I recall reading something along the same lines regarding the testbed proto-type they were using ... but if in space that restriction would be removed, and if in atmosphere and using a warshot - tungsten-steel penetrator like a sabot round perhaps the question could be ... so it's turning into plasma in the next 20 miles, so what, because the question really is would it retain sufficient mass/cohesion to impact the target enough to take it out.
Expect they would have a way of dialing the power (velocity) up or down depending on the combat environment.
Tim
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From: DEREK STANLEY
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:46 PM
Subject: Re: Mass Drivers and high energy weapons in Space was: [Traveller_TNE] KKM experiment
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>i think, going off the top of my head here again. The the speed limit on gauss / mass drivers wasn't a tech limitation but rather a real world issue with the rounds burning up in the atmo. Again thats just off the top of my noggin.
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>Derek Stanley
>Sent from my iPhone...
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>On 2012-06-26, at 10:13, "Antony Farrell" <> wrote:
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>>Mass Drivers
>>Looking in FF&S Mass Drivers can have a velocity of 3000ms-1 at TL8 or 3km per seconds, double that at the peak of TL11. So in 3 minutes a TL8 mass driver projectile (neglecting any vector imparted from the launcher) can cover 540 km in 3 minutes the TL11 one 1080km. In 30 minutes if you stayed with standard combat rounds it would cover 5400km at TL8 or 10800 for a TL11 one. So you could not really use these at standard combat scales. But with a 3 minute scale and smaller range hexes they might work.
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>>What size hex would you need for a 1 hex change for a 1G ship over a 3 minute round?
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