I am a Traveller player from way back, recently brought back into the fold
by TNE. I bought MT, but rarely played it due to the scarcity of MT players
in the uk. Traveller almost died out here with the release of MT.
I currently own copies of the TNE rules and FF&S, I was put off buying BL
by the combat system in the roleplaying game. I resoned that if they were
capable of putting such a roleplaying-hostile set of rules in the RPG, the
board game version would be even less playable in a roleplaying context.
I don't want to denigrate the excellent work that has gone into the TNE
background an rules, but there do seem to be a few anomalies which I would
like to see cleared up. The principal problem is with HEPLAR propulsion.
HEPLAR drives are not a recent idea, Larry Niven's stories have
included a similar system for a long time, the basic idea is just to put
a hole in a fusion reactor and bigo - instant fusion drive. (Simplified,
but that's the theory). Another axiom from Niven's Known Space series is
that the efficiency of a propulsion system is directly proportional to it's
efficiency as a weapon. If you work out the exhaust velocity of a HEPLAR
thrust jet, it approximates to one quarter of the speed of light! There are
two problems with this: a) I very much doubt that a fusion drive is capable
of generating exhaust velocities even approaching this. b) If I were
responsible for planetary space traffic controll, I would not allow a HEPLAR
drive inside the orbit of the moon, let alone land on the planet's surface.
Even worse, Some of the example planetary vehicles use HEPLAR propulsion!
Anyone care to calculate the weapon statistics for a typical HEPLAR drive?
There is a way round this : use a denser fluid as the exhaust gas. The most
suitable medium is probably water. By mixing the exhaust hydrogen with an
inert medium you actualy increse the efficiency of the drive. A lot of the
energy in a pure hydrogen exhaust would be lost as thermal radiation and
gamma rays, contributing no thrust. These would be absorbed by a dense
exhaust agent and so increase efficiency. Also, water is denser than hydrogen,
so the volume of reaction mass would be reduced.
Simon Hibbs
[email removed].
Please mention my name in the subject line.