[Space/Spaceships] Getting the velocity/Delta V I want with the tech I want

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

That's a bit of a non sequiter, because the ability to build fast STL starships doesn't automatically imply the ability to assemble anything you want atom by atom. Just because you have the energy doesn't mean you have the means to apply it to whatever you want. It's a bit like saying that the ability to build an Apollo moonship implies the ability to synthesize a steak from scratch.

We may have had the ability to assemble things atom by atom before we launched Apollo. We certainly have it now well before we could launch a starship. Yes it would cost a completely insane amount to attempt to assemble a steak an atom at a time with the probe of an atomic force microscope, but it would cost an equally insane amount to ship it from Alpha Centauri.