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Very weird is the Voyager warp core. The ultimate in lava lamps.
The idea of a thin layer of dilithium spread out within it as sternbach suggested is intriguing. Maybe this is to accomodate a new recrystallisation technique.
Another idea, the dilithium reaction is used to create an "energy plasma" which is used as a power source in the EPS (as they call it in the Tech Manual etc., and is also fed to the warp coils in the nacelles. On the E-D, these were the two beams horizontally connected to the core, carrying plasma away from it. Perhaps the design of the Intrepid means a simpler method of recrystallisation and/or plasma "removal from core" is possible, as used in the E-A. Maybe a smaller power requirement than a bigger ship, which needs a heavy duty, Sovereign-style core.
As to the nacelle size, I agree that the variable geometry must be the key. Minute adjustments of the "wings" in warp flight of a few degrees could be enough to improve efficiency to the extent that you get away with little coils.
On a big ship like a Sovereign, perhaps a Variable-Geomerty system is impractical because the mass of the ship is too big. (Just too heavy to make the energy cost of antigrav fields that move the nacelle struts break even with efficiency gains).
------------------ Oh Mr Rasberry, so sharp your juices!
They (the behind the scenes designers) almost made the Sov with variable 'wings', but they went for fixed 'wings' because the design looked like a turkey, I believe it was?
------------------ "You don't need a gun." "That depends on your definition of 'save sex'."
The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
Member # 35
posted
I have this mental image of that dancing animated chicken carcass in Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video. . .
Registered: Mar 1999
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The359: You completely missed my point. The Ent-A was shown with a similar type of core as the Ent-D - not the Ent-D core itself (although it was the exact same set). Similar type meaning that it has matter from the top and antimatter from the bottom being fed into the central M/ARC. This is similar to the Ent-E and Defiant core.
Now, the Refit Ent core worked quite diffently. The Refit core stored and fed both the matter and antimatter from the bottom. The Refit also had a separate dilithium reaction chamber (in that room where Spock died). The intermix core ran all the way up to the impulse engine (where the deflection crystal is). You couldn't just replace this whole system with a central M/ARC core.
The Voyager core seems to be similar to the Refit one. They both have an intermix flow with no central reaction chamber.
------------------ "Forgive me if I don't share your euphoria!" (Weyoun to Dukat, DS9 'Tears of the Prophets') Dax's Ships of STAR TREK
posted
From what I heard in Star Trek II, the room where Spock died was part of the impulse engine. Also, where was it shown that both matter and antimatter came from the downside? I believe we did see part of the matter part of the warp core above the reaction chamber.
The359: First, there is no reaction chamber other than the one in Spocks room of death (which was in main engineering, BTW). Secondly, the centre of the core leads up to and powers the impulse engine. The impulse engine has backup fusion cores.
Voyager does seem to store its matter at the top of the core, though (going by the MSD).
------------------ "Forgive me if I don't share your euphoria!" (Weyoun to Dukat, DS9 'Tears of the Prophets') Dax's Ships of STAR TREK
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