"We need more power Scotty." In Star Trek, the fictional character, Zefram Cochrane, in the year 2064 breaks the light speed barrier by useing Warp Drive. After years of pains takeing research and development, he creates the first possible and practical FTL propulsion system. A Warp Drive has a warp core, power transfer conduits, plasma injectors, warp nacelles, and many other complicated machines that must all work together in order to take a ship to warp speed. Somehow, the warp nacelles create a warp field, a bending of space-time around the ship. This warp field is like a mini universe around the ship, this mini universe is called subspace, or subspace field. By useing a complicated system of positive and negitive magnets, warp coils, all in a constant state of being swichted and reversed on time scales of a few microseconds, the subspace field moves through normal space at FTL speeds. However in the subspace field the ship is not actually moveing, just the field. So the crew suffers no million G accelloration or time delation. I posted this so people who have a relitively good understanding of Warp Drive, and it's cousins like transwarp corridors and quantum slipstream, can talk and discuss about WARP DRIVE, no other FTL systems. So, whats your idea on warp drive?

"Welcome to the Twenty Fourth Century"
Captain Picard, TNG "The Neutral Zone"

__________________
<span style='color:green'>&quot;We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be add to our own. Resistance is futile.&quot;
Borg Hail</span>

Like each hallucinogen warp drive is a dreamworld artifact that distracts us from the real world of legitimate space travel.

__________________
For those inclined to oppose human meddling with the structure of the universe or the composition and configuration of objects and groups of objects within the universe, consider:
Whether there is a limit to the magnitude of a modulation of chaos below which order remains invariant? Or, is order but a fiction invented by perspectives applied over finite, however large, time intervals?

I agree. I'd also suggest that if warp drive were economically possible with some kind of future technology, we'd have had card-carrying extraterrestrial visitors by now.

More specifically, I don't think that anything will allow the bending of space without disrupting the delicate forces that hold matter together within the space being bent.

__________________
Forming opinions as we speak

Hey hey, let's not give up so quick guys.

I haven't read all of it, and there's plenty here I don't understand, but here's some stuff about it, from Brighton University, a legitimate university in England.

Ziggy... I hope you enjoy, go look at some papers.

Enjoy

__________________
<span style='color:purple'>My voices don't like you!</span>

Warp drive reminds me of supercavitation. This a friction-reducing technology. In the instance of a submarine torpedo, a pocket of air cossets the missle, therefore the water does not touch it - effectively, it behaves like an air-to-air missle, resulting in massive speed gains. Warp drive seeks to circumvent 'normal' space by creating it's own. It makes a certain kind of logical sense to me. Captain.

Space is being bent around Earth (and everything else), and I'm pretty sure that's not disrupting anything...

Hey Galaxygirl

When you said [QUOTE]Space is being bent around Earth (and everything else), and I'm pretty sure that's not disrupting anything...

If I fell in a black hole (they bend space) does that mean I wouldn't be disrupted?
(I feel disrupted every monday morning!)

Maybe the size of the deformation matters? :blink:

Great article Weaselbunny!

__________________
<span style='color:green'>&quot;We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be add to our own. Resistance is futile.&quot;
Borg Hail</span>

Assuming we could generate a gravitational dipole and warp space (and assuming the generator is attached to the spaceship), why would that move the ship anywhere? It seems to be the equivalent of pulling on your bootstraps. In this case, a gravitational dipole would pull on one end of the ship and push on the other, but it would also push on one end of the field generators and pull on the other. No net force would be generated, cancelling out the propulsive effect.

I also have a hard time seeing how a ship stuck in a bizzare gravitational field would end up travelling faster than light relative to the surrounding universe. It might dialate time in some bizzare way on the ship, but both the field and the mass within it are part of this universe and should still obey all the pertinent relatavistic laws.

__________________
http://amssolarempire.blogspot.com

Einstein's relativity does permits warping time (time dilation) to permit faster than light velocities(warp speed) with respect to (wrt) the ship accelerating at 1 g wrt the earth even though the velocity wrt the earth is less than C. Derived from the same equations warping space by accelerating at a constant 1 g with respect to the ship one warps both space and time also thereby obtaining warp speed wrt earth.

Using Einstein's equations placed in a Java Calculator:


For a one way trip to the the closest star at a constant 1g wrt earth to mid trip point and decelerating at 1 g the remainder of the journey.

Trip length: 4.25 light years (ly)
Acceleration: 1.0 g wrt earth
Time on earth: 5.8780560467144 years.
Time on ship: 3.544401860293398 years

As Velocity = distance traveled/ time traveled

Velocity average wrt ship = 4.25 ly/3.5 year = 1.2 C = warp speed 1.2 wrt ship
Velocity average wrt earth = .732 C

In the case of a 1 g acceleration measured wrt the ship so that the crew "feels" a constant artifical gravity field of 1 g the entire trip the rocket man returns to earth to find his left behind evil twin his same age having warped both space and time to obtain warp speed 1.2 wrt earth.

For a one way trip to the edge of the observable universe measuring a constant 1g wrt earth to midpoint and decelerating at 1 g the remainder of the journey.

Trip length: 1.7E10 light years.
Acceleration: 1.0 g.
Time on earth: 1.7004884192539843E10 years.
Time on ship: 45.71651222563561 years.

Velocity average with respect to (wrt) earth =
17E10 light years /1.7004884192539843 years =
.99971277707718905089055716347216 C
Velocity average wrt ship
1.7E10 light years/45.71651222563561 =
371856888.C

1 g acceleration wrt earth wrt earth Velocity = .99971277707718905089055716347216 C
Velocity average wrt ship = warp speed 371856888.7
of case one (1 g wrt earth).

In case two (1 g wrt ship)
This is also the velocity wrt earth when measuring the constant 1 g wrt ship.

Therefore, the rocket man returns to earth 90 years later to find his left behind evil twin his same age instead of ancient bones having warped both space and time to obtain:
warp speed 371856888.7 wrt earth.

