GURPS O'Neill Cylinder Design

[thrash]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

This touches on one of the tricky aspects of the O'Neill cylinder, it's tremendously low density. While most craft in GURPS Spaceships are roughly analogous to modern watercraft and aircraft, the O'Neill cylinder is more like a metal balloon, mostly air.

That sounds like a Gasbag system (SS7, pp. 9-10). Of course, such a thing would be useless in microgravity (or at SM +21), but it might give you a way to account for the difference.

Disappointingly, SS7 doesn't address what should be the immensely increased SM of a vessel using these systems.

Next, dirt to plant all those trees and grass on.

Aren't those Open systems, by definition? Then you could use the Ecological Life Support design switch (Pyr 3/49, p. 24) to calculate carrying capacity.

In fact, that whole article ("Generation Ships," by David Pulver) would probably be helpful.

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by thrash

That sounds like a Gasbag system (SS7, pp. 9-10). Of course, such a thing would be useless in microgravity (or at SM +21), but it might give you a way to account for the difference.

Disappointingly, SS7 doesn't address what should be the immensely increased SM of a vessel using these systems.


Aren't those Open systems, by definition? Then you could use the Ecological Life Support design switch (Pyr 3/49, p. 24) to calculate carrying capacity.

In fact, that whole article ("Generation Ships," by David Pulver) would probably be helpful.

It's one of those situations where if you go by mass SM, you wind up with an order of magnitude too little internal space, but if you go by size SM you get into the rough ballpark but everything else is orders of magnitude too large. The Open Space system makes the most sense as "A regular deck with lots of potted plants." rather than what you'd see in an O'Neill cylinder.

[AlexanderHowl]

An O'Neil is probably going to have six steel armor components, six habitat components, six open space components, and two hanger bay components. It might have other systems, though they will likely be too small to matter much (SM+16 or smaller).

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

It's one of those situations where if you go by mass SM, you wind up with an order of magnitude too little internal space, but if you go by size SM you get into the rough ballpark but everything else is orders of magnitude too large. The Open Space system makes the most sense as "A regular deck with lots of potted plants." rather than what you'd see in an O'Neill cylinder.

In general you'll be fine using mass SM -- most of a cylinder isn't 'open space' its "non-usable volume".