A Question on the Phoenix

[Prometheus Unbound]

Err-no, fission it is

Could be fusion.

either way, it's not anti-matter. Not really important.

and as we've known since the Romulans made their debut in TOS that Warp doesn't require M/AM I completely fail to see the problem with that?

There isn't one? I didn't say there was?

what?

[Batman]

Err-no, fission it is

Could be fusion.

No it couldn't given their alleged fuel source is a nuclear warhead which means fissionables which are kinda useless for a fusion plant.

and as we've known since the Romulans made their debut in TOS that Warp doesn't require M/AM I completely fail to see the problem with that?

There isn't one? I didn't say there was?
what?

Some people in this thread seem to feel they have to shoehorn M/AM into the Phoenix's workings somehow when the bleeping original series says you don't even need it for everyday use Warp drive, leave alone what may very well have been a one-shot prototype. I'm sorry if that came across as if it were directed at you.

[Borgholio]

No it couldn't given their alleged fuel source is a nuclear warhead which means fissionables which are kinda useless for a fusion plant.

Plus, that runs into the same problem as antimatter. Would the tech base of the world in 2063 after WW3 be high enough to support a self-sustaining fusion reactor small enough to fit in an ICBM?

[tim31]

We know that the ship was recovered and preserved, since Picard mentions having seen it in the Smithsonian.

[Lord MJ]

I seem to recall Arik Soong mentioning that the first starships were "Nuclear Powered" or some such.

I don't remember the exact quote. But seems to me definitive that the Phoenix did not have anti-matter.

[Prometheus Unbound]

I seem to recall Arik Soong mentioning that the first starships were "Nuclear Powered" or some such.

I don't remember the exact quote. But seems to me definitive that the Phoenix did not have anti-matter.

"And yet the first ships to colonize the solar system were nuclear-powered."

That could well be sub-light since it's within our solar system.

I agree with you, but I'm not sure that quote would prove anything either way, unfortunately.

[StarSword]

I seem to recall Arik Soong mentioning that the first starships were "Nuclear Powered" or some such.

I don't remember the exact quote. But seems to me definitive that the Phoenix did not have anti-matter.

"And yet the first ships to colonize the solar system were nuclear-powered."

That could well be sub-light since it's within our solar system.

I agree with you, but I'm not sure that quote would prove anything either way, unfortunately.

Most likely sublight. Most space probes that head for the outer solar system use nuclear batteries because the sunlight's too weak for photovoltaics that far out.

[amigocabal]

That's pretty much what I suspected. This came about because I watched Apollo 13 again tonight and it got me thinking. I was wondering if there was any definite answer. Of course, that begs the question of how he planned to make another flight, where he'd get another Titan-V (I think that's what it was supposed to be, it's actually a training version of a Titan-II) or equivalent launcher. Granted he'd need a smaller rocket if he's only launching his command module but still.

That brings me to another question. Who exactly was he hoping to sell the design to? Most people seemed concerned solely with survival at this point, since "most of the major cities have been destroyed, very few governments left." Strikes me as a mighty strange idea to try to market in such a world.

The key words are "most" and "few". Cochrane could reasonably believe that the few governments left could buy the design, or even one of the industries in the few cities left. (Not to argue he was right; if he had been wrong, he would have become bankrupt absent the arrival of the Vulcans.)

(Also, if I remember correctly, First Contact took place a decade after the war, so there would have been plenty of rebuilding, especially near natural harbors.)

[InsaneTD]

That was on TV here last night, and yeah, they kept saying ten years a lot.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Yes, there could have been rebuilding, yes there could have been governments or industries still operating. But we never see that in the film (or the book), it's just "dollar signs, money, that's all I want." Although,given that the book states that he's bipolar and been off his meds for ten years, the idea that he hasn't actually thought it through makes a lot of sense.

Also, I have no idea why saying there'd be rebuilding around natural harbours is relevant, given Cochrane was in Montana.