From: mcclaine@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Casey)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars
Subject: Re: Speeder Bikes
Date: 20 Aug 92 20:08:03 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Aug20.200803.17196
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <1992Aug20.035224.470@midway.uchicago.edu> wag5@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
>In article <1992Aug5.205113.3740@u.washington.edu> mcclaine@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Casey) writes:
>>In article <l804qbINNg3t@aludra.usc.edu> joshuali@usc.edu (Joshua Ling) writes:
>>>I  always thought that the speeders had some sort of anti-grav repulsor
>>>generator that only let them float so far above the ground- 10 ft max
>>>or so.
>>	Well, you do have the right idea.  The speeder bikes can actually reach a reasonable altitude of about 100 feet or so.  The altitude can be varied
>>because repulsor generators can put out a variable amount of energy.
>>Watch the combat scenes where I believe it is Leia that climbs into the air 
>>really high on the bike.  I can't remember who it was, but it did occur.
>>
>>					 - Rob
>	I don't know. It seems to me that this 'gravity repulsor' or whatever
>might actually be more along the lines of the lift generated by a balloon.
>	If in the SW universe force fields with a physical substance
>could be generated then it may be conceivable that they could be used to
>enclose a certain small volume of air.  By then increasing the boundaries
>of the fields in such a way that more air does not enter the new field,
>a volume can be created which is somewhat less dense than the surrounding
>atmosphere. If then the density of rider and bike and field together
>are less than air then there would be an affect of displacement by
>the air.
>	Also, a field could simply enclose a volume of atmosphere which
>could then be pumped out until an overall density is roughly equal
>to the surrounding atmosphere.
>	When, in RotJ, one rider jumps to another bike, that bike momentarily
>moves down and then regains its original altitude, it could be the
>vacuum pump working to compensate for the increased density.
>				J. Wagner 

	Interesting thought, however I feel that this idea lacks feasibility.
	First, the speeder bikes, will many times remain in an idle hovering
	mode.  If this were due to your airtight field, after so many
	Stormtroopers respirated in that field, here comes your next 
	Stromtrooper hopping on his bike when  *GASP*  no oxygen!  and
	he suffocates if he doesn't jump off.  OK, you could argue that
	there could be some minor controlled osmotic air replenishment
	across the field, but, still, things are just starting to get a little
	carried away.
	Secondly, the air bubble might have a tendency to want to lift, but
	there has to be some forcible "tether" that carries the heavier
	than air bike with it.  This would require that the field projector
	radiates a field with forcible, repulsive energy.  But what will
	this repulsive energy push against?  Air has to be propelled away
	from a ship at high speeds to produce this effect, however, we
	do not see the hoverbikes or X-wings doing this.
	It is my understanding that the repulsors on Star Wars equipment 
	simply induce a anti-gravity effect, allowing reduced negative 
	acceleration or even negating gravitational effects altogether.
	One could also hypothesize that, assuming that gravity has
	an effect akin to electric charge, that the repulsor generator
	induces an opposing "charge" of variable intensity.  Whereas
	normal masses attract each other, the repulsor, "repels" from
	another mass, proportional to distance and massiveness of that 
	mass.



	_/_/_/_/   _/_/_/_/   _/_/_/   	Troi:  "Worf, what exactly is that band
	_/     _/  _/       _/     _/   that you wear on your uniform?"
	_/     _/  _/       _/              
	_/_/_/_/   _/_/_/   _/            
	_/   _/    _/       _/          Worf:  "It's a Klingon flea collar." 
	_/    _/   _/       _/     _/      
	_/     _/  _/_/_/_/   _/_/_/      
	Robert E. Casey  (mcclaine@milton.u.washington.edu)