From: KELSEY@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (KELSEY, Michael H.)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.misc
Subject: Non-Starfleet ships (was Re: Fascist State)
Date: 24 Jul 92 15:53:45 GMT
 <92200.121338IA80024@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> <3343@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>
 <92202.145553IA80024@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
 <1992Jul21.194817.3143@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au>
 <92204.221731IA80024@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

In article <92204.221731IA80024@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>, IA80024@MAINE.MAINE.EDU
(Nicholas C. Hester) says:
>
>In article <1992Jul21.194817.3143@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au>,
>s892024@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Richard A. Muirden [GA]) says:
>>
>>Exactly. To go warp 8 or so requires a lot of power, and would a private
>>person or freighter concern bother with that kind of money and bulk
>>etc (and whatever else is needed) for the increase in speed?
>
>Crossing space isn't like crossing the ocean, there's A LOT more space
>to cover.  I'd think that someone would rather sink money into a
>faster engine to get myself where I needed to go.  Even an increase to
>warp 6 shouldn't be that big of an upgrade from warp 3.
>
Non necessarily.  What is the cost to go from a 100 HP engine (your typical
family sedan with a top speed of say 100 MPH), to a 350 HP Porsche engine
with top speed in excess of 200 MPH?  To change warp engines that radically
could cost more than a small-time freight hauler can afford.
>
>>Harry Mudd was in a small ship, very small, and he was being chased by
>>Kirk not for breaking any speed limits (in this case Picard would have
>>been issuing lots of tickets to the Borg for their 9.995++ efforts ;-) )
>>but because it wasn't giving out a valid ID beam (ie: was hiding and
>>wasn't announcing 'who' it was), and refused the hails of a starship.
>>
>>Kinda like sitting in a shipping lane and when a coast guard or navy
>>ship comes alongside they find no markings and when they attempt to
>>call via radio to see who you are you ignore them (not that I'd
>>ignore a heavy cruiser bearing down on my bathtub ;-) )...
>
>Ok, when he's in a shipping lane or being scanned by a starship.  Not
>needed anywhere else.  I think the idea of all space a shipping lane
>is ridiclulous.

Why?  A shipping lane is usually close to a great circle route across a
large ocean, and usually follows a path along a coast which is known to
be free of hazards (well, permanent ones like shallows or reefs).  In
space, a "shipping lane" would presumably be a straight line path between
nearby settled worlds or starbases, since that is the minimum energy path.
Some "shipping lanes" might not be straight, for example to avoid a dense
region of molecular gas or dust which could present problems for shields.

It is very easy, I think, to understand why ships in space would all
follow the same path between two given points, especially if navigational
beacons had already been stationed along that path.  If you have to send
out a distress signal, you're more likely to be found if the search ships
only have to check a narrow cylinder (line) connecting your origin and
destination, instead of a huge spherical volume surrounding your origin.
>___
>
>    Nick Hester
>ia80024@Maine.bitnet
>ia80024@Maine.maine.edu

                                               -- Mike Kelsey

[  My opinions are not endorsed by SLAC, Caltech, or the US government  ]
What is your _name_?    "kelsey@slacvm.slac.stanford.edu"
What is your _quest_?   "To get a Ph.D. in high-energy physics"
When will you _finish_? "I don't know.   Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh..."