Re: Quick question about a STL trip - and another...

On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:53:32 -0700, IsaacKuo wrote:

On Aug 21, 11:28 am, Jacey Bedford <lookin...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In message
<dbfdda79-0083-4bbb-8545-51a908596...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
IsaacKuo <mech...@xxxxxxxxx> writes

My prefered braking drive is a kinetic impact powered rocket. The main
starship is a large magloop with perhaps a dozen payload modules
strung along it like necklace beads.  This can use magsail braking to
reduce its speed.  Behind the main starship is an auxiliary ship
containing a payload of zillions of tiny little robot chips, as well
as a nuclear powered laser to provide power to the chips.  Before
arriving at the destination system, the auxiliary ship releases the
chips, and they fly themselves into a linear formation along the
laser.

Since the main starship has used magsail braking, the chip formation
catches up.  The starship maneuvers to line itself up with the laser,
so the chips pass through the loop-shaped starship.  It puffs
propellant gas in front of it.  Relativistic kinetic impacts with the
robot chips cause explosions of plasma far more energetic than nuclear
reactions or even antimatter reactions.  The resulting relativistic
charged particles get deflected by the starship's magnetic field,
producing backwards braking thrust.

This is probably a silly question (since I assume that you've thought this
through), but won't the plasma produced by the impact retain most of the
momentum of the chip?

If so, how does this help you brake?

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Relevant Pages

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