If Christ was resurrected after death and did ascended to the heavens on a 1 g rocket ship to visit his father at a 1000 ly distant star he could return today Obeying Einstein's laws some 27 years older and he might be ticked off so behave as:

Trip length: 1000.0 light years.
Acceleration: 1.0 g.
Time on earth: 1002.2235407106124 years.
Time on ship: 13.453214568643295 years.


For the energy requirements and atomic rocket technology
for say a minimum distance to mars?
Minimum Trip length: 5.7605E-6 light years.
Acceleration: 1.0 g.
Time on earth: 0.006683627669698874 years. (1.73 days)
Time on ship: 0.00668361442242196 years.(1.73 days)
Velocity Max= 1g times time to mid distance = 687.960 km/sec

Estimating the ratio of mass final/mass initial >=.99 as atomic powered rockets are a minimum of 100,000,000 times as powerful as
chemical rockets of the same size when operating at near 100% efficiency like current chemical rockets so for same size payload to
given velocities the engine can be 100,000:1 for fission engines to 1,000,000,000:1 to one for fusion engines smaller by that factor.

Algebraic shorthand operands
: denotes defined as;
^denotes exponent;
~ approximate
delta denotes "change in"

Variables
V=velocity; Vr=velocity of rocket; Ve= velocity of exhaust
E=Energy; Ek = kinetic energy; Ep = potential energy
M=Mass; Mr=mass of rocket; Me = Mass of Exhaust

Constants
1 HorsePower = 33,000 Foot Pounds / 1 Minute
C = 186,000 miles/sec as constant velocity of light
g = 1gravity= 32.2 feet/sec^2
Gearth =earth gravitational constant = 6.67 x 10^-11 N*m^2 / kg^2 (Gmars ~1/3Gearth
r =equatorial radius of Earth =6378 km
mars distance =Minimum = 54.5Ee6 kilometers; Maximum 401.3e6 kilometers

Equations(eq)
(eq. 1) MeVe=MrVr :=momen6um conservative static science equation of rockets conserving momentum
(eq. 1a) Vrfinal = Vrinitial Ve * ln([Mr Me] / Mr := nonconservative engineering dynamic rocket equation
Not useful for atomic rockets as the Mf is much greater than 10 but very useful for chemical rockets
with typical Mf much less than 1 .(082 for space shuttle) so not used below as the difference in
calculated values as it is thought insignificant if not zero and 1a introduces errors with high Mf.
(eq.2) Ek = (MV^2)/2 := kinetic energy
(eq.3) Ep = MC^2 := potential energy
(eq.4) Ve=MrVr/Me := exhaust velocity
(eq.5) Vr = MeVe/Mr := rocket velocity
(eq.6) Vescape=square root ( 2GM/r)
(eq.7) Thrust =Mr * deltaVr/delta T = -Ve* delta Me/delta t
(eq. specifc impules(Isp) = Thrust /mass flow rate times g or = Mass flow rate* Ve; or
Isp = Ve/g
(eq.9) V=AT = acceleration times time
(eq.10) Mf= Mass fraction= (Mr Me)/Me

Calculated constants or Specified constants
Mr=100,000 tons
Me~=1000 tons
Thrust== -436 trillion horse power
Mass converted to energy ~= 1 ton
Total Impulse Momentum(Itot) =2887799039640 tons- feet/minute (deep space)
Isp = 1,494,200 seconds = specific impulse in earth's gravity field
Vescape from Earth = 11.2 km/sec; acceleration time at 1.2 g = 97.2 minutes
Vescape from Mars ~= 3.7 km/sec; acceleration time at .53 g = 32.4 minutes
Vrpeak at mid point=687.960 km/sec
Tmin = minimum distance one way trip time= 1.73 days 129.6 minutes = 1.82 days
Tmax = maximum distance coasting at zero mid journey for 1.45 days Tmin = 2.64 days
Round trip = 5.3 days (plus 1 day minus 3 days)

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Good Points Asei!

In general though, what makes me wonder how FTL could come about is that, again, referring to the source of Star Trek, everything about Warp Drive has to work just so perfectly.

Whenever I try to tell folks about switching to compact flourescent light bulbs instead of heat producing incandescent bulbs, I mention that the CF's use 75% less electricity and produce less heat, heat which their air conditioner doesn't have to remove. That they could save $80 plus dollars of electricity over the life of the CF bulb, and then fewer greenhouse gases are produced.

This is an example of a small engineering type of system compared to a warp drive, with lots of obvious advantages, and it's an uphill sell to the average person. And, I'm surprised at how many engineering types are resistant(tiny joke!) too.

So it's difficult for me to imagine today's researchers coming up with FTL via Warp Drive technology.

__________________
Pre-Quote: 'To survive one has to experiment. When the environment changes, the traditional way of doing things doesn't work.'

Quote:
&quot;It's the outriders, the organisms that seem to be maladjusted before the change, which are the only ones that survive these changes...in that way a species continues.&quot;

Carl Sagan

I still think that Warp Drive has the best chance for FTL travel. I will admit it's still largly a theory that can't be proven or disproven at the moment. So, whats the battle cry for all those who beleive in FTL travel? "The plans Divinchi made for a flying machine 500 years ago, were built and flown in 2002. We could have had powered flight 400 years ago!" Thats our cry!

__________________
<span style='color:green'>&quot;We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be add to our own. Resistance is futile.&quot;
Borg Hail</span>

STARSHIP ENGINE
PLASMA ROCKET ENGINE
(ATOMIC POWERED ROCKET)

Inventor: Thomas Hulon Jackson Citizenship: United States of America
Starship1@sbcglobal.net

Universal Patent Number 1
Star Ship Operators License Number 1
Expiration Date- None
Disclosure Document Number: 210758
Authority: U.S.,PCT;
Patents pending
U.S. 07/247,498 Plasma rocket engine;
International Patent Cooperation Treaty
PCT/US89/05888 Star Ship.

Restrictive Notice:
Table of Contents

Brief Discription of the Drawings
Drawings -Figures 1 to 4
Legend of the Drawings
(Fig 5 Animation added year 2000 for net display)
Invention/Inventor
Background of Invention
Field of Invention
Description of the Prior Art
Summary of the Invention
Description of a Preferred Embodiment
Claims 1 to 7
Abstract

Drawings
Figures 1 to 4

Fig I A plasma rocket engine showing cross section of engine in
starting mode with a magnified view of the plasma generator in off
position.

