Re: [TML] FFS Fusion Gun Tim 30 Jun 2015 09:32 UTC

On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 08:54:20PM -0700, Craig Berry wrote:
> According to this site
> <http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2013/12/23/kilotons-per-kilogram/>, peak
> yield on a hybrid fission/fusion bomb to date is around 5 kt yield per kg
> of bomb (including casing, detonators, controls -- the whole package. So we
> need to increase kinetic energy by a factor of around 5000 to match the
> increase in yield.

5 000 000 really, since it's 5000 tonnes (of 1000 kg each) of TNT per
kilogram of bomb.  A quick way to remember the corresponding speed is
as 1% of c, or a bit under 3000 km/s.

That's faster than most starships will reach in ordinary operation.

It is however reasonable for Traveller craft moving between planets in
normal space, or between a planet and a stellar jump limit in the
worst 0.1% of cases.  It would take a 6-gee warship about 14 hours to
build up such a speed, or a bit under 2 days for a 2-gee merchant.

- Tim