The list is too quiet and I'm trying my hand at writing, so looking for some
informed input here. Does anyone here have any comments on what reasonable
acceleration limits might be? Thinking of using a magnetic or perhaps gravitic
accelerator to boost a Full Thrust missile, so the main questions are:
a) would the mag fields involved in throwing the missile be likely to
screw up the missile sensors / hardware? If so, can we get around that
with some (mild/moderate/major?) modifications to the missile package?
Is something likely to melt?
b)what kind of physical accelaration can a missile reasonably be expected to
stand? I'd like to get a "we can currently build stuff that will take X g's
and in theory we can get it up to Y g's".
Most of the current limitations are due to atmosphere effects. I would think
that solid state components would be able to sustain 10s of G forces. IIRC
Traveller assumed humans could sustain up to 6G for prolonged periods.
Michael Brown mwsaber6@msn.com
[quoted original message omitted]
> Laserlight wrote:
> The list is too quiet and I'm trying my hand at writing, so looking for
> some informed input here.
> Full Thrust missile, so the main questions are:
Is
> something likely to melt?
If your missiles were built to be launched from a magnetic or gravitic
launcher, there shouldn't be any problem. If they were not, you're probably
better off building new missiles from scratch than trying to modify old ones
to fit the new launcher.
> b)what kind of physical accelaration can a missile reasonably be
We can manage several hundred g today... tomorrow we should be able to do
better still.
Regards,
> --- laserlight@verizon.net wrote:
> Thinking of using a magnetic or perhaps gravitic accelerator to
Sensor and guidance packages can now be designed to survive the shock of
cannon launch, so a grav or EM driver should be fine over the length of time
of launch impulse.
For ref.: According to the Discovery channel show "Futureweapons", Episode
"Smart Weapons" (on last night:)), the GPS guidance package on the new
"Excalibur" 155mm artillery shell is designed to survive routine launch
impulse of 8000g, and in testing survived overpressure launch impulse of
16000g, while still
managing to arrive within 2 meters of a target at 20miles/32km range,
even when
launched off-axis by 15 degrees. Video clips on the Discovery channel
website (and maybe your TiVo).
Copperhead laser guided warheads and SADARM IR/radar sensors survived
155mm cannon launch impulse based on 1980's and 1990's technology,
respectively.
J