Thanks for the overwhelming response to my question on G-tanks.
So many people made reference to "The Forever War" that I went out
and bought it. The valve-in-hip level of g-compensation seems a
little extreme for Traveller. My hope was to find something that would
allow for some G-compensation at the tech level 9-11 range that wouldnot
too radically change the nature of space travel. Having people
immersed in oxygenated flurocarbos doesn't seem too bad, but fitting
everyone with a valve does.
FF&S also makes reference to worksation G-tanks. How much mobility
would someone in a G-tank have? The Forever War indicates that even
in the lower-tech "clamshell" model they were essentially immobile, though
concious. What would a workstation be like under these circumstances?
The U.S. Army Apache helicopter has a special helmet for the gunner
that uses small lasers or some such to sense the direction the gunner
is looking and automatically aims the guns in that direction. Combined
with some armrest controls and a VR or HUD type environment, would
this be sufficient for performing normal ship functions while still
getting around the mobility problems in G-tanks?
Also, what about waldo-controlled robots for damage control
and the like.
What pressure do you need to compensate for each G and at
what pressure would you have to start worrying about gasses dissolving
in your blood and other pressure related problems. How long would
it take to depressurize enought that you could safely leave the tank?
Basically, I'm trying to get an idea of what these things might
be like in play.
Thanks in advance. :)