Fig 2 Shows a means to obtain fuel disks from radioactive metal to be
inserted in a plasma generator and stacked above critical mass to
generate a plasma.

Fig 3 Shows a means to determine critical mass from a radioactive
metal to be used to manufacture fuel disks, also, a plasma generator
shown in off, on and plasma mode.

Fig 4 A preferred embodiment of a means to obtain a fully functional
plasma engine (shown with plasma generator in plasma state). This is
opposed to fig. 1 which is a one start, go where you point it basic
engine.

Figure 5 Engine Animation- added year 2000 for net display

LEGEND OF DRAWINGS
The following is (are) the preferred embodiment(s) of:
1 a solid casing open at one end to expel exhaust and with a
propellant storage and delivery system (shown with optional cooling
path) to a plasma chamber.
2 a liquid propellant.
3 a plasma generator assembly.
4 a means of nozzles and openings to direct propellant flow (four
shown)
5 a fuel disk(s).
6 a fuel disk guide post (2 shown).
7 an electric starter motor.
8 a worm gear.
9 a burning plasma.
10 a crucible with radioactive metal cubes.
11 a heat source.
12 a Geiger counter.
13 a fuel disk mold.
14 a Worm gear shape.
15 exhaust focusing nozzles (2 shown).
16 exhaust tuning nozzles (2 shown).
17 exhaust steering nozzles (2 shown).
18 optional magnetic containment coils.
19 electromechanical propellant pumps.
20 exhaust focusing tuning and steering pumps.
21 an exhaust port.
22 a plasma chamber.
23 separated metal cubes.
24 cubes arranged and stacked in a disk shape to determine
critical mass.
25 a critical mass graph with radioactive curve expressed as
a function of mass and radiation to determine Geiger
counter "runaway" of critical mass point (c.m). The
fuel disk mass is one half this point.


BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
My invention is an atomic rocket engine that contains a plasma
generated by radioactive metal above critical mass. It uses the heat
to accelerate a liquid propellant. The energy produced gives thousands
of times more thrust per pound than chemical rockets presently used and
produces greater efficiency and velocity than proposed atomic rockets.

2. DESCRlPTlON OF THE PRIOR ART
Theodore Taylor's Project Orion uses a series of small atomic bomb
explosions on a "pusher plate" to obtain thrust. The disadvantage is
that due to cooling time between explosions the time the engine is on
compared to the time it is off gives a very low efficiency or duty
cycle [Time on divided by (time on + time off) = duty cycle). One is
desirable.

The propellant shrapnel is expelled from the pusher plate
in all directions from behind it. This wastes the majority of the
energy used in energy vectors perpendicular to the line of travel. He
indirectly uses atomic energy to build bombs, then used these bombs to
build a rocket engine. A device that may work but is not energy
efficient; however, it will probably create more thrust per pound of
engine weight than chemical rockets.


His invention's problems are low duty cycle, inefficient exhaust,
indirect means of propulsion, and the use of atomic bombs subject to
theft. Also, the use of atomic bombs in space is forbidden by
international treaty. My invention eliminates all the above problems.
The other atomic rocket encounters one of the above problems and
one additional one my invention eliminates. He uses atomic energy to
operate a reactor and uses the electricity produced from heat to
liquid hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. He then uses
electricity to strip electrons from hydrogen atoms. He uses the small
remainder to accelerate the positive ions for propulsion. The safety
problem of a over heated reactor and liquid hydrogen is obvious as is
the inefficiency of the many steps he uses to get indirectly from
atomic energy to propellant through this is partially off set by the
production of oxygen and electricity for the pay load.


His invention's problems are indirect means of propulsion and a
inefficient atomic reactor with it's safety concerns. My invention
solves all the above problems by using all the power available in
atomic energy to directly accelerate the propellant in a line parallel
to the direction of travel in a continuous on state. This eliminates
the energy waste of the above rockets enabling it to accelerate the
same pay load mass to many times the velocity of prior art. The safety
factor of eliminating the atomic bombs and the liquid hydrogen is
considerable. The future chemical and nuclear costs of solar system
or galactic exploration with prior art will be astronomical. I
invention will reduce that cost astronomically.



SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention is an atomic rocket engine that contains and
harnesses a Plasma in a liquid propellant and casing to directly
effect the rapid expansion of the propellant; thereby, expelling the
propellant out of an exhaust port causing acceleration of the engine
which consists of a means to contain the plasma in three dimensions,
whereby; the energy from the plasma directly causes the liquid
propellant plasma container to rapidly expand from chemical and atomic
change and this changed liquid propellant is contained in the two
dimensions of the casing with the "leak" in the third dimension used
to provide propulsion.


To make my invention fully functional in the environment it is
required to operate, the means are described to obtain the functions
of steering, starting once and multiple times, planned and emergency
stops, regulating propellant flow, tuning and focusing the exhaust,
casing cooling, artificial gravity, auxiliary power, increasing
velocity to permit intra and extra galactic exploration, replenishing
the propellant from deep space, manufacturing the fuel disks and
protecting the engine and pay load from meteorite collisions.
Also described is a means of converting the engine to a electric
generator to power a space and earth habitat as is a means of
modifying my invention to convert earth stored radioactive waste and
toxic chemical waste to harmless atoms and subatomic particles and
deliver the remainder to deep space economically.



DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
(DETAILED DESCRIPTION)
My invention is a rocket engine that consists of a solid container
(casing 1) open at one end to emit exhaust from an exhaust port 21.
The opposite end and sides are closed but contain openings 4 to admit
a liquid spray (propellant 2) directed to contain a plasma 9
consisting of radioactive metal (fuel disks 5) above critical mass
located in a plasma chamber 22 (the hollow inside of a casing 1). The
vaporization of the liquid propellant 2 creates a vapor container for
the plasma 9 isolating and insulating it from the casing 1; thereby,
preventing melting. The plasma 9 is balanced and contained in the
liquid envelope balanced by the dynamic pressures created. (This is
similar to a ping pong ball in an air stream enclosed in a tube of
greater diameter than the ball to provide stabilization.) The energy
from the plasma 9 directly causes the liquid propellant 2
plasma 9 container to rapidly expand from chemical and atomic changes;
whereby, this changed liquid propellant 2 is contained in the two
dimensions of the casing I with the "leak" in the third dimension used
to provide propulsion by the action and reaction law.


