Drive Technology - An Introduction: HH-672919#998

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Drive technology has come a long way since citizens first aimed for the stars. The following document details the major drive systems so that drive technician recruits may become familiar with the technology and terminology that they will be faced with in the course of their duties. It is assumed that recruits are conversant in atmospheric drive systems. Thermo-Explosive Reaction The most primitive form of propulsion, Thermo-Explosive Reaction (TER) drives are clumsy, dangerous, and highly inefficient. While usually the first propulsion system devised by a race, TERs are useful in little more than the most simple of operations and should never be considered for anything beyond simple orbital missions. The risks of 'kick back' are immense and even advanced versions come with a high chance of uncontrolled reaction, usually leading to death for the crew. Ionic Drive By adhering to the simplest law of motion, ion drives work on a very simple level. The outpouring of ions in a controlled direction results in momentum. The principle is simple and the technology is likewise very simplistic. The results however are less than desirable. Although hugely efficient, ionic drives are not suited to situations where manoeuvrability is needed. With an acceleration curve which is practically level, ionic drives can takes days weeks, or even months to achieve a reasonable speed. Often paired with solar sails, ionic drives are were suited to long journeys (ie those spanning several years) and offered the only viable solution for transportation between star systems until the advent of hyperspace technology. The Queller Drive A modification of the ionic drive, the Queller Drive is banned from use within the galaxy. Emitting highly charged atomic and sub-atomic particles, the Queller Drive does overcome the slow response time of it's parent but comes at too high a price. The highly charged sub-atomic elements cause molecular disintegration when a large enough number come into contact with any form of matter. Following a highly acclaimed launch, the Queller Drive looked set to revolutionise space travel but all too soon the problem became apparent. The destruction of 80% of the planet Sasase caused the drive to be universally banned some 900 standard years ago. While several terrorist organisations have attempted to hold systems hostage with the threat of using such a drive, it appears that the secrets died with it's inventor Prof Koenig Queller. Protonic Drive Ideally a ionic drive that emits protons instead of ions. Developed as a quick replacement for the failed Queller drive, they produced more thrust and control than the ionic drive but fell short of the mark set by the Queller system (due to the lower charge placed on the emitted atoms). Repulse Magnon Emitter Utilising the theory of gravity fields repelling each other Repulse Magnon Emitters (RME) literally bounce themselves away from planets and other gravity fields. Wildly uncontrollable, RME drives work on a very random chance approach and more often than not sent their crews wildly out of control. The inertial forces are tremendous and crews required extremely heavy protection. Impractical given the gravity generator needed and far too uncontrollable and dangerous. Qisensteen Matter Drive Similar to a simple jet engine, the Qisensteen drive works by accelerated matter by use of a simple electro magnetic coils. The coils however required a huge amount of power which simply could not be supplied by the then preferred solar method. This was solved by use of nuclear fission reactors but this made the drive unstable if the drive shielding was not maintained properly (accelerated matter would 'stray' and eat it's way through the shielding). Didn't suffer the problems of the Queller drive due to an ingenious anti-matter deflection vane. Micro Reaction Drive A small scale controlled mixing of matter and anti-matter which is focused into a stream to produce thrust. A fundamentally very simple process, Micro Reaction Drive (MRD) provided a viable drive system for much of the galaxy for over 200 years before the invention of space folding and worm hole projection. Clean, efficient, and relatively low power needs make it an ideal mechanism for environments where non-linear propulsion systems are too cumbersome. There are the usual concerns regarding anti-matter containment and early models and badly maintained units have been known to implode quite spectacularly. Space folding The technique of space folding is more art than science and was developed by the Cla-Ber-Li as a means of long distance travel. Using a trait unique to the species, the Cla-Ber-Li manage to project a vessel by mere thought alone. The specifics involved are impossible for non-Cla-Ber-Li to grasp but an expansion of consciousness is involved and in human terms it involves reducing the universe to a zero dimensional object and merely understanding that inside a zero dimensional object, all points are the same point, and the same point is all points (and simultaneously no points). A very effective means of transportation, most beings are wary of such non-scientific travel and the low numbers of Cla-Ber-Li willing to practice the art renders it a curiosity rather than a practical transport method. Worm Hole Projection The galaxy's standard drive mechanism has been in use now for over 300 standard years and has proven itself to be reliable and efficient. By creating a localised worm hole, worm hole projection effectively creates a shortcut from one point in space to another. The distance of the resulting shortcut depends on the efficiency of the drive but even the most primitive and basic of drives can reduce the travel time to a fraction of the original. Developed by several species seemingly simultaneously, early drives resulted in cranial molecular displacement (CMD) which sent pilots insane. Greater understanding has led to the discovery of pro-anodymic plasma emissions being the cause and cases of CMD have all but disappeared. Limited by the huge power needed, worm hole projection has now become available to even starfighter class vessels but is useful only for intra-system travel (for such vessels it should be considered a supplement to JumpGate travel). Tachion Drive The tachion drive is concerned with the displacement of time but relies on existing technology for it's actual propulsion. By creating a spinning tachion field around a vessel, the vessel has it's movement through the 4th dimension altered. Resuu's 2nd law of time dictates that time passes at a fixed rate and it is in full effect here. The ship still ages at the same rate as the rest of the universe but it now exists inside it's own time 'bubble' and this allows it's time rate to differ from the rest of the universe. While it's propulsion system operates as normal within it's 'bubble' the effect as observed in the universe's time space differs. By accelerating the ship time to ten times that of the universe, the ship can travel 10 times faster as far as the universe is concerned (inside the ship's time space however the ship will be travelling at normal speed). Altering the time multiplication allows the ship to effectively travel an infinite distance in zero time (from the universe's point of view). The problem with tachion drive technology is the effect on the ship's time space. The multiplied time affects the ship and it's crew causing them to age in line with the multiplication (a multiplication of 10 results in the ship and crew ageing at ten times their normal rate). The solution is a Dual Inverse Tachion Spin Field (DITSF) which creates a second tachion field inside the first. While the outer field multiplies time flow, the inner one reduces it. Effectively isolating only the propulsion system inside a multiplied time space the crew are spared the rigours of multiplied ageing. Synchronising the two fields is extremely difficult though and several test crews are effectively held in a state of suspended animation due to miscalculations in setting up the secondary field. Difficult to control and requiring a huge power source for the tachion fields (although the propulsion unit uses it's normal amount of fuel based on distance travelled as effectively it is travelling X million standard miles), the tachion drive remains very much a scientific Holy grail. Spatial Binary Transmission Currently little more than a theoretical system, Spatial Binary Transmission (SBT) works on the principle of converting matter into a spatially aware binary stream and then transmitting that stream across the subspace communication channels. With near instantaneous transmission time, SBT would effectively do away with space vessels altogether. Taking no energy to transmit SBT is considered to be the ultimate form of transport but does come with problems. The conversion of matter to energy is still a scientific impossibility and many fear that the volume of data would swamp the subspace communication channels. In addition, SBT requires a transmitter and a receiver and would be forced to work in conjunction with existing drive technologies where matters such as exploration are concerned. The energy needed is matched only by the storage and computational power necessary and the public relations department would have a great deal of work to do to try to overcome the basic fear of molecular disintegration. As of this time no practical implementation of the theory has been demonstrated.