Re: Slow Stealth
- From: Luke Campbell <lwcamp@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:42:57 -0800 (PST)
On Feb 23, 5:21 am, Jack Tingle <wjtin...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Mass drivers probably have the lowest radiated signature of any
propulsion system.
Nah, because you need to power the mass driver with something else.
Fission? You have a waste heat of about twice your usable electric
work that you can pump into the mass driver (maybe only about equal
to, but slightly greater than, your electric work if you use an
advanced helium cooled high temperature fast reactor). In this case a
nuke-thermal drive is actually stealthier than a mass driver, because
the nuke thermal exhaust comes out hot, and the exhaust cools the
reactor so you don't need radiators. Hot means a higher peak black
body spectrum, which means fewer photons radiated per unit energy
produced. Fewer photons means a lower signal to noise ratio. You are
also able to turn maybe 80% to 90% of the thermal power into useful
work, so only 10% to 20% of the total thermal power is radiated away
(mostly in the drive plume which, as I mentioned, is hot).
Now the bit about keeping the radiators edge on to your observer is
clever, but as others have noted it is not particularly effective
assuming a civilization with an extensive presence in space. And if
they don't have an extensive presence in space while you are capable
of moving asteroids, you probably out-class them so badly that there
is no need to be stealthy.
Luke
.
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