Additional stabilization that may be required in some operating
modes can be obtained from electro-magnetic containment field coils
18, constructed with conventional technology, used to confine the
plasma 9 in one or two dimensions by using the electro-magnetic
properties of the plasma 9. Three of the above mentioned operating
modes of turning, starting and rapid acceleration change may cause
the inertial mass of the plasma 9 to increase to where it overcomes
the propellant 2 containment properties, therefore may require
additional containment to prevent the plasma 9 from becoming
unbalanced in it's plasma chamber 22.


A means to generate the plasma 9 is obtained by fuel disks 5 of
radioactive metal below critical mass which when stacked together by
a plasma generator assembly 3 using a electric motor 7 to turn a worm
gear 8, thereby; moving the disks 5 along the guide posts 6 to the non-
threaded portion of the worm gear 8 where they obtain critical mass
and generate heat in the range below the melting point of the
radioactive metal to the temperature of a blue white star depending
on the total mass of the fuel disks 5 and the quality of the fuel
used. The hotter and larger the Plasma 9 contained the more mass in
the propellant 2 and fuel disks 5 is converted to energy giving faster
acceleration effects and, therefore, velocities. Velocities based on
ratios of chemical rockets, mass and velocities, to projected atomic
rockets, mass and velocities, indicate a range of velocities from dead
stop to in excess of that of light, therefore, my invention may
provide a means to test Einstein's theory that a man made object other
than a particle accelerator may be found to travel faster than light.


A means of steering is obtained by directing liquid propellant 2
from the exhaust port 21 nozzles and openings 17 to alter the
direction of the ejected propellant 2. Another means is obtained by
the artificial gravity of acceleration for self regulation. A means
of pumping the fluid at various pressure is desirable for various
plasma 9 sizes and acceleration rates required of the engine
therefore, mechanical regulation can be obtained by conventional
pumping technology.


A means of constricting the exhaust propellant diameter to effect
plasma chamber 22 pressure; thereby, tuning and focusing the exhaust
for pencil thin efficiency can be obtained by directing with openings
and nozzles 16, 17 the liquid propellant 2 to the center of the
exhaust port 21 to effect narrowing and acceleration of the propellant
2 stream.


The solid casing I can be cooled by the internal circulation of
propellant 2 part of which is used for steering, focusing, and tuning
and The preheated remainder is directed at the plasma 9 for further
confinement and to prevent thermal shock that may be present.
Artificial gravity is provided for extended space flight by the
acceleration and deceleration rates of an engine that can burn
continuously providing one 9 of acceleration.


Auxiliary power is provided by thermo-couples attached to the
casing 1 to generate electricity for the pay load requirements of
electricity. Also, oxygen may be generated from the electrolysis of
water. The waste products from the air and surplus hydrogen may be
added to the propellant 2.


A means of increasing the velocities obtained by multi-stage
operation for sensor probes in intra or extra galactic exploration can
be obtained by making stacked engines of a size to propel the engines
to escape velocity of earth, solar system, and milky way in that order
Two means of replacing the propellant 2 from frozen liquids on
asteroids, moons, or planets is obtained. One by directing the exhaust
at a frozen mass, two by a plasma generator assembly 3 started a body
of frozen propellant 2 will melt it; thereby, allowing conventional
pumping techniques to be used as with a propellant 2 found in a liquid
state.


A means of manufacturing fuel disks 5 from high grade radioactive
metal found extra-terrestrially can be obtained by the following means.
The maximum size a disk 5 can made changes with the ratio of
unstable isotopes to stable in a radioactive metal. 40% to 80%
reactor grade and 80% or higher bomb grade is suitable. The actual
size depends on the element and the quality available. The more
unstable and heavier (Atomic Mass) the greater the heat generated by
atomic parts hitting other unstable atoms producing heat. This is
best determined by experiment.


Arrange 1/2 inch cubes 23 in a disk shape 24 with a (5 to 4):1
ratio of diameter to thickness. The sides should be touching.
Monitor the pile with a Geiger counter 12. As the mass is increased
linearly, (one cube at a time). the radiation will increase
exponentially. Plotted on a graph 25, the y axis is radiation. x
axis is mass. The curve starts with a low slope going to a sharp
rise. The steep rise (marked as c.m. for critical mass) is that point
where the temperature rises. This makes it unsuitable in a fuel disk
5 resulting in melting the shape of the disks to changes it where it
is no longer the disk you designed. When the Geiger count starts to
'run away', physically separate the cubes 24 and take 1/2 the mass,
from this point and place in a crucible 10. (Caution) Give the
separated cubes 24 time to cool down. The cubes 24 are then melted
over a heat source 11. They should be monitored by Geiger counter 12
to assure the radiation is stable. 4 slight rise is expected. 4
rapid rise requires that the contents of the crucible 10 be scattered
by pouring in a sweeping motion through water. Begin again with a
smaller mass. Pour in a disk mold 13 with it's worm gear shape 14 and
a (5 to 4): 1, diameter to thickness, ratio. When cooled at room
temperature for 24 hours, measure the temperature. If the temperature
is more than 90 degrees thin with hacksaw or lathe. (Disk faces
should be parallel.) They can then be installed in the plasma
generating assembly 3.


A means to protect the rocket and pay load from projectile
collisions with dust and matter it may encounter may be obtained by
reducing the cross section of the craft, thereby, streamlining it. My
invention may be shaped as a long cylinder to aid in streamlining.
Another means of protection may be found with metals that have a shape
memory effect when heated. By anticipating the collision of solid
matter using conventional technology (such as radar or metal
detectors), a heating electric current may be generated through the
shape memory effect metal to resist the original penetration at the
time of impact by the force of the spring back effect plus the
thickness of the metal, thereby, creating an electric armor of my own
invention.


