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Thread: Of warp speeds, tractors and tow-trucks...

  1. #16
    Join Date
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    Melbourne, Australia. Winner of the First Trek Survivor Trivia Show, and Bearer of the Steve Long Pink Elephant Stamp of Learning. :)
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    Post

    Originally posted by SIR SIG:
    Can they extend the warp bubble out that far to encompass another ship? Must play havok on the SIFs and other systems.
    Yes, you can. The TNG ep., Deja Q, had the E-D wrapping "a low-level Warp Field" around the asteroidal moon that was about to fall on top of the planet below it... The idea was to lower the mass of the asteroid so that the E-D could try and coax it back into orbit with the tractor beam.

    How does that sound as a general principle for towing other vessels?

    ------------------
    How do I set a Laser Printer to stun?

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
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    Lightbulb

    How about the ECBM, if memory serves well, jackets? In DS9 core book, it is stated that they are used to enable phasers to fire at warp speeds, which is normally not practical for at warp-speed wars, ships are faster than beams. ECBM jackets can be used to make tractor beams at high warp. But this technology is stated to be new. The older version would be as shown in The Motion Picture. Remember Spock coming in with a shuttle, to which a warp sledge is attached. If a ship needs to be towed, you take over a sledge, attach it and the ship or the sledge does the rest by itself, travelling at reasonable warp speeds.

  3. #18
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    Oct 2000
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    Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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    It works like this. The warp field is optimized to your ships size. You can enlarge the field to encompass another ship in tow but it reduces your warp efficency and your top warp speed. that would be my guess.
    As far as the when the saucer seperates from the E-D, the saucer has warp sustainer engines so it can form its own warp bubble to get away from the engineering hull before it looses enough momentum to drop out of warp.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
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    ON, CA
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    All I'm saying is that you don't need an extra 'warp sustainer engine', when the impulse drive is sitting there.

    The impulse drive generates a low-level subspace (warp) field, so they can get the ship moving with reasonable thrust. Just overload the impulse drive a bit, and they can slow the field decay to a reasonable rate. You then decelerate from FTL rapidly, but not catastrophically.

    Surely you're not suggesting that the saucer can coast at warp 9.9 once they've separated???

    The saucer will clearly be within the warp field of the engineering section for an extended period of time, since the field extends forwards to encompass the saucer normally. Thus, it will stay at warp on momentum until it leaves the field, whereupon, it's on its own, and rapidly falls to sublight.

    The saucer needs no sustainer, since it is still within the warp field immediately after separation.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
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    Cartography Heaven, AussieLand
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    Originally posted by Paul:
    Yes, you can. The TNG ep., Deja Q, had the E-D wrapping "a low-level Warp Field" around the asteroidal moon that was about to fall on top of the planet below it... The idea was to lower the mass of the asteroid so that the E-D could try and coax it back into orbit with the tractor beam.

    How does that sound as a general principle for towing other vessels?

    Guess thats why it was a low level warp field. The stress would've been a killer at higher power.

    And lowering the mass of the asteroid is similar to how they moved DS9 to the WH.

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    SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

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