Bigus Dickus
Regular
Each year I have one really crazy idea. Something that is really out there, typically technologically impossible at the moment, and unique so far as I know. Sadly, they are typically only extreme extensions of known (or at least imaginable) technology and don't offer any new insights into physics and such.
This is 2003's entry.
Forget the space plane. Forget a conventional rail gun. Forget the space tether. Here's the most efficient way I can think of to send an object past Earth's gravitation.
Dig a tunnel through the center of the Earth, line it with some uber-material, equip it with a means of accelerating a craft of your choosing, and walla... big ass space gun. 10 mile long rail gun up the side of a mountain? Please.
If the tunnel were evacuated and you dropped a craft in at one end, after nearly 40 minutes it would just come to rest level with the other end. Nudge it along during its half hour trip (using magnetics, pressure pulses, or whatever else you dreamed up), and you could easily send it hurtling out of the solar system.
The total energy required to accelerate a payload/craft to escape velocity would be the same as for conventional rocketry, but there are some important differences as well. (1) You would not have to carry fuel, and thus would not have to accelerate that fuel, which in itself requires some additional fuel. (2) The time/distance over which that energy has to be expended is greatly increased, meaning only a nudge for a sustained period is required vs. a sustained explosion for a much shorter distance. Kinda like a long wind-up I suppose.
Ok, ok, so there are a couple of minor technical problems, aside from the obvious lack of an uber material to withstand the heat and pressure. Tectonic movement might complicate things just slightly. Any "stationary" gas in the tunnel would cause a problem, as it would be exceptionally dense at the middle and might not like a craft coming through at some 40000+ mph. And it wouldn't seem to be particularly useful for sending items into orbit. You'd need to keep the tunnel rather clean as well, since there might be this odd tendancy for debris to collect in the middle. And an "engine failure" might leave you with a bit more difficult of an emergency exit than jumping out and opening a parachute.
Ah... but it's fun to dream wild dreams sometimes.
This is 2003's entry.
Forget the space plane. Forget a conventional rail gun. Forget the space tether. Here's the most efficient way I can think of to send an object past Earth's gravitation.
Dig a tunnel through the center of the Earth, line it with some uber-material, equip it with a means of accelerating a craft of your choosing, and walla... big ass space gun. 10 mile long rail gun up the side of a mountain? Please.
If the tunnel were evacuated and you dropped a craft in at one end, after nearly 40 minutes it would just come to rest level with the other end. Nudge it along during its half hour trip (using magnetics, pressure pulses, or whatever else you dreamed up), and you could easily send it hurtling out of the solar system.
The total energy required to accelerate a payload/craft to escape velocity would be the same as for conventional rocketry, but there are some important differences as well. (1) You would not have to carry fuel, and thus would not have to accelerate that fuel, which in itself requires some additional fuel. (2) The time/distance over which that energy has to be expended is greatly increased, meaning only a nudge for a sustained period is required vs. a sustained explosion for a much shorter distance. Kinda like a long wind-up I suppose.
Ok, ok, so there are a couple of minor technical problems, aside from the obvious lack of an uber material to withstand the heat and pressure. Tectonic movement might complicate things just slightly. Any "stationary" gas in the tunnel would cause a problem, as it would be exceptionally dense at the middle and might not like a craft coming through at some 40000+ mph. And it wouldn't seem to be particularly useful for sending items into orbit. You'd need to keep the tunnel rather clean as well, since there might be this odd tendancy for debris to collect in the middle. And an "engine failure" might leave you with a bit more difficult of an emergency exit than jumping out and opening a parachute.
Ah... but it's fun to dream wild dreams sometimes.
