Archives
| Title | Posted |
|---|---|
| The basis for Manticoran inventiveness | Jul 2005 |
| Education reform in the Republic of Haven | Jul 2005 |
| Technical improvements in the Talbott Cluster | Jul 2005 |
| Locating new Manticoran shipyards | Jul 2005 |
| Mesan assassin nanotech | Jul 2005 |
| The rationale behind when to reveal Apollo's existence | Jul 2005 |
| Refitting to the Keyhole-II standard | Jul 2005 |
| Expanding upon the Eridani Edict | Dec 2005 |
| Manticore's relationship with Beowulf | Dec 2005 |
| Power of the Manticoran Monarchy | Dec 2005 |
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Pearls of Weber
A collection of posts by David Weber containing background information for his stories, collected and generously made available Joe Buckley.
Single-drive fusion-powered missiles
- Series: Honorverse
- Date: November 14, 2004
Is anyone going to build a single-drive missile with a fusion power plant?
Almost certainly not. A fusion plant is larger than the capacitors required to store the energy required by a single-drive missile. It's smaller than the multiple capacitors required to power the multiple drive systems of an MDM. In addition, adding the necessary hardware to kickstart the fusion plant before launch would require a substantial up-sizing of the launchers firing them. The only real argument in favor of putting a fusion plant aboard a single-drive missile would be that it would provide both the power density and the endurance required to take full advantage of the EW capabilities provided by Ghost Rider. That isn't a minor consideration, but for a ship which would be firing single-drive missiles, that's not likely to be as significant a concern. Those vessels are going to be smaller and less capable, whatever they do. If the idea is that somehow switching to a fusion-plant drive and single-drive missile would produce a smaller single-drive weapon, that wouldn't happen.
