Re: High Speed Projectiles

[email removed] writes:
> Some people say they miss High Guard.  I miss Book 2.  they didn't even try
> to guess what a power plant could put out so conservation of energy wasn't
> a factor.  (sigh)

Nor did High Guard, as far as I remember.  It gave the output of a power plant,
and the requiremts of various power-consuming systems, in terms of Energy
Points (which should tell you something about the physics knowledge of the
authors :-) .  It was Striker which dealt with MW, and as it gave MW-rated
equivalents of ship-borne weapons, one could convert Energy Points into MW.

> As to the point of flying blind.

Blind, as in you can't see the target.  Not blind, as in you can't see what's
in front of you.  (Avoiding what's in front of you when your speed is about
3*10**7 m/s and your acceleration is about 20 m/s**2 is a problem, though.)

>		      You don't need to be in sensor range if your target is
> in a fixed orbit or on the ground.  Just plug in that intercept course and
> let her rip.

Which was what I said.  If the target is something fixed, e.g. a planet, then
you might hit it.  If the target is capable of acceleration (e.g. a ship) then
it probably won't be there when you arrive, because it will have its own
reasons for leaving.  (_When_ you arrive?  More like _if_ you arrive!)

> The Japanese had quite a few people get in the cockpit of a Kamikazie (sp?)

But a Kamikaze had a chance of getting to the target, and it was there that
he intended to die.  Flying a spaceship at 0.1c, you won't hit the target.
You won't be hit by the target's defences.  You'll hit a few particles of dust
on the way, and turn into a few particles of dust yourself.

- - --
 "Keyboard?  How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]