Strangelove
Inactive Member
As we know, many SARP reactor technologies generate a colossal amount of power. Most often for shields and weapons, but they're focused little else than destruction (of incoming attacks, or of the target). However, most FTL drives can successfully convert those huge sums of power into thrust (well, at least the ability to "move" an object, so to speak) without destroying very much. So that got me thinking about a whole new line of technology.
Hyperspace/CDD/Whatever shunt drives, perhaps even bombs. If you could somehow convert that tremendous power from moving a single ship FTL to moving larger objects more slowly, you'd have a fun new piece of tech on your hands.
Use them to drag a moon into planetary orbit, then use them to suck large quantities of atmosphere off a planet and instead move it to the moon. This would help eliminate the hostile atmosphere making terraforming easier. Or if it's habitable atmosphere you're hauling, you can convert your local moon into a nice vacation resort.
Of course, there is the other side of the coin. You could drag a moon onto a planet. Or strip an enemy planet of its atmosphere. Hurl some asteroid belts around. Throw an orbital planetary defense grid around like a kid knocking over building blocks. Turn an enemy fleet formation into chaos. And so on.
The main problem with this idea is I'm not familiar enough with the fictional (ahem, theoretical) quantum mechanics involved with the specific processes of most FTL technology. Would this be viable short of building a giant FTL drive? The idea after all is not moving giant objects at FTL speeds for long periods in a stable manner, as with ships, but simply to perhaps bend space/time/gravity in such a way you could move large chunks of matter around. Perhaps converting the FTL "fields" from a single, precise, high powered field into a larger, weaker, more unstable field? Combine the fields of larger vessels to move larger objects such as moons at slower "speeds." Perhaps moving larger objects in "bursts" by creating a field around it and giving it a large push before the field promptly collapses a nanosecond later?
Hyperspace/CDD/Whatever shunt drives, perhaps even bombs. If you could somehow convert that tremendous power from moving a single ship FTL to moving larger objects more slowly, you'd have a fun new piece of tech on your hands.
Use them to drag a moon into planetary orbit, then use them to suck large quantities of atmosphere off a planet and instead move it to the moon. This would help eliminate the hostile atmosphere making terraforming easier. Or if it's habitable atmosphere you're hauling, you can convert your local moon into a nice vacation resort.
Of course, there is the other side of the coin. You could drag a moon onto a planet. Or strip an enemy planet of its atmosphere. Hurl some asteroid belts around. Throw an orbital planetary defense grid around like a kid knocking over building blocks. Turn an enemy fleet formation into chaos. And so on.
The main problem with this idea is I'm not familiar enough with the fictional (ahem, theoretical) quantum mechanics involved with the specific processes of most FTL technology. Would this be viable short of building a giant FTL drive? The idea after all is not moving giant objects at FTL speeds for long periods in a stable manner, as with ships, but simply to perhaps bend space/time/gravity in such a way you could move large chunks of matter around. Perhaps converting the FTL "fields" from a single, precise, high powered field into a larger, weaker, more unstable field? Combine the fields of larger vessels to move larger objects such as moons at slower "speeds." Perhaps moving larger objects in "bursts" by creating a field around it and giving it a large push before the field promptly collapses a nanosecond later?