Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Traveller-hot reactionless or cold?

SteveS · 11-12-2021, 02:21 PM

As I recall, the lowest technology reactionless thrusters use 2.5 times the power per thrust as typical thrusters, and GTL13 thrusters are better still (though possibly more compact rather than more power efficient). That suggests that early thrusters run hot, while typical thrusters run lukewarm. (Cold seems implausible.)

One problem throughout space science fiction is waste heat. Rather than invent yet another superscience, my handwave for that problem was that one of the effects of gravitic technology is the possibility of gravitic heat sinks. How do they work? Who knows. Maybe they're sheets of gravitationally confined plasma that can dump heat into space through blackbody radiation, at sufficiently high temperatures that the radiating area becomes manageable even for a fusion power plant. A gravitic radiator might be combined with a gravitic thruster; if so it would be very hot.

Other editions of Traveller have a multitude of maneuver technologies, including magically efficient rockets, realistic rockets (except for the heat problem), and assorted gravitic devices.

11-12-2021, 02:21 PM	#9
SteveS Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: near Seattle WA USA	Re: Traveller-hot reactionless or cold? As I recall, the lowest technology reactionless thrusters use 2.5 times the power per thrust as typical thrusters, and GTL13 thrusters are better still (though possibly more compact rather than more power efficient). That suggests that early thrusters run hot, while typical thrusters run lukewarm. (Cold seems implausible.) One problem throughout space science fiction is waste heat. Rather than invent yet another superscience, my handwave for that problem was that one of the effects of gravitic technology is the possibility of gravitic heat sinks. How do they work? Who knows. Maybe they're sheets of gravitationally confined plasma that can dump heat into space through blackbody radiation, at sufficiently high temperatures that the radiating area becomes manageable even for a fusion power plant. A gravitic radiator might be combined with a gravitic thruster; if so it would be very hot. Other editions of Traveller have a multitude of maneuver technologies, including magically efficient rockets, realistic rockets (except for the heat problem), and assorted gravitic devices.