Question on the Constitution

[asdf1]

Do you think the constitution class could actually survive in space, for me it just doesn't look sturdy enough, especially with the connecting neck. I think it would fall apart as soon as it went to high warp.

 

[Sulu's Lover]

Check this out,a wind tunnel test @ mach 5.


http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/lp/lasdiag/enterp.php


Very interesting.

Rob

 

[c5maier]

The neck is actually not badly designed from a sturdiness point of view. More difficult to accept would be the pylons and their connection to the secondary fuselage. The bending moment would be just huge if those nacelles delivered thrust as we understand it.
But starships are not meant to move very fast through space, propelled by thrust (even in a near vacuum this would cause problems). The way I understand the techno-babble, they rather stay quite leisurely in their warp bubble (space-time dis-continuum) and wait for their destination to pop up. No thrust = no motion = no need for sturdiness. This is, of course, only valid for warp-speeds.
On impulse, the nacelles are just tugged along and the whole setup of propelled saucer section connected to secondary fuselage is exactly identical to an aeroengine connected via pylon to a wing - just upside down. Again it shows that Matt Jefferies knew a thing or three about aeronautical engineering.

 

[erastus25]

More to the point, there is no drag in space, and most space debris is deflected by the deflector dish, so it's plenty sturdy.

 

[Forbin]

A detailed understanding of warp fields, warp propulsion, anti-acceleration fields and structural integrity fields will show you that your fears are completely unfounded.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

More to the point, there is no drag in space, and most space debris is deflected by the deflector dish, so it's plenty sturdy.

[geek_hat]
Right - there is no drag in space, but objects still have MASS (if not weight).

Pretending for a second that the Enterprise's engines were traditional thrusting engines, like a rocket (which I know they are not), then the pylons attaching the engines to the rest of the ship would need to be structurally sturdy enough to be able to withstand the force of the engines acting against the mass of the ship -- or else the engines and pylons would rip themselves from the secondary hull due to inertia (objects at rest tend to stay at rest; objects in motion tend to stay in motion).

Of course the Enterprises engines are not "thrusting rockets". In the Enterprise's case, the entire ship is surrounded by a warp bubble that allows it to move through space without worrying about silly things like inertia. That's why when the Enterprise stops, the bridge crew does not splat against the main viewscreen like rotten fruit -- because the entire ship and crew are safely within the warp bubble where inertia does not act on them.
[/geek_hat]

 

[erastus25]

More to the point, there is no drag in space, and most space debris is deflected by the deflector dish, so it's plenty sturdy.

[geek_hat]
Right - there is no drag in space, but objects still have MASS (if not weight).

Pretending for a second that the Enterprise's engines were traditional thrusting engines, like a rocket (which I know they are not), then the pylons attaching the engines to the rest of the ship would need to be structurally sturdy enough to be able to withstand the force of the engines acting against the mass of the ship -- or else the engines and pylons would rip themselves from the secondary hull due to inertia (objects at rest tend to stay at rest; objects in motion tend to stay in motion).

Of course the Enterprises engines are not "thrusting rockets". In the Enterprise's case, the entire ship is surrounded by a warp bubble that allows it to move through space without worrying about silly things like inertia. That's why when the Enterprise stops, the bridge crew does not splat against the main viewscreen like rotten fruit -- because the entire ship and crew are safely within the warp bubble where inertia does not act on them.
[/geek_hat]

I think the inertial dampers are actually responsible for keeping them from going splat. Otherwise they would get thrown around every time they used thrusters.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

^
^^Maybe the inertial dampeners work at impulse speeds, but I'll stick with my warp bubble theory when it comes to the the ship not ripping itself apart at warp speeds (i.e., the tendency for the engines to want to go flying off, leaving the rest of the ship's mass behind).

I'm thinking that the warp bubble is a monolithic structure that moves through space at FTL speeds, while everything inside the warp bubble "moves" as a single entity, separated and protected from inertia.

...but here I am talking about it as if it really HAS to be able to work in real life. Damn, I'm such a nerd sometimes .

 

[22 Stars]

^ 'sometimes'? just kidding, that's pretty much the theory I've always ascribed to.