A means of converting the engine to a electric generator for
power a space and earth habitat is obtained by mounting the engine on
the ground of planet or moon with the exhaust pointed upwards and
using the thermo couples to power the manufacture of devices to
contain the uncontained third dimension of the exhaust port 21. In
practice 90% or less containment is needed for more containment may
result in the melt down of the engine. Energy present in the exhaust
as heat, light, mechanical and other forms can be tapped with
conventional thermo couples, turbine generators, solar cells and other
common energy converters.


Earth requires 100% containment so the harmful wastes of the 100
uncontained exhaust and any other from the conventional energy taps
may be collected in a low impedance container and recycled in the
propellant 2 directed at the plasma 9 where it's temperatures can'
render them harmless by altering the chemical and atomic structure;
thereby, decreasing the half lives of radioactive atoms to where they
stabilize in an ecological short time.


A means of detoxifying radioactive and chemical wastes is obtained
by mixing low level radioactive and chemical wastes with the
propellant 2. High level radioactive material can be combined with
the fuel disks 5. This allows the plasma 9 temperatures to break down
the chemical and atomic structures into harmless components. That
quantity not practical to convert to energy can be economically
delivered by my invention to deep space.

[To examiner]:
An atomic theory explaining the atomic alteration
of a liquid propellant 2 of water to it's exhaust form
"plasmelt" (coined from that which is melted and
vaporized by a plasma 9) from a plasma 9 of americium
241 in a steel casing I is beyond requirement for this
patent application for it's theoretical and therefore,
transient nature. A detailed atomic theory can be
found in the document disclosed at the time of this
application.


CLAIMS
I claim:
1. My invention is an atomic rocket engine that provides a means
to contain a plasma, generated by radioactive metal
above critical mass, by using a liquid propellant to contain
the plasma and insulate a casing from it; thereby, directly
changing the chemical and atomic structure of a liquid
propellant; thereby causing expansion which is contained
in two dimensions with the leak of the changed propellant from
the third dimension; thereby accelerating the engine.

I claim:
2. My invention uses a casing and propellant to directly
contain and harness the atomic energy of a plasma in the
dimensions required of a rocket engine and consists of all
atomic engines of this type in a range of the basic unregulated,
unguided, rocket to the fully functional engine
and that the operating temperatures of the plasma contained
range from below the melting point of the radioactive metals
used to the temperatures of a blue white star which can give
a range of velocities from dead stop to faster than light.

I claim:
3. A preferred embodiment of a means to generate a plasma by
the plasma generator assembly that can deliver one or more
multiple plasmas to the plasma chamber.

I claim:
4. My invention is a means to create temperatures of an
extent to effect the atomic and chemical structure of the
propellant; thereby, creating a means to reduce the half
life of radioactive atoms by using the plasma temperatures
to convert radioactive and chemical wastes in an
ecologically short time.

I claim:
5. My invention is a means to generate electricity
by harnessing the energy in the propellant with conventional
technology and that it effectively will contain a propellant
in two dimensions and future technology may contain it in
three dimensions therefore; should my invention be the basis
for this container in the life of this patent, I claim
credit as co-inventor.

I claim:
6. My invention is an electric armor that is a means of
protecting an object from projectile collision, whereby, a
shape memory metal is heated electrically at the time of
collision to use the metals spring back effect to add to the
effective thickness of the shield, thereby increasing the
resistance to penetration.

I claim:
7. My invention is a rocket engine that is a means to test Einstein's
theory that a man made object other than a particle accelerator
may travel faster than light.

ABSTRACT
My invention is an atomic powered rocket engine that
contains a plasma and harnesses it's energy directly to
accelerate a propellant It increases the velocities
and payload handling capabilities by many factors over present
rockets including chemical and atomic. It is more cost efficient,
more reliable, safer and faster than any previous invention
chemical or atomic. It has the potential to populate the stars with mankind.

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Umm...Holy Craaaap!.... :huh: :blink:

starship1- I don't know whether to say, "Welcome to the Forum", or "We're not Worthy!"

I'm sorry I missed your first postYou slipped that in when I had responded to Asei and then spent a few minutes writing about light bulbs.

And your second post...Wow. I'll have whatever StarLab's having right now, and make it a double, then I'll try to absorb some more.

I can tell you've spent some quality time on this.

Again, Welcome.

__________________
Pre-Quote: 'To survive one has to experiment. When the environment changes, the traditional way of doing things doesn't work.'

Quote:
&quot;It's the outriders, the organisms that seem to be maladjusted before the change, which are the only ones that survive these changes...in that way a species continues.&quot;

Carl Sagan

I'll say it for Tom: Welcome to the forum! We, the members, moderators and administrator, look forward to your input.
I cannot describe in detail what I'm having right now, but it could be one of the following: seizure, shock (& awe), relief, or just plain satisfaction that I'm not the only critical thinker in the entire forum.

Thanks for the thumbs up and hearty welcome Tom2Mars and StarLab. Good to be aamong friends and fellow manned space enthusiasts.


Actually the path to my warp drive began with a few simple steps. In 1963, I
read a signed 1955 work of Albert Einstein correcting the public
misconception that he taught of a universal light speed limit. He said he
never taught that as it was possible that a machine, other than a particle
accelerator, could be found to exceed light speed. I went looking for that
machine with out knowing if I was a victim a faked signature hoax or if he
was right or wrong.

Any how I lost the reference in 1968 so I found this reference some 40 years later.................
Therefore I conclude Einstein indeed denied ever making a light speed limit for mass claim or ever constructing such a mechanics as Henry Poincare suggested in 1904 perhaps must be constructed.

In high school in 1966, I calculated that if a object of mass was dropped into
a hypothetical constant one g gravity field of unlimited size for >355.25 days
of 1 g acceleration it would exceed light speed regardless of the mass and
energy as Velocity=Acceleration times time without mass and energy being
in the calculation.

Of course the 1 g field of unlimited size does not exist in nature, so one has
to create an artificial 1 g field using Einstein's equivalence principal of general
relativity combing gravity with inertia stating the effects of equal acceleration
and gravity are equal and indistinguishable from each other.

