The “physics” of space flight.
Skyships, in the steampunk world, are ships that float in the sky. Unlike balloons, which require a large reservoir of helium or hydrogen, skyships use only the fantastical technology of the steampunk world. The basis of this technology lies in the duality of etheric energy, which is both a wave and a stream at the same time (I don’t know how exactly, but it is). The principle is that ether moves through objects, and a net could conceivably be created that could catch the ether. This, in turn has a number of ramifications. The first one is that a station could beam etheric waves outward. Essentially, power station can use a steam engine or turbine to generate electricity, and then beam it though a Tesla coil to the surrounding area. Receiving stations could be set up (some as small as a shed) to receive the power, thereby powering the house or building. In the case of Aeronefs (small winged flying machines), as long as they remain within the area of the beaming station, the power is utilized to create a repulsion effect against gravity that moves the craft very fast (speed of about 145mph). These repulsion plates are also part of the etheric science of the world. Gravity is merely a form of ether, and the plates are specially designed to repel etheric wave effect on the aeronef. In the case of skyship, a series of plates is placed on the outer hull, negating gravity and allowing the ship to float, and another set of plates is used to propel the ship. When the proper power is applied to the plates, they can change altitude or speed accordingly.
There is a major draw back to this principle, however. Powering these plates requires a massive amount of energy. For example, an aernoef has a back up battery on board that can provide about 15 minutes of emergency power. These batteries, while rechargeable, are roughly 65 pounds and are about the size of small table. Skyships generally have a large series of batteries (12-48 depending on the size of the ship, and always in increments of 2) which provide basic operation for the anti-grav plates and propulsion. But, with only 15 minutes of power per battery these banks only last for at most 12 hours. Skyships often have small steam turbines on board, which can be used to recharge the batteries, but it is highly inefficient, with a ratio of about 2 hours of steam turbine operation (and the accompanying coal or wood) per one hour of battery power. Attempts to hook the repulsion plates directly to the steam engines result in little change in this ratio. This is why in each engine room of a skyship sits an Etheric Acceleration engine. When a skyship wants to achieve orbit, they must first charge their Etheric Acceleration engine. This is no small task, as it requires a substantial amount of energy to do. Additionally, skyships are not rockets, and aren’t aerodynamic, requiring an even larger amount to achieve orbit than a sleeker design. The only place that such energy would be constantly and abundantly available would be the poles of a planet were massive amounts of magnetic energy could be pinched off via large beaming stations and transferred into the Etheric Acceleration engine. The engine releases all of the energy in a relatively short but steady burst, accelerating the skyship upward at a necessary escape velocity. While the ships must be sturdily built, the poles also exert less pressure on the ships because of reduced gravity and atmosphere, so they have a relatively high rate of survival than anywhere else. It is possible, but the ship would have to be very well build, and substantially more aerodynamic. All in all, 8.75 of 10 skyships survive to make it into orbit.
Once in orbit, a ship must deploy a special etheric sail. The etheric sail is essentially a large specially created sail that, when charged with energy, catches etheric waves and propels the ship in the direction the sail is deployed. The more sails a ship has, the more waves it catches resulting in faster speed. Even the smallest ship requires a couple of masts of sails, and large frigates or war galleon, like their ocean going counterpart, have as many as 2-3 main masts and numerous sub-masts. Conceivably a system could be set up to use sails to recharge the batteries, but this would require the ship to divert the energy it receives from the sails to the batteries, instead of propulsion in space. Thus, most captains choose to use steam turbines, or charging the repulsion engines prior to departure.
A large frigate or war galleon moves roughly 25,000 miles per hour, and can reach the moon in about five days. Smaller ships can take over a week. Mars is substantially further, with larger, multi-masted ships taking about 2 and a half months, and smaller ships taking 4 months or so. The asteroid belt would take a little over a year for large ships and about a year and a half for smaller ships. Subsequently, many ships have yet to make it to the asteroid belt, and its rich mineral deposits.
There is a major draw back to this principle, however. Powering these plates requires a massive amount of energy. For example, an aernoef has a back up battery on board that can provide about 15 minutes of emergency power. These batteries, while rechargeable, are roughly 65 pounds and are about the size of small table. Skyships generally have a large series of batteries (12-48 depending on the size of the ship, and always in increments of 2) which provide basic operation for the anti-grav plates and propulsion. But, with only 15 minutes of power per battery these banks only last for at most 12 hours. Skyships often have small steam turbines on board, which can be used to recharge the batteries, but it is highly inefficient, with a ratio of about 2 hours of steam turbine operation (and the accompanying coal or wood) per one hour of battery power. Attempts to hook the repulsion plates directly to the steam engines result in little change in this ratio. This is why in each engine room of a skyship sits an Etheric Acceleration engine. When a skyship wants to achieve orbit, they must first charge their Etheric Acceleration engine. This is no small task, as it requires a substantial amount of energy to do. Additionally, skyships are not rockets, and aren’t aerodynamic, requiring an even larger amount to achieve orbit than a sleeker design. The only place that such energy would be constantly and abundantly available would be the poles of a planet were massive amounts of magnetic energy could be pinched off via large beaming stations and transferred into the Etheric Acceleration engine. The engine releases all of the energy in a relatively short but steady burst, accelerating the skyship upward at a necessary escape velocity. While the ships must be sturdily built, the poles also exert less pressure on the ships because of reduced gravity and atmosphere, so they have a relatively high rate of survival than anywhere else. It is possible, but the ship would have to be very well build, and substantially more aerodynamic. All in all, 8.75 of 10 skyships survive to make it into orbit.
Once in orbit, a ship must deploy a special etheric sail. The etheric sail is essentially a large specially created sail that, when charged with energy, catches etheric waves and propels the ship in the direction the sail is deployed. The more sails a ship has, the more waves it catches resulting in faster speed. Even the smallest ship requires a couple of masts of sails, and large frigates or war galleon, like their ocean going counterpart, have as many as 2-3 main masts and numerous sub-masts. Conceivably a system could be set up to use sails to recharge the batteries, but this would require the ship to divert the energy it receives from the sails to the batteries, instead of propulsion in space. Thus, most captains choose to use steam turbines, or charging the repulsion engines prior to departure.
A large frigate or war galleon moves roughly 25,000 miles per hour, and can reach the moon in about five days. Smaller ships can take over a week. Mars is substantially further, with larger, multi-masted ships taking about 2 and a half months, and smaller ships taking 4 months or so. The asteroid belt would take a little over a year for large ships and about a year and a half for smaller ships. Subsequently, many ships have yet to make it to the asteroid belt, and its rich mineral deposits.
posted by Aleris at 2:37 PM
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