Re: Fuel, Ramjets, and the Darwin Awards (was Re: in 'defense' of FT missiles... ;-) )

>Ok.  I found the artical.
>
>Analog magazine May 1992
>
>Science Fact artical: The magnetic sail by Robert M. Zubrin
>
>Pages 58 - 75
>
>
>This artical is filled with formulas (most seem like greek to me!)  It
>talks about how the sail would keep running once it was charged up. 
>Using the latest Superconducting materials, the wire would have an
>operating temperature higher than that found in space.  So it would not
>loose its charge until it was turned off (ie discharged it).
>
>The wire sail has a much smaller surface area than a light sail, and
>much less mass.  The light sail would be extreamly vulnerable to
>micrometeorites.
>
>This shows how a pre-ftl civilization could spread through their home
>system in a short time.  I like being able to backup my future
>civilizations with real science.  Gives em that extra bit of realizem.
>
>Donald Hosford
>
I believe Roleplayer, the Gurps newsletter that eventually morphed into
Pyramid, had a pretty good article on using magsails in a generic
near-future SF universe.  It covered what tech levels were required to
build the various components, and also had several formulas about their
use, but I suspect they were "dumbed down" to make them more playable
while
still retaining the flavor of reality (kinda like FT's movement system
vs
real physics).	I'll comb the mighty Chipman Archives to see if I can
come
up with the article.

Take care,

Tre