[Spaceships] Your preferences regarding plausible/playable Reactionless Drives

[Anthony]

General relativity forbids perfect stiffness. The maximally stiff medium discussed above is the maximum permitted by GR.

[sir_pudding]

Since Vicky summoned this back from the abyss I noticed this:

Originally Posted by ciaran_skye

"Buzzard ramscoops"

Bussard vs Buzzard

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Since Vicky summoned this back from the abyss I noticed this:


Bussard vs Buzzard

Buzzard Ramscoops only gather _dead_ hydrogen atoms. Much more humane.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Buzzard Ramscoops only gather _dead_ hydrogen atoms. Much more humane.

I'll admit it. You made me laugh.

[Anthony]

Actually, ramscoops that hang around soon-to-go-supernova stars might have some uses.

[teviet]

Originally Posted by Anthony

General relativity forbids perfect stiffness. The maximally stiff medium discussed above is the maximum permitted by GR.

Also follows from special relativity. Speed of a wave generally goes as sqrt(stiffness/density), so maximally stiff means that waves travel at lightspeed.

The EM field is of course a maximally stiff medium. Solid materials are far from maximally stiff: their densities are much too high.

TeV