Looking at chemical rockets in production, I found one capable of perhaps 15
g of acceleration for perhaps 15 minutes which is the the same power as a
constant 1 g acceleration for several or more hours (3.75). Doing a little
ballpark math as there are 8544 hours at 1 g to light speed and dividing that
by 3.75 hours returns 2278.4. I therefore I would need 2278.4 times the time
of acceleration of chemical rockets to date hence 2,238 times the power.

It was clear I would need an atomic powered rocket.

Atomic power has 10^7 (fission) and 10^9 (fusion) times the power (enmergy density) of equal masses of chemical rocket engines when both operate near 100 percent efficiency. Therefore ideally I could accelerate at 1 g times 10,000,000 times 3.75 hours - 1,000,000,000 times 3.75 hours = warp speed 4389 to 438900

As both fission and fusion reactions are present in all known atomic powered
machines then a hybrid fission/fusion engine at 10^8 times the power of
equal mass of chemical rocket would reach warp speed 43890 in 42778
years and since I only need 49 years ship time at 1 g wrt ship to reach the
edge of the observable universe than a very inefficient atomic rocket at .1%
efficiency would do the job. If I could only get 1 g wrt earth I could still reach
all stars withing 43,000 light years distance from earth.

Calculating the efficiency (output power / (output power plus power losses)
known atomic rockets with best calculated trip time to near star at 45 years

such as:

Project Orion (pulse drive)
=.00025 %
Nuclear electric Propulsion (NEP)(ion drive - Project Vasimar)
.001 % efficiency
Nuclear thermal Propulsion (NTP) (solid core - Project Nerva)
= .0001 % efficiency
reference http://www.islandone.org/APC/Nuclear/chemnuke.gif
www.islandone.org/APC/

Therefore I needed to invent an engine operating near 100% as that is
common with chemical rockets. An necessity is indeed the mother of invention. I became a mom giving birth to a new invention so to speak. Easy to do as I was a teenager, but painful as I spent the next 33 years convincing others I was not crazy as I lost the signed Einstein work.

As Mass times velocity of exhaust = mass times velocity of rocket I just reduce the the 100,000 tons of the Mars rocket mass to 100 tons to achive warp speed 1.7


For the sample mars trip..
Trip length: 1.1521E-5 light years(ly).
Acceleration: 1.0 g.
Time on earth: 0.006683627669698874 years. (1.73 days)
Time on ship: 0.00668361442242196 years.

Velocity wrt earth = 0.0017237644838045070670356650784331
Velocity wrt ship = warp speed 0.0017237679003967890619212280596506

As the engineering constants have not been calculated
by physical measurement from 100's of atomic Rocket
engine tests like they have been measured and calculated
for chemical rockets I cannot just calculate
them looking up some values in engineering constant tables
as they do not exist yet for atomic engines.

Therefore I have to use analytic methods to calculate them
based on empirical equations.

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Einstein-At times like this when physical evidence
is not available one can rely on closeness to
experience (empirical evidence)"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Little boy bomb tests the ideal shape for the gunpowder chamber was an elliptical cavity of eccentricity if 1/4 of width to length, In that manner the minimum volume of gun powder was found to accelerate the uranium disk (10kg) 70%U235 and it's tamper (40kg)99%U238 to some 3,000 miles per hour to collide with a fixed 70%U235 disk.

Giving a disk face Force of impact (Fi)=MVR with R being a constant of rigidity twixt zero and one with one being diamond Uranium being .98 Guinness world record pressure was achieved.

I use the same shape for my plasma chamber with the super critical mass at one focus and the liquid reduction nozzle at the other as any ray or particle of water or steam heated gaining velocity in any direction from the metal plasma's temperature of above 50,000 Kelvin will bounce (reflect) off the chambers walls arriving at the exhaust convergent nozzle entrance. Likewise the balancing force of all the pressure reflected from the chamber walls arrives at the plasma wall of a magnitude psi = x(surface area of plasma chamber) / 2(surface area of plasma).

This keeps it solid and in position as if it moves then the pressure opposite the direction it moves to drops and the low pressure and the local chamber pressure the direction it moves to increases and therefore the unbalanced force accelerate the plasma ball back to it's focus.

The constant 1/2 is in the above equation as half the chamber wall pressure is on one focus and half on the other.

Using just the exhaust velocity required for the Mars ship, I can now build my engine from the exhaust port forward like they did the Redstone sounding rocket knowing just the exhaust velocity required.

Total impulse 1000 tons Ve= 481299839.94 feet/sec times 1000 tons

Using a 1000 :1 reduction nozzle the velocity of average exhaust particle mass of a hydrogen atom, the mass flow rate and thus pressure remains the same at the entrance and exits with the in and out area of 1000 :1

The velocity of the mass it the entrance area of a plane intersecting the chamber at the aft focus is 481299 feet/sec and since this area is approx. 1/16 the surface area of the chamber the average velocity a typical particle colliding with the wall is 30081 feet per second or approx Mach 29 with Mach = speed of sound.

Convergent nozzles for A titanium circulating band saw using a band of sandy water flash heated to steam obtains an exhaust velocity of Mach seven to cut the titanium. The steam than cools back to water and reheated circulating like the continuous loop band in a metal band saw.

Chemical rockets chamber velocities are limited to Mach one at the convergent divergent nozzle choke point as the shock wave from breaking the sound barrier blocks the chamber causing the chamber to explode at higher velocities therefore they use the divergent nozzle outside the chamber
to get supersonic exhaust velocities.

When these rockets as Polaris missiles were fired underwater from a submarine launch tube, the water blocked the divergent nozzle causing the internal chamber pressure to build up making the rocket explode like a bomb. They solved the problem by ejecting the rockets from the launch tube with large amounts of steam or air creating gas large bubbles around the exhaust port to keep the exhaust nozzle open and at low pressure. Once the engine starts it works fine underwater.

Likewise for atom rocket exhaust velocities exasperating the problem, air itself will block the nozzle with the same effect. Therefore atomic rockets of my design must be started from a launch tube underground in which most of the air has been removed.

