01 PM

Its strange how poorly the relationship between enhanced move and super jump deteriorate. Enhanced move starts out with a much better position, but the two are exponential functions with jump having half the cost for essentially the same effect (more, if you consider the speed gained is instantaneous.)

Also it can be argued that while jumping the light speed in the physical world would cause nuclear reactions (as in reactions in the nuclei of atoms, not a uranium reaction) , gurp's "buy the effects" rules means you don't turn into a clould of vapor. You just go impossibly fast. And if you're using that power, there should be a very good backstory behind it.

Anaraxes · 01-20-2013, 06:16 PM

Super-power games seems to follow two schools of thought,particularly with speedsters. Either you get only the effects described, along with implied other powers that keep things from getting out of hand. You don't get any of the "logical" side effects from your illogical power. Super Jump just lets you jump a long way. Or, the other school says that you should, in fact, buy the appropriate DR, Resistances, etc, to defend at least yourself from the consequences of your own powers. And in that case, you do get to use rocks as KE weapons, rip the atmosphere off planets, or whatever.

As long as we're on the topic, the obligatory orbital mechanics note: you can't jump into orbit from the ground, which has nothing to do with how fast you can go. As with a giant cannon, the perigee of your orbit is going to be your start point, so you'll hit the ground at least where you started, and perhaps before, depending on your exact path. You have to apply a second impulse somehow while you're above the surface to change direction and circularize the orbit. Ask your buddy with super strength and flight to drag an asteroid into orbit for you to jump to (or bounce off of). You could try the ISS, but they might be annoyed at you altering their momentum.

Witchking · 01-21-2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoncxs

this would happen: http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

awesome site for awesome science!

Hee Hee Hee...I was chuckling all the way through that...but most priceless was the last line...

Quote:

A careful reading of official Major League Baseball Rule 6.08(b) suggests that in this situation, the batter would be considered "hit by pitch", and would be eligible to advance to first base.

01-20-2013, 12:33 AM	#1
PTTG Join Date: Feb 2011	Super-Jump to Lightspeed! So in a simple supers game we were trying out this evening, one player decided to buy a few levels of superjump (For his Gigantism-afflicted albino). He would go on to propel himself as a human projectile, destroying three helicopters with ease simply by landing on them at mach 6. So then, I wanted to figure out how much the ability to reach lightspeed with a jump would cost. Including room to run up, but demanding an otherwise ordinary human, it would be possible to reach 304226850.13 meters per second with a mere 28 levels of superjump- 280 points. For much less than that, it's possible to hop up to orbital velocities, at which point you could certainly take off at that velocity, but it's extremely unlikely that you would land, as you'd effectively be jumping into a solid wall of air. This is all a long way of saying that GMs should probably keep an eye on superjump and remember the very important point which is, every sentence in the rulebook includes the unwritten fragment, "with GM's permission".

01-20-2013, 08:09 AM	#2
RobKamm Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago	Re: Super-Jump to Lightspeed! How much DR/IT did the Jumper have to survive multiple high speed colisions with (presumably airborne) vehicles?

01-20-2013, 11:43 AM	#4
Xplo Join Date: Apr 2006	Re: Super-Jump to Lightspeed! I'm a little fuzzy on what would happen if you literally tried to jump to light speed - relativistic physics isn't something I'm well-schooled on - but I suppose that as you accelerated to a significant fraction you would find it much more difficult to continue accelerating, and also your perception of time would change drastically. Also, doing this in an atmosphere would presumably result in a giant explosion as you impart insane quantities of kinetic energy to the air around you.

01-20-2013, 06:01 PM	#7
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Re: Super-Jump to Lightspeed! Its strange how poorly the relationship between enhanced move and super jump deteriorate. Enhanced move starts out with a much better position, but the two are exponential functions with jump having half the cost for essentially the same effect (more, if you consider the speed gained is instantaneous.) Also it can be argued that while jumping the light speed in the physical world would cause nuclear reactions (as in reactions in the nuclei of atoms, not a uranium reaction) , gurp's "buy the effects" rules means you don't turn into a clould of vapor. You just go impossibly fast. And if you're using that power, there should be a very good backstory behind it. __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!

01-20-2013, 06:16 PM	#8
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: Super-Jump to Lightspeed! Super-power games seems to follow two schools of thought,particularly with speedsters. Either you get only the effects described, along with implied other powers that keep things from getting out of hand. You don't get any of the "logical" side effects from your illogical power. Super Jump just lets you jump a long way. Or, the other school says that you should, in fact, buy the appropriate DR, Resistances, etc, to defend at least yourself from the consequences of your own powers. And in that case, you do get to use rocks as KE weapons, rip the atmosphere off planets, or whatever. As long as we're on the topic, the obligatory orbital mechanics note: you can't jump into orbit from the ground, which has nothing to do with how fast you can go. As with a giant cannon, the perigee of your orbit is going to be your start point, so you'll hit the ground at least where you started, and perhaps before, depending on your exact path. You have to apply a second impulse somehow while you're above the surface to change direction and circularize the orbit. Ask your buddy with super strength and flight to drag an asteroid into orbit for you to jump to (or bounce off of). You could try the ISS, but they might be annoyed at you altering their momentum.