02-05-2016, 01:29 PM
Just an additional thought or two:
a) The original Valkyrie ships aren't described in the level of detail that gets into specific materials (although there is mention of weaving their major structures out of multiple lines or threads and then heating those individually to combat the effects of relativistic impacts causing particle disruptions in the material), but OA ships probably use a lot of carbon structures (diamondloid and buckyfiber) and so may be a bit lighter than 100 tons dry weight.
b) OA starships also make use of magnetic sails for braking purposes. These weren't in the setting when the singleship article was written but have since been added. Using such sails a ship could slow down from relativistic speeds to interplanetary speeds in only a few years while expending zero reaction mass. This of course means they also don't need to carry along the fuel needed to slow down. And the fuel to accelerate that fuel. And the fuel to accelerate that fuel. And so on. Bottom line being that a magnetic braking system can significantly cut the amount of reaction mass a ship has to carry around with it, which would reduce the overall mass of the ship even more. Presumably such tech could be employed by singleships as well as other types of craft.
Todd
a) The original Valkyrie ships aren't described in the level of detail that gets into specific materials (although there is mention of weaving their major structures out of multiple lines or threads and then heating those individually to combat the effects of relativistic impacts causing particle disruptions in the material), but OA ships probably use a lot of carbon structures (diamondloid and buckyfiber) and so may be a bit lighter than 100 tons dry weight.
b) OA starships also make use of magnetic sails for braking purposes. These weren't in the setting when the singleship article was written but have since been added. Using such sails a ship could slow down from relativistic speeds to interplanetary speeds in only a few years while expending zero reaction mass. This of course means they also don't need to carry along the fuel needed to slow down. And the fuel to accelerate that fuel. And the fuel to accelerate that fuel. And so on. Bottom line being that a magnetic braking system can significantly cut the amount of reaction mass a ship has to carry around with it, which would reduce the overall mass of the ship even more. Presumably such tech could be employed by singleships as well as other types of craft.
Todd