Putting my head in a Saturn 5 exhaust nozzle, I observed how flimsy the nozzle and chamber were consisting of relative thin structures to keep the mass required to a minimum. Atomic rockets do not have this mass constraint.

Spherical pressurized oxygen chambers used in buzz bombs of world war II have the thin iron walls wrapped with iron wire so they can be highly pressurized.

My engine therefore would be approx 100 tons 20 feet long (10 foot plasma chamber plus 10 foot reduction nozzle) with walls two feet thick of water cooled cast iron as it has one of the strongest molecular binding energy known. It is then wrapped with two feet thick 1/4 inch Iron wire topped with 900 ton tank of water propellant.

I will then test three 1/5 scale models to destruction with incrementally higher super critical masses until its operational limits are determined and measured expecting it to obtain the required exhaust velocities building one same scale flight test engine with 50% more engine mass added providing a safety factor of 50%. I will then build operate the full scale engine at 50% max rated power, to extend it's life and number of firings. I then will place all the mass (approx 100,000 tons) I can get on it while maintaining a constant one g acceleration for manned flights or (approx 7692 tons) at 13g for unmanned flights.

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Starship1 isn't your first paragraph wrong? This kind of messes up all the other stuff. You can't just use the simple v=at when you approach light speed. As speed increases, mass increases so the energy needs to accelerate also increase.

Ultimately, you need an infinite amount of energy to accelerate to light speed therefore conventional acceleration of any sort cannot do it.

"v=at" only works in the slow, Newtonian world that we normally inhabit.

__________________
Spike
:)

Spike sez,
Starship sez,

No, It is correct as the relativity equations are derived from Newtonian mechanics equations so relativity is not possible without them.

The effect you refer to is the "infinite energy argument" and it indeed holds true for conventional machines to date and is measured for particle accelerators whose particles are limited to sub light speed as the energy required from the accelerator base frame interacts to accelerate the particle whose relativistic mass increases towards infinity tends towards infinity. This is not the case with all machines such as rockets. Einstein warned do not mix frames of reference in relativity.

The argument fails in non conventional means of accelerating a mass as, in the case of the rocket moving mass to some velocity near c as one only need to eject some mass to accelerate the rocket further and since the energy is provided from the inertial frame of reference instead of a rest frame then the energy tending towards infinity is not observed or measured or calculated.

This can be easily visualized by observing an infinite number of observers outside the rocket traveling an infinite number of velocities each measuring and calculating an infinite number of different relativistic masses. Einstein determined all would then be incorrect as relativistic mass and relativistic energy had no real meaning as there was no absolute velocity or absolute frame of reference. Therefore both the rocket man and the external observer at rest can use the distance traveled and his own clock to calculate different velocities as V=AT. In simple terms Einstein's relativity applied to a car on a race track. Both the official and the driver can calculate the different velocities using their own watches with both velocities being valid eliminating the need for an "official" or proper time from Lorenz's relativity equations.

As he found velocities were relativistic than acceleration was relativistic so he derived the equation for relativistic acceleration in which A'=A times (gamma to the third power) with gamma being the time dilation factor.

Replacing A of 1 g and Plugging that Agamma^3 into Einstein's equations of the given Java calculator from the deasy site the gamma factors in both the denominators and numerators both cancel out so Einstein's relativity equations returns to V=AT permitting one to calculate both light speed and above light speed relativistic effects. I is observed that once the ship meets or exceeds light speed wrt earth the ship disappears from the observer ability to observe.

Emitted or reflected light from a C plus V object travels towards the observer at a constant light speed of C in a vacuum, However since the wave front is traveling at C wrt the ship of c plus v it obtains a minus velocity wrt the observer so traveling away from the observer at some v velocity never to be observed. Light from a rocket at C then would hang in space from where it was emitted. All is normal in space and time aboard the moving rocket at minus C, C and c plus V velocities.


Is that clear and have I answered your question?

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Thanks for the response members

I would like to discuss endlessly

Is warp drive possible?
Is faster than light possible?

Even though I believe both questions are best answered "YES" as I do like to argue. The "yes" is a very educated guess based on my credentials as a rocket scientist found by clicking on my name of starship1 profile.

I have found science is best done by agreement and not arguement and most can agree I only propose a machine to test Einstein's theory that an object can be found to exceed light speed. I do not speculate on the outcome of any experiment as I am not a psycic but a physicist.

However as what I like to talk about most is my machine of a Hybrid Fission/Fusion Reaction Engine to further manned space flight far beyond what chemical rockets can possibly do I have moved my engine comments and replies to New Topic "Hybrid Fission/Fusion Reaction Engine" of the "Human Space Fight" General Subject fo those that wish to discuss it cause if I stay in this tread I will be tempted to just argue getting little science done B) .

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Sorry, starship1, I still can't quite follow your reasoning. You end with . My understanding is that light emitted from a rocket will still travel at 186,000 miles per second in any frame of reference. What changes is the wavelength so it will undergo extreme red-shifting in this case. But still at the same speed, not hanging in space.

__________________
Spike
:)

To me, atomic power is not the answer for interstellar travel - at least - journey's taking less than a lifetime. Whether a craft is powered chemically, atomically or launched from a giant pea shooter, it's all the same - thousands of years to the nearest star. If something as small and as fast as a photon takes years to get anywhere interesting, you can forget moving anything else faster conventionally. This is not a problem for plumb lines and socket wrenches, we need to get much more imaginitive.

think of a straight line from you to that star over there. To travel that line could be to take the longest route. We must try to find the shortcut. Is that star over there or right behind you? An analogy for this technological blindness is our physical perception of the electromagnetic spectrum - an extremely small slice of vision amidst an enormous range of frequencies.

Mm-hmn...and what if we could change frequencies...?

geokker sez,
Whether a craft is powered chemically, atomically or launched from a giant pea shooter, it's all the same - thousands of years to the nearest star.

