[TML] TML Digest, Vol 2007, Issue 232

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 8/23/07 4:36 PM, "domhanai at juno.com" wrote:

> I was playing with a similar idea for jump drives IMTU, just to annoy the
> players: jump fields need a sufficient size mass to operate, so most starships
> will either be modified asteroids or constructed of superdense materials.
> There is a limit, of course; if the mass was enough to naturally form a
> spherical shape, it was too large. But that is a function of gravity, isn't
> it? Is there a minimum mass that would "naturally" form a sphere? Also,
> starships don't "land" on planetary masses, so the either use local shuttles
> or ones brought along (extra mass to compensate for the empty holds). I
> envisioned hulls being "sculpted" from asteroids, and design based on
> aesthetics (on race liked spheres, another tetrahedrons ...) rather than
> aerodynamics or center of mass/acceleration considerations.

What is the value of gravity at the jump limit from planets or stars
(actually, I pretty sure the current setup won't lead to a specific number,
but it should).  The mass of object that has that gravity at it's surface
can't function as a jump ship.  :)

As for shape, function would likely dictate this, not fashion.  That's why
you don't see a lot of variation in your standard jetliners (Boeing 7x7,
Airbus, etc).