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To: burzum
Oh, I should also mention that since power equals force times velocity, it probably wouldn’t be feasible to be able to power the thrusters after the beginning of the trip so the initial forces will have to be much higher.

Err, I mean that the thrusters will have the same power applied, but will lose thrust the faster you go, so your initial thrust has to be much higher than the lower thrust (using the same power) later in the trip (because KE = 1/2 mv² and you have to pay 4 times the energy for every doubling of velocity).

48 posted on 09/10/2007 7:05:10 PM PDT by burzum (None shall see me, though my battlecry may give me away -Minsc)
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To: burzum
Ummmmm ... no.

Whatever mass you're kicking out of the back of the vehicle is accelerated relative to the vehicle. No matter how fast the vehicle is going, if the mass-flow-rate and the delta-v is the same, the thrust produced is the same and the energy cost is the same.

49 posted on 09/10/2007 7:13:29 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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