propulsion system for star wars speeders?

[muduri]

I just realized that I don't know what Spaceships propulsion system would appropriately model the various types of Star Wars speeders - snowspeeders, speeder bikes etc. I remember from somewhere that they use Contragravity Lifters to float but I have no idea what actually propels them. Any thoughts on the closest existing Spaceships system or what a new one would look like?

Continuing along that line, I'm assuming that anything from Star Wars would be using the TL12 version of the drive - what stops do you hit as you work your way down to, hmm, TL8 hovercraft? Thanks!

[AlexanderHowl]

Star Wars is a bit of a technological puzzle. They have TL10 medical technology and computing (without nanotech) and TL11^ spacecraft. Their android technology is actually quite primitive, probably TL9, as they depend on human labor for tasks that require delicacy.

[Anaraxes]

Luke's speeder and the pod racers are apparently propelled by jet turbines.

If you can tolerate contragravity, you can probably tolerate "angling" the lift to provide motive power along the surface, not just force away from it; you could also call that a reactionless thruster.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by muduri

I just realized that I don't know what Spaceships propulsion system would appropriately model the various types of Star Wars speeders - snowspeeders, speeder bikes etc. I remember from somewhere that they use Contragravity Lifters to float but I have no idea what actually propels them. Any thoughts on the closest existing Spaceships system or what a new one would look like?

Continuing along that line, I'm assuming that anything from Star Wars would be using the TL12 version of the drive - what stops do you hit as you work your way down to, hmm, TL8 hovercraft? Thanks!

They (speeders that is) don't use contragravity lifters to float. They use repulsorlift, meaning that every such device has a flight ceiling. Usually a very low flight ceiling.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

They don't use contragravity lifters to float. They use repulsorlift, meaning that every such device has a flight ceiling. Usually a very low flight ceiling.

....and you will find repulsorlift in UT but not Spaceships.

I think the forward propulsion engine tends to be "ion" but the Star Wars "ion engine" is mostly a Spaceship cold reactionless drive. That's what the Falcon and all the other spaceships use. The pod racers too.

I also set Star Wars at TL11^ but generally not 12.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Star Wars is a bit of a technological puzzle. They have TL10 medical technology and computing (without nanotech) and TL11^ spacecraft. Their android technology is actually quite primitive, probably TL9, as they depend on human labor for tasks that require delicacy.

It's not clear whether that is from necessity or cultural choice, though. That is, whether they don't built super-dexterous robots because they can't, or because they'd rather not.

[sir_pudding]

Star Wars engines may be reactionless, but they still use fuel for something.

Gravity doesn't work like ours either, based on the destruction of the Invisible Hand and use of iron bombs in space combat.

[JoelSammallahti]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Gravity doesn't work like ours either, based on the destruction of the Invisible Hand and use of iron bombs in space combat.

Then again, the presence of sound indicates that they're not actually in space, at least not in a vacuum. :D

...Trying to fit a Star Wars -shaped peg into a hard science fiction shaped hole is just never going to work. What's the propulsion system of a land speeder? It's whoosh. An X-Wing? A bigger whoosh.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

It's not clear whether that is from necessity or cultural choice, though. That is, whether they don't built super-dexterous robots because they can't, or because they'd rather not.

I think they mostly choose not too - they have what seem to be pretty proficient medical robots, and that requires fine manipulation. R2D2 is capable for precision work within the limitations of his manipulators, too.

I think most of the ones we see look clumsy because they're not intended for fine work. C3P0, for example, is a protocol and translator droid, so he doesn't need very good co-ordination or fast physical reflexes.

What Star Wars droids are, by and large, is cheaply made.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Star Wars engines may be reactionless, but they still use fuel for something.

Gravity doesn't work like ours either, based on the destruction of the Invisible Hand and use of iron bombs in space combat.

Here's a handwave for that: Large ships' gravity generators project their fields well outside the hull of the ship. Thus using that to pull bombs in once they're 'dropped' (accelerated by the bombers internal generator - much cheaper than a dedicated launcher) is a cheap and mass/volume efficient way of delivering massive payloads.

I do not have an excuse for the lack of 'safe until dropped' fuses of the sort in use since WWII in bombs and earlier in shells.