TOKAMAK
A Russian term coined for the first two letters in the technical name for the system.
A toroid (doughnut-shaped) fusion power system. Plasma is generated and
contained by magnetic fields powerful enough to contain the whirling stream of
plasma - far hotter than the center of our sun - that powers the ship.
The Tokamak's touchy though, and given to sudden fits. ChEn sees to it.
No-one else. He won't let anyone in anyway.
VASIMR
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
Three joined chambers; plasma source, radiofrequency and nozzle.
Make it, heat it, blow it out. Then it's twin powers, specific
impulse and thrust. Specific Impulse means the more you burn,
the less you weigh, because you're burning fuel. So you go faster
the more you burn. That means less to stop with, because in space
you've got to flip over and burn again to slow down and stop.
Whatever 'stop' means in space.
THE SKIN
Neoprene. Hematite-laced. Self-healing. Holds the Styx in, and
has the look of a dusty asteroid's surface. Doesn't reflect anything.
THE STYX
Radiation's the most dangerous thing in space for humans.
A simple solar flare kills anything exposed pretty much instantly.
Hydrogen's the best radiation blocker there is. Water has
twice as much hydrogen as oxygen. And Tokamak needs deuterium
and tritium as fuel sources. Crack heavy water and you get
both. Heavy water is 2H20, which you get from irradiating water.
So put the water on the outside of the ship and you get a
rad-free environment, and you get free fuel. Neat, huh?
THE LOOP
No-one knows how it works anymore because the guy running
the experiment died. Loop's still going, and Captain's
not letting anyone touch it. Not even him. Basically,
it's recycling. It's also the food source. And emergency
medical system. Stokers call immersion in the Loop
'getting tanked.' It's not fun at all. Even if you come out again.
THE GUN
Something like a cross between a rail gun and a coil gun.
Runs down the center of the ship. It's a tube. Things
float in it, and occassionally move really really fast.
Which is why no-one likes to go in there. Oh, and the
Vasimr uses one end for its nozzle chamber. Boy, you don't
want to be down there at the wrong time.
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