SW Fuel?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Basically, yes.

I go with the hyperspace is real space viewed from a tachyonic perspective idea, because, well, it's the best actual explanation anybody's come up with yet.

The confusing part is the behaviour of hypermatter; no surprise there really.
If it is non-newtonian, if there is effectively no fuel mass because it is tachyonic and non- interacting already- then why can't the entire ship do that once it's translated to hyperspace?

If the fuel, the energy equivalent of one point one billion tons, has no effective mass, not only does it have no inertia, it shouldn't interact with gravity.
So if this is possible, then why are interdictors? They clearly work, they're seen time and again and known to be effective, and stated to be gravitic. Why, for that matter, would gravity wells be a problem?

I can't reconcile the non- newtonian behaviour of hypermatter with the existence of this aspect of hyperspace travel. Either the fuel can do this and the ship can't, and trying to put together a mental model of why this is that's consistent with the known facts is a nightmare, or hypermatter isn't non- newtonian.

Or I'm missing something. The ultimate fallback position is "we see it happen on screen, they must know how it works".

[Illuminatus Primus]

Why must it have zero interaction or complete interaction?

[Wyrm]

Samuel,
The problem with using hydrogen for that role- which, ion drive, yep, no problem there, proton stream- is that it means you still need to explain the radioactive metal.
I don't see what a ship would want with that unless it really is reaction mass.

Why do you think that radioactive metal has no other use than being reaction mass? Especially since it means you couldn't run radioisotope-fueled ion drives on any civilized planet, for obvious reasons. (Also, gaseous metals tend to be nasty to life, radioactive or not.)

[ThePorkchopExpress]

If there is any interaction between matter and the ship.. at those speeds, arent we talking about a massive amount of kinetic energy impacting the shields or navigation deflectors?

[Ender]

Samuel,
The problem with using hydrogen for that role- which, ion drive, yep, no problem there, proton stream- is that it means you still need to explain the radioactive metal.
I don't see what a ship would want with that unless it really is reaction mass.

You realize that
1) Hydrogen has a metallic state
2) Any unstable isotope is radioactive
3) Astrophysicists consider all elements but H and He to be metallic

Right?

All that statement tells us is that they don't use an isotope of He for fuel. Which really doesn't narrow it down at all.

*Also, in the discussion page of the Hyperspace, someone claims that Dr. Saxton flat out states in the AOTC:ICS that Hyperspace is realspace viewed from a tachyonic perspective, anyone got the actual quote.

Don't have the book handy, but yes it does say that.

Basically, yes.

I go with the hyperspace is real space viewed from a tachyonic perspective idea, because, well, it's the best actual explanation anybody's come up with yet.

That it is the canon view is helpful as well.

The confusing part is the behaviour of hypermatter; no surprise there really.
If it is non-newtonian, if there is effectively no fuel mass because it is tachyonic and non- interacting already- then why can't the entire ship do that once it's translated to hyperspace?

You are treating this like a binary statement when it isn't. Just because it is non-newtonian does not mean it is non-interactive. In fact there is considerable evidence that it is still interactive, not the least of which is that they are able to hold it in tanks and move it around.

If the fuel, the energy equivalent of one point one billion tons, has no effective mass, not only does it have no inertia, it shouldn't interact with gravity.

Stop. Being. So. Binary. You have established a false dichonomy.

So if this is possible, then why are interdictors? They clearly work, they're seen time and again and known to be effective, and stated to be gravitic. Why, for that matter, would gravity wells be a problem?

Gravity wells and interdictors aren't the problem. Colliding with mass while FTL is the problem. Sensors detect the gravity and automatically trip out the hyperdrive before you hit while FTL.

I can't reconcile the non- newtonian behaviour of hypermatter with the existence of this aspect of hyperspace travel. Either the fuel can do this and the ship can't, and trying to put together a mental model of why this is that's consistent with the known facts is a nightmare, or hypermatter isn't non- newtonian.

Or I'm missing something. The ultimate fallback position is "we see it happen on screen, they must know how it works".

You are missing a great deal. It can be non-newtonian and still interact. For example, what if it still interacts, but just at 90 degrees to normal? What if it interacts, but only weakly so? What if it interacts, but excessively? It is complex matter. Try plugging 10i into newtonian equations and getting something feasible out of it. You can't. But that doesn't mean it is noninteractive. Robert Forward proved that with his papers on negative matter.

If there is any interaction between matter and the ship.. at those speeds, arent we talking about a massive amount of kinetic energy impacting the shields or navigation deflectors?

Not exactly. Try plugging values greater then 3e8 into the relativistic KE equation. You get negative values. When a tachyon interacts with a baryon, the tachyon sheds energy and accelerates. Basically, if you hit a grain of dust while FTL, an equivalent mass of your own ship is going to flash to energy IAW E=mc^2. Depending on the velocities you are talking about, that can be better or worse then hitting it while relativistically STL.

Samuel,
The problem with using hydrogen for that role- which, ion drive, yep, no problem there, proton stream- is that it means you still need to explain the radioactive metal.
I don't see what a ship would want with that unless it really is reaction mass.

Why do you think that radioactive metal has no other use than being reaction mass? Especially since it means you couldn't run radioisotope-fueled ion drives on any civilized planet, for obvious reasons. (Also, gaseous metals tend to be nasty to life, radioactive or not.)

Would that reason be because it would be equal to lighting off dozens of H-bombs each second, or because you think a few kilograms of radioactive material will somehow be worse?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Yes, I was stuck in that false dichotomy and looking for a way out of it. I presume that it exists- has to exist- but damn' if I could say what it is.

Everything past hydrogen and helium being a metal is a new definition on me; I had been thinking in more chemical terms. Point taken on board.

And excuse me a moment while I hit myself with a physics textbook for expecting a problem this complex to have a simple solution. I think I'll just go with the 'obviously, it works' theory.

[Wyrm]

Would that reason be because it would be equal to lighting off dozens of H-bombs each second, or because you think a few kilograms of radioactive material will somehow be worse?

Well, that too. I was just wondering of ECR why radioactive metal == reaction mass.

[Shannon]

Dr Saxton's exact words in the Introduction to the Attack of the Clones ICS were:

Hyperdrives allow voyages through an eerie realm called hyperspace - i.e. the ordinary universe viewed from a ship travelling faster than the speed of light. Hyperdrives adjust faster-than-light "hypermatter" particles to allow a jump to light-speed without changing the complex mass and energy of the ship.