Starship sez,
Your data is out of date by about 40 years. The thousands of years calculation was based on the nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) of Project Nerva in the 1960's. At best it only produced 100 times the power of chemical rockets as it's efficiency was only .0001 percent. Using the thermal energy converting it to a nuclear electric propulsion system(NEP) of .001 percent efficiency by turning water to steam to turn a turbine and cranking a electric generator of a few thousand tons one could make a submarine go a long time as they had an ocean of water to keep it cooled down. The Air Force in the 1960's conducted a study of reactors for airplanes and the weight prohibited it from being practicle as it remains impractical for rockets.

The technology has improved so that efficiencies near 100 percent are calculated in the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor and the antimatter rocket as well as the hybrid fission fusion reaction engine.

The current price of antimatter at 12 quadrillion dollars an ounce makes the antimatter rocket impractical.

The ICF has not passed the proof of principal tests required so it still requires some future discovery.

That leaves only one practical rocket engine requiring no future discovery as all the required proof of principal tests have been done.
New Topic "Hybrid Fission/Fusion Reaction Engine" and able to make the trip accelerating at 1 g 1/2 way then turning around a decelerating at a constant 1 g to a near star in
Trip length: 4.25 light years (ly)
Acceleration: 1.0 g wrt earth
Time on earth: 5.8780560467144 years.
Time on ship: 3.544401860293398 years

Other impractical atomic rockets

Project Orion (pulse drive)
=.00025 %
Nuclear electric Propulsion (NEP)(ion drive - Project Vasimar)
.001 % efficiency
Nuclear thermal Propulsion (NTP) (solid core - Project Nerva)
= .0001 % efficiency
reference http://www.islandone.org/APC/Nuclear/chemnuke.gif
www.islandone.org/APC/


Spike sez,
My understanding is that light emitted from a rocket will still travel at 186,000 miles per second in any frame of reference. What changes is the wavelength so it will undergo extreme red-shifting in this case. But still at the same speed, not hanging in space.

Starship sez.
That is indeed a common and popular understanding as relativity is taught in historical sequence so the student learns in order
Lorentz Relativity Theory (LRT) pre1904 A.K.A. the Lorenz transforms
Einstein's Special Relativity Theory(SRT) of 1905
Einstein's General Relativity Theory (GRT) of 1911
Einstein's Extended Relativity Theory (ERT) of 1949

In all of the above the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant.
Only in LRT is it assumed to be the same in all frames of reference but as most students do not make it past the Lorentz transforms most people a little familiar with relativity think it is the same in all reference frames.

I do not, as I have seen no physical evidence of it and know of no measurement test determining it beyond theory as all Einstein's relativity equations are derivable from E=MC^2.
The Michel-Morleson experiment was so badly constructed it could prove nothing of LRT and Einstein became so disgusted with it he regretted ever discussing the experiment as it was a waste of his time. Likewise he saw particle accelerators as a poor tool for understanding the atom and those experiments with it to determine the maximum velocity of a particle were basically flawed in that they had no detector in the experiment capable of determining if a particle did exceed light speed as faster than light particles cannot be detected or observed for the relativistic velocity reasons I gave. He concluded that just because we cannot see something does not mean it does not or cannot exist. I agree.

I also do not subscribe to the big bang theory showing the edge of the observable universe stars moving at near light speed wrt the earth from the doppler shift observed you refer to as it makes the earth the center of the universe which is highly unlikely. Even Hubble denounced his theory before he died as did Einstein as he showed in ERT and GRT the red shift was the effect of distant star light passing through a multitude of stars and galaxies gravitational fields with each shifting the light to the red a bit and that experimental proof has yet to be constructed; therefore as a physicist I get to throw out nonsense solution many relativity equations introduce. So I see your understanding as a valid theory however as it makes no sense to me and I know of no way it has ever been experimentally proven I do not prescribe to it as I prefer ERT.
.

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

I kinda thought everything was the center of the universe? This is hardly a great reference, but an astronomer I once saw on Jay Leno gave a compelling "raisens expanding in the rising/cooking bread analogy". It made sense at the time, but then again, it was after midnight.

__________________
Pre-Quote: 'To survive one has to experiment. When the environment changes, the traditional way of doing things doesn't work.'

Quote:
&quot;It's the outriders, the organisms that seem to be maladjusted before the change, which are the only ones that survive these changes...in that way a species continues.&quot;

Carl Sagan

Apparently, it takes light four years to get to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our local chappy. I can't see a time when we'll be hopping into the jalopy for a day trip to Wolf 359 mechanically. The true nature of point to point distance may be a 'can't see the wood for the trees' problem.

Wolf 359 is a planet orbiting a star at 7.5 light years distance.

Using Einstein's equations placed in a Java Calculator:

For a one way trip to the closest star at a constant 1g wrt earth to mid trip point and decelerating at 1 g the remainder of the journey.

Trip length: 7.5 light years.
Acceleration: 1.0 g.
Time on earth: 9.239173075887965 years.
Time on ship: 4.391194445054074 years.

If that's to fast for you at 1/10 g acceleration
Trip length: 7.5 light years.
Acceleration: 0.1 g.
Time on earth: 18.630143660957625 years.
Time on ship: 16.545805843822187 years.

If you wish to start your journey at age twenty and retire at age sixty at the planet

Trip length: 7.5 light years.
Acceleration: 0.018 g.
Time on earth: 40.88810918591762 years.
Time on ship: 39.964175588006775 years.

To transport instantaneously at the speed of light to the star ship capable of that length and magnitude of acceleration click link below if you dare

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

According to the Nstars db, Wolf 359 is a star of 'Spectral Type M6.0V' - whatever that means - not that I'd like to spend any time on it of course!

Geokker,
Thanks. I stand corrected.

__________________
Thomas Hulon Jackson
Scientist/Engineer/Technician

Why is a trip time of 16 years such a problem? Magellan was on his boat for 10. If you can put yourself to sleep for a good portion of the voyage, why waste effort trying to build a wormhole or something?

The speed of light barrier isn't that much of a problem really, especially if we solve the problems of ageing, ect. Building slower than light ships and roughing the time requirement sounds a lot easier than a lot of the crazy wormhole/gravity manipulation stuff that I usually hear about.

__________________
http://amssolarempire.blogspot.com