Re: Vector Rules

On Tue, 7 Oct 1997, Imre A. Szabo wrote:

Status: RO

> No!  It uses lots of small little manuevering thrusters to do so. 
There
> is no reason why a billion ton supper-battleship couldn't rotate, stop
> rotating, and then fire its main engines in one turn.  Remember
> micro-gravity.  It doesn't take that much thrust to rotate and stop
> rotating a billion to supper-battleship.  

Ehhhhhhhh, what?

Tell you what, let's go down to the nearest lake.  To you, I'll float a
8'
long, 1' thick oak log.  I'll take a 8" long, 1" thick oak twig.  You
turn
yours in the water, I'll turn mine.  One rotation, then stop.  Reverse
that motion.  Repeat a hundred times.  Let's see who's out of breath and
wishing he hadn't been sitting hip-deep in the lake.

Entropy always wins and Inertia is His Handmaiden.  It takes a /huge/
amount of thrust to rotate a billion tonne super dreadnaught.  Don't be
silly.	It takes just as much thrust to sweep it through one complete
rotation as to move it one ship-length, I'd imagine.  One of our
numericists can crank the exact numbers.  :)

-- 
[  Alexander Williams {thantos@alf.dec.com/zander@photobooks.com}  ]
[ Alexandrvs Vrai,  Prefect 8,000,000th Experimental Strike Legion ]
[	     BELLATORES INQVIETI --- Restless Warriors		   ]
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