04-04-2021, 07:00 AM
I had not intended to propose accelerating the final structure to 10% c after it is built. I was proposing that since a Rogue Ring is not tied to a solar system, building it at a rapidly-moving construction site could both be a cost savings and limit the resource impact of its construction.
If we suppose that construction materials during interstellar shipment may travel at 10% c , it is better to have the construction site moving at something near that velocity, from the outset.
That way we don't have to spend the energy to decelerate shipments from that speed as they arrive. Shipment transit delays can be much shorter, and no single system or star need be destroyed, because as the work is underway the construction site will pass near many systems. Shipments of matter from those systems can make a short transfer as it passes by.
The alternative would be sending everything on a lightyears-long journey to a stationary construction site where it will arrive with an enormous energy cost for deceleration, and that simply doesn't seem like a winning idea.
If we suppose that construction materials during interstellar shipment may travel at 10% c , it is better to have the construction site moving at something near that velocity, from the outset.
That way we don't have to spend the energy to decelerate shipments from that speed as they arrive. Shipment transit delays can be much shorter, and no single system or star need be destroyed, because as the work is underway the construction site will pass near many systems. Shipments of matter from those systems can make a short transfer as it passes by.
The alternative would be sending everything on a lightyears-long journey to a stationary construction site where it will arrive with an enormous energy cost for deceleration, and that simply doesn't seem like a winning idea.