"Gravity-Effect" Drives

[Whiskey144]

This thread was prompted by my "High-Powered" Plasma Drives thread, wherein I learned much about the eye-popping killy-ness of very powerful propulsion systems.......and meager systems on multi-kilotonne ships (0.1 Gs for 168 kilotoness means nearly 5 terawatts thrust power, at a 200 km/s exhaust velocity.....ouch).

So, now I have decided to figure out a way to get around the super-deadly thrust, while still staying the realm of believable in-setting. Some background:

-Humanity has made it to the stars, a long time ago......so long ago, that they now inhabit an entirely different region of the "universe"*, and Earth is but a mere legend.
-Technology involves widescale beamed solar power for planets and moon-based installations, with fusion power be used for other applications. Reaction engines are a fine art, in a way; electric propulsion makes up the bulk, with fusion and antimatter engines being used on military vessels.**
-FTL consists of three systems; the 'primary' is a jumpgate network; ships must have zero-velocity relative to the gate at time of jump, but jumps are near-instantaneous in most cases, only drifting into discernible time lengths for very long distances. Augmenting this is warp drives, which require more energy than ship-borne powerplants can provide, hence they require (dedicated) capacitor banks***. The third, and most rare (and prized) system is a from-anywhere-to-anywhere jump drive, though it requires fuel (lots of it), and very, very accurate coordinates. It also makes wonky particles pop up in the area that it is going.
-civilization consists of several major powers, a pirate alliance, and covers a galactic arm.
-common tropes, such as space pirates, free traders, bounty hunters and the like exist. A "mercenary" is, rather than the modern definition, more akin to a 'go-to guy' than a hired gun......though they'll do hired-gun stuff. But they'll also clean/replace panels on solar satellites used for beamed power.

*I'm being intentionally vague here as the arm/Earth astrographic relationship is a plot point.
**Formerly, as by the evidence of this threads' existence. OTOH, reaction drives may be used as "afterburners".
***Thus limiting range, and requiring jumpgates in most applications.

Here's what I'm thinking of:

Some kind of gravity-effect drive, wherein various 'thruster' nodes are placed along the hull surface, and, when directed within at a gravitational object within the conical arc of the node, produces thrust force; the basic idea is that it's pretty much a giant repellor beam device, used to push off of planets and whatnot. A star may be a much better idea.....or multiple stars.

The other idea I had was using it to push off of whatever FTL other-place-thing I'm setting up.

My reason for posting is quite simple; I'd like SD.Net's help in working out ripple effects and unintended consequences. Some constraints I'm already intending to include are multiple-gigawatt-range power requirements, along with regular replacement of device elements. An effect I've already noted, and intend, is that this now provides very cheap spacelift.

Thoughts/help?

[Dass.Kapital]

Um...wasn't something like your 'Repeller' beam a naffy tool of some 50's fictional character...?

Who's name escapes me, though I was not reading the works in the fifties...

Tom something? Tom Corbet..? Or was that a Rocket jockey...?

Any who, I think the repeller beams has been done, not to mention the HG Wells 'Anti-hydrogen' or whatever it was that lifted his 'naughts towards the silvery orb.

Much cheers to you and yours.

[Whiskey144]

Um...wasn't something like your 'Repeller' beam a naffy tool of some 50's fictional character...?

Who's name escapes me, though I was not reading the works in the fifties...

Tom something? Tom Corbet..? Or was that a Rocket jockey...?

Tom Swift, actually......which is actually part of where the idea came up.

Any who, I think the repeller beams has been done, not to mention the HG Wells 'Anti-hydrogen' or whatever it was that lifted his 'naughts towards the silvery orb.

Much cheers to you and yours.

TBH, I knew it had already been done, and I don't really care that it has. Not trying to sound rude here, mind you. What I am asking is for help to work out ripple effects/unintended consequences, though I have formed an additional possible requirement of the drives- namely, that they require their own fuel, which they (the drive(s)) then annihilate. OTOH, I'm not so sure about it.

[Dass.Kapital]

*Nods, nods*

It's all good. Ah yes, Tom Swift. I do remember reading pretty much all the series as a kid. Some fond, if dim, memories there.

Sorry I can't help out anymore, all the best with your tale.

Much cheers to you and yours.

[Whiskey144]

Sorry I can't help out anymore, all the best with your tale.

Thanks; perhaps I will get additional replies thanks to your own.

[Dwelf]

Have you considered the ways this tech can be weaponised you've just described a faster than light beam that exerts force on mass.

Every time I think through mechanics that prevent this becoming a very effective weapon I end up at a point where the beams are basically pointless and it would make more sense to say that it just pushes against the ambient gravitational field of the area.

[Whiskey144]

Have you considered the ways this tech can be weaponised you've just described a faster than light beam that exerts force on mass.

In all honesty, I hadn't. But then again, this is why I posted here.....so that anything I couldn't spot/think of would be picked out by the SDN'ers.

Every time I think through mechanics that prevent this becoming a very effective weapon I end up at a point where the beams are basically pointless and it would make more sense to say that it just pushes against the ambient gravitational field of the area.

Hmm..... Then ambient gravitational field repulsion devices they shall be!

That also happens to sound better anyways.