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Topic: Once More Unto The (Warp Core) Breach, Dear Friends...

Starbuck
"Replicate some marmalade, Commander - helm control is toast!"
Member # 153

posted

If you survived my last three posts, check this one out:

Why does a warp core breach destroy the whole ship? If the antimatter is released, it will only interact with matter of the same type - at least, that's what a physicist friend of mine says.
Is the catastrophic explosion due to the uncontrolled matter/antimatter reaction?

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WARNING: Storing semtex in the microwave
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Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

Michael Dracon
aka: NightWing or Altair
Member # 4

posted

Matter and antimatter do not need to be of the same type to anniliate eachother.

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"Scan that ship Mr. Worf!"
"Aye sir, 600 DPI?"

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
Member # 35

posted

Think "massive release of energy as matter and antimatter annihlate each other."

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Bernd
Guy from Old Europe
Member # 6

posted

Not the whole ship is annihilated, but those on the ship wouldn't possibly care if they are annihilated or just blown to dust. Think of E=mc^2, meaning that 100kg of matter/antimatter are converted 9*10^18J of energy.

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"When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative - violence. Force must be applied without apology. It's the Starfleet way."
A somewhat different Janeway in VOY: "Living Witness"
Ex Astris Scientia

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Michael Dracon
aka: NightWing or Altair
Member # 4

posted

And can you tell me what 9*10^18J of energy is capable of doing to a ship?

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"Scan that ship Mr. Worf!"
"Aye sir, 600 DPI?"

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Baloo
Curmudgeon-in-Chief
Member # 5

posted

Think of it this way:

I read long ago that the total amount of matter that was converted into energy by the Hiroshima bomb was (not more than) approximately 5 grams.

100kg of matter combining with 100 kg of antimatter equals about 40,000 of those bombs. That's quite a bit of boom.

--Baloo

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Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
Member # 35

posted

Yes. So really warp core breaches should be even more violent than they appear. Especially when all it took was a volley of Romulan torpedoes to open up the subspace rift that the E-C went through. . .

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Davok
Member
Member # 143

posted

The TNG TM states that a photon torpedo carries 1.5 kg of antimatter. So wouldn't that be 300 Hiroshima bombs then?
I mean one Klingon torpedo in TSFS for example should have been more than enough to totally blow up the 1701 rather than just to blast a tiny whole into the saucer.

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"Take it from me: it's a lot more fun asking questions than answering them." (Garak)

USS Allegiance NCC-74813
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Registered: May 1999 | IP: Logged

Nim
The Aardvark asked for a dagger
Member # 205

posted

You are sincerely nosy, ain'tcha, Starbuck? Writing a book, are we?? Hmmmm? Excpect a visit from the Obsidian Order!!

No, seriosly, it's good to hear all these questions again. Keeps ye'olde Trekker-scholars here busy!!! And you always learn something new!

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Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

Masao
doesn't like you either
Member # 232

posted

Of course, combat in Star Trek is completely unrealistic:
1. As was mentioned, detonations of photon torpedoes should be massive: 300 Hiroshima bombs (at around 14,000 tons of TNT each) would be equivalent to 5.2 million tons of TNT, which would be enough to destroy everything within a fairly wide radius. Explosions on screen look like a few gallons of gasoline. Also explosions should not billow in a vacuum. The gases would just keep expanding outward.
2. Unfortunately, ships seem to be firing at each other from only a few hundred meters or less. Even modern fighter planes and naval ships often fight at ranges of 10s or 100s of kilometers.
3. You can't fly through an exploding ship and expect to come out undamaged. Ship parts are not immediately converted to a vacuum.
4. I don't need to mention (but I will) that ships travelling at a high fraction of the speed of light cannot bank and turn like fighter planes and that you don't need to fight in only two dimensions.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to mention this kind of stuff, but it's always bothered me. Sorry for ranting.

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Registered: Oct 1999 | IP: Logged

Sol System
two dollar pistol
Member # 30

posted

You know, I had an interesting idea regarding why ship explosions seem to be less powerful then they should be. I'll have to give it a bit more thought first, though.

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"And if we weren't good to you, Dave, you shouldn't take it all the way to your grave."
--
Will Rigby

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Davok
Member
Member # 143

posted

Approved.

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"Take it from me: it's a lot more fun asking questions than answering them." (Garak)

USS Allegiance NCC-74813
http://davok.cjb.net

Registered: May 1999 | IP: Logged

bear
Active Member
Member # 124

posted

I still think the reason for lack of damage is because we continue to underestimate the significance of structual integraty fields.

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Registered: Apr 1999 | IP: Logged

Dax
Paradox
Member # 191

posted

There's bound to be some good reason. Starships are obviously incredibly highly advanced (beyond our current comprehension, anyway).

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"Forgive me if I don't share your euphoria!" (Weyoun to Dukat, Tears of the Prophets)
Dax's Ships of STAR TREK

Registered: Jul 1999 | IP: Logged

Jaresh Inyo
Ex-Member

posted

I'd always imagined that photon torpedoes sort of implode, delivering an incredible amount of damage to a relatively small surface area. I mentioned in one of my stories that a photon torpedo can be set to explode over ground targets, causing similar damage that a nuclear warhead would, over a similar area. When you think about it, an exploding torpedo would be very inefficient, since only a fraction of the explosive force would be absorbed by the target. An imploding torpedo makes more sense.

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