True, and this world has steam engines as well as internal combustion engines. However, since coal and oil are not available, the steam engines have to run on less efficient fuels and the difficulty of getting those fuels will limit the number of vehicles available for transportation.
Gerry Harris
http://www.aethertraveller.com
"Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war"
— Antony, "Julius Caesar," Act 3, Scene 1
----- Original Message ----
From: "" <>
To:
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 10:27:40 AM
Subject: RE: [Traveller_TNE] Low Tech Stuff
Interesting to note that Egypt (in Alexandria) actually invented a steam
engine about 1400 years before the Western World did. They never developed
it because slave labour was so much cheaper...
-Joel
-----Original Message-----
From: DED
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 1:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Traveller_TNE] Low Tech Stuff
Wind and water? TL 3-5 covers alot of ground.
On the low end of that range, windmills and waterwheels could provide work
on a
local level. Not much on a grand scale, but it would be useful for the
milling
of grain and other simple, yet tedious, tasks. Of course, if something like
the
Roman aqueduct system could be constructed, then that builds up some
potential
for putting water to work.
On the high end, they could provide power through wind farms and
hydroelectric
dams.
\_/
DED
----- Original Message -----
From: Gerry Harris
To: Traveller [TNE]; GDW House Rules
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 9:58 AM
Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Low Tech Stuff
Thanks for all y'all's help with the black powder rockets. I'm working on a
low
tech (TL 3-5) world with no access to fossil fuels -- think a world
terraformed
in the last few tens of thousands of years. I've been trying to work out
the
infrastructure for such a world, and power production is a biggie. Wind and
water power are good for the cities, but portable power sources are a
problem.
At first, I was stuck with two fuel sources from FF&S: alcohol and wood. I
managed to work out the stats for "wood gas" when I stumbled across doing
research on steel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas
Mass and price would be the same as for hydrocarbon distillates, but the
power
output would be divided by eight. Not a particularly attractive technology,
and
it doesn't solve the deforestation problem, which on our world was fixed by
the
increasing use of coal. Alcohol, of course, eats into the food supply so
it's
not going to be super popular, either, although it would be used to a
greater or
lesser extent.
Peat is available, but I cannot find stats on its energy density.
On the plus side, as near as I can tell, steel should be available as it has
a
low carbon content, and that could be supplied by charcoal.
If any of y'all have any ideas for fuels, limitations on technology because
of
the lack of fossil fuels, or clever workarounds for some of those
limitations, I
would appreciate hearing your ideas.
Gerry Harris
http://www.aethertraveller.com
"Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war"
— Antony, "Julius Caesar," Act 3, Scene 1