Re: SF rocket propulsion?

"Erik Max Francis" <max@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9N-dnRujR7_LPanZRVn-og@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MajorOz wrote:
(as I age, memory gets fuzzy, but...) ISTR that when any element
approaches absolute zero, it takes on some of the characteristics of a
metal. Could that metal be ferromagnetic?
If so, then H or He would both be capable of being driven by a mass
driver -- and, of course, our REALLY BIG SCOOP would be funneling it
in.

Not all elements. You're probably thinking of hydrogen, which takes on
metallic problems when under extreme pressure ("liquid metallic
hydrogen").

And I think it was "The Mote in God's Eye" where ET's were coming toward a
human colony in a starship, and the ship could be seen to be rendezvousing
with fuel tanks which presumably had been fired from the home system by mass
driver. This prompted speculation that the hydrogen might have been
compressed to a liquid metallic state, such that a current in it could
provide a magnetic handle for the mass driver to grab hold of.

Eh, I might be wrong about which Niven/Pournell novel that was. Didn't the
Moties use laser-driven sails?

--


Regards,
Mike Combs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth
I bid you stand, Men of the West!
Aragorn


.

Relevant Pages

  • Force equals mass times acceleration
    ... how many of you are physicists? ... with all the talk about 1000cc driver heads and generating the swingspeed ... the mass the greater the force--F=ma. ... to find either greater swing speed, which is hard as hell cause...well, ...
    (rec.sport.golf)
  • Re: no drivers for mass storage device
    ... I'm having problems with 2 of my computers recognizing USB mass storage ... none of the choices I select (Install Automatically, search web, etc) find ... driver and was wondering if there was a way to get just that driver back ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • USB Host Mass storage issue
    ... I have developed a host controller driver for a custom controller on Win ... I have debugged the issue and found that after the enumeration is over mass ... I have seen the bus trace and found that the host is ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.platbuilder)
  • Re: IRL v. N Track Safety
    ... a driver from a Panoz or Dallara cockpit. ... The mass of metal is the problem. ... much harder to extricate a driver from a Cup car. ...
    (rec.autos.sport.nascar.moderated)
  • HELP
    ... The driver for this device are not installed (code28) ... What is the (mass) for,I can't uninstall it,or what drivers ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.general)