Re: Cannibalism (and yes it is on topic)

G'day guys,

 >And don't forget the laws of Thermodynamics.	Eating another ship
 >would not be 100% efficient.	There would be some waste.  So, eating
 >a mass 12 ship might only give you 6 mass toward a new ship.
 >(I'm pulling numbers out to the air here, but you get the general
idea.)

Actually it be closer to about 2-3 mass if they're anything like 
terrestrial life which only have efficiencies of about 20-25%.

While I don't mind the principle of Imre's idea, I do think its more a 
strategic time-scale thing (so the only time you'd see it in a battle
would 
be if you stumbled across it mid process say). This is not only for 
ecological reasons (ingestion and breakdown on such grand scales isn't 
going to be fast), but also because I have a gut feeling (haven't run
any 
numbers) that it could break the system otherwise. As it stands wombs 
curb/avoid the situation where a SDN sized SV sits there shrugging off
turn 
after turn of damage as it cannibalises its sister ships (you can only 
produce/consume so many drones a turn and thus the damage can mount up).

Cheers

Beth

------------------------------------------------------------------------
---- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Elizabeth Fulton
c/o CSIRO Division of Marine Research
GPO Box 1538
HOBART
TASMANIA 7001
AUSTRALIA
Phone (03) 6232 5018 International +61 3 6232 5018
Fax 03 6232 5053 International +61 3 6232 5053

email: beth.fulton@marine.csiro.au