posted
Depends on how complete the shutdown is. If just the thrusters are shut down, the ship will merrily coast for some time, with only the tenuous drag of the interstellar medium to contend with. If the whole system is shut down (for some unknown reason), things would be a little different. The space-time driver coils in the impulse engine systems reduce the ship's apparant mass, allowing relatively small engines to push a much bigger ship effeciently. As has been pointed out in other locations at other times, momentum is a product of mass. Shut down the driver coils and the sudden increase in localized mass for the level of kinetic energy present would slow the ship down suddenly and dramatically -- but not to a complete stop, as there IS still kinetic energy present.
However, I'm not too sure what effect shutting the driver coils down at warp would have on things... Someone better versed in the interaction of ship's mass to warp fields will have to fill that in...
--Jonah
------------------ "It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."
posted
When I reviewed the NGTM, it states that 'driver coils' as a component of the impulse engine were only necessary for Ambassador-class starships and the even larger Galaxy-class due to mass. So I question that the Intrepid-class would even require them.
"...normal impulse velocities are limited to .25c."
"The IPS is cross-linked with its counterpart in the WPS for flight transitions involving warp entry and exit. Specific software routines react to prevent field energy fratricide (unwanted conflicts between warp fields and inpulse engine fields)."
As in above posts, starships have leaped to warp from dead stops and also stopped 'on a dime' in some examples. But not always. I suggest that it appears with or without the impulse driver coils, a starship is dependant upon both drive systems working together when entering or exiting "subspace" i.e. warp.
Purrrr....
[This message has been edited by Psi'a Meese (edited March 04, 2001).]
posted
So .25c is 75000 km/s? Damn that's fast... I wonder why you don't leave the current solar system when going to maximum impulse in the Trek-sims...
------------------ Here lies a toppled god, His turnip not a small one. We did but build his pedestal, A narrow and a tall one.
-Tleilaxu Epigram
[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited March 04, 2001).]
posted
IMPULSE-WARP-IMPULSE When a ship engages Warp drive, It can do at any sublight speed or when at a complete standstill. The Enterprise D has even warped out of Planetery Orbit. When at Warp, The Impulse engines aren't active but are on standby mode ready to propel the ship when it drops out of warp. When the ship drops out warp, The Impulse engines instantly come online. Warp drive works by compressing and warping space by pulling the space infront of it and pulling backwards, The higher the warp speed the faster this occurs. The speed of light is 700 million miles an hour which if if Full Impulse is 1/4 of This equals 175000000 million miles per hour The Solar system is 45000000000 million miles from the Sun to Pluto so an Full Impulse trip would take 25 hours or a day at full Impulse
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posted
8> <----- THAT"S A BIRD!! MY FRIEND ON AOL SHOWED ME IT!!!
------------------ "This is such an amazingly minor complaint. Does anyone actually watch episodes anymore, or is it just a notebook + pause button exercise these days?" -Sol System on what constitutes modern day Star Trek watching, 02-22-01
posted
On a related note, it's not clear to me why impulse should only be .25 c. I thought that as long as you kept applying thrust, you would continue to accelerate until you reach c. I guess impulse is more like a car engine or space is a lot more like pea soup than we thought.
------------------ When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
posted
It's the common-sense-imposed speed limit on normal Starfleet ops. Much faster than .25c and the crew starts to have to deal with relativistic considerations.
And as for the driver coils, many consider that passage from the TM to be poorly-thought-out. Look at the Excelsior. Or even the TOS Enterprise. Think those impulse engines can push those ships at those sublight speeds as is? Sure. Tell me another.
--Jonah
------------------ "It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."
posted
Sorry about the wrong distance for Sun-Pluto. The correct distance is around 3000 million miles and a full Impulse trip leaving Sun Orbit and arriving in Pluto's orbit should take 17 hours.
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DARKSTAR
Ex-Member
posted
and a Warp 1 trip would take 4 hours. and a Warp 9 trip would take 0.0028 seconds
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----------------------------------------------------- Look at the Excelsior. Or even the TOS Enterprise. Think those impulse engines can push those ships at those sublight speeds as is? Sure. Tell me another. -----------------------------------------------------
Well. Actually, yes I do.
[This message has been edited by Psi'a Meese (edited March 08, 2001).]
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