G-Tanks

>From: Muir Macpherson [email removed]
>Subject: G-tanks
>
>I'm working on a campaign that doesn't use gravitics so was intrigued
>by FF&S's description of G-tanks as an alternative form of G-compensation.
>For those not familiar with the idea, G-tanks are fluid filled tanks
>that one climbs into.  The fluid provides enough buoyancy to compensate
>1-G.  What I'm hoping to get help with is how to scale this up
>for higher tech levels.  Could you use different fluids to get better
>g-comp?  Or how about layers of increasingly dense fluids that the
>person sinks down through as G's increase?  I'm assuming you'd have
>to wear a vacc suit or something while you're in this thing.  But if
>the Gs get high enough would your suit have to be pressurized to
>more than one atmosphere?
>        And just for descriptive purposes, does anyone have any idea
>what this thing would look like?
>        Thanks in advance. :)


The Forever War (by Joe Haldeman) included a fairly detailed description of
G-Tanks.  His ships accelerated at extremely high G rates (like 25 G's),
and the troops and crew were protected from this in a couple of ways.  They
wore pressure suits in a chamber that filled up with fluid.  The chamber
itself was pressurized up to the equivalent pressure of 2 nautical miles
under sea, and the people wore suits that countered this pressure (included
pumping a fluid INTO them).  The only problem here was that while in the
chamber, they weren't interacting/controlling the ship.  The computer ran
the ship during high G maneuvers.  There were a limited amount of crawling
units that were 1 man acc-chambers, but they were only mentioned, not
described.  One of the weird things was that the fluid that was pumped into
you was a fluorocarbon mix, and it filled up your lungs and every thing.  I
guess you basically "died" to some degree??

A couple of other short stories had G-tanks of sorts, typically water or a
denser fluid, and you required life support equipment.  However, these were
intended for lower G tolerances (like 4 to 6 sustained).

One of the interesting things I see is that the standard G-comps just
reduce to 1 G.  Several things I have seen in studies and pseudo-science
novels (those with large basis in fact) is that people can endure and work
in higher G settings for extended periods of time.  So, if you had 3 Gs of
compensation, you could accelerate at 5 or 6 Gs and not lose any ability to
work at a workstation (seated, manipulating controls).  Now, of course, you
wouldn't want to move around too much, and you would get fatigued faster,
but you could do it.

Just some thoughts!

John