Re: accelers (Novel Class Monster Spew...come get it while it's hot)

["Rick Myers" <leviathan_60@hotmail.com>]

>Rick, I hate to bother you among all this other crap. But since I 
brought
>it up on the list and you are an expert in the field of electricity and
>BSing (engineering). Is the premise of an acceler sound by the idea 
that
>it is an inductor?
>

First of all, I believe if you want a true expert in BSing you need to 
talk to a Liberal Arts Major...say someone in the Communications field 
:).

Summary : (for those without the time or interest to read the rest)
An acceler is an inductor.  That a simple inductor can produce enough 
flux to make a rail gun is doubtful, but depends on just how much juice 
there really is in a lighting bolt.  But then it's magic, in a game ;).


You have asked several questions here Kieth, most of which the best 
answer to is probably "you don't want to know...I wish I didn't know".  
But since you asked, here we go:

Is an acceler an inductor?

Any coil of wire will exhibit inductance.  So, the acceler is strictly 
speaking an inductor.  In fact, as the book describes it, it's a rather 
large one. 

Is the premise of an acceler sound on the basis that is an inductor?

A coil of wire exhibiting inductance does produce a magnetic flux.  This 
is the principle on which servo's and relays are based.  In fact, the 
sensors in the streets to control traffic lights are simply inductors 
measuring the change in magnetic flux due to the presence of a big hunk 
of metal (or rust depending on your financial situation).

However, the premise of the acceler depends on the idea that the flux 
produced by the inductor within it is truely massive.  I don't recall 
the formula off the top of my head, but it depends most heavily on two 
things:

The number of turns in the coil, which is limited severly by technology 
level and the unweildy molecular weight of copper.

And the current in the coil, which is dependent on just how much BANG 
you really get from a lightning bolt.

Now, in reality, the Army (Navy?) has been working on a railgun concept 
for quite a while, and to my knowledge they ditched the simple inductor 
premise very early because it just couldn't produce enough flux.  It's 
still on the drawing board (they claim)...and requires a long series of 
electromagnetic rings set to switch polarity as the shell passes, 
pulling the shell until it passes, then switching polarity to push it 
the rest of the way.  It's definately beyond the technology level of 
jaern, and if it could be done witha  simple inductor we would have had 
one long ago.

However, all this over analysis rests on one very fundamental, and very 
FAULTY premise.  It assumes Earth is like Jaern...reality is like 
fantasy...and science is like magic.  It's a game...a game where the 
gods walk among the mortals, and men shoot lightning bolts from their 
eyes and fireballs from their arses (with suitable finesses of course).  
Basically, an acceler doesn't make sense because of inductance...it 
makes sense because of magic.  

So, while the engineer in me screams " Hey meathead! that won't 
work"...the little kid in me just smiles and laughs, and most 
importantly believes...because if there really weren't a place where 
they use accelers to hunt down Greater Balrogs and fire-breathing 
dragons...I'd just have to make one anyway... =).  
  
Later,
Rick

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