Jump Grids & Jump Drives

[Gadrin]

Periodically in the OTU someone invents a new jump drive that surpasses the current one and things change.

I'm not sure if either was detailed heavily, so I'll ask:

Is there a relationship between a ship's jump grid & jump drive ? meaning does a J-6 ship with a J-6 drive need an upgraded J-Grid ? (or will the one that's already there work just fine ?)

Looking back at the eka-metals thread, I'm wondering if a nicer j-grid could be constructed, or jump-coils; although my instinct says the TU works only on Lanthanum. Waaaay back when I posed a question on whether the Ancients relied on Lanthanum for their jump-capable ships, in other words
that's the only method of jumping (I know nothing of stutterwarp, which gets bandied about periodically.)

Just curious...


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[DaveChase]

Jump Gates have been discussed as a possible way around the J6 limit

There are several threads floating around about this subject and alternate Jump drives

Dave Chase
(still trying to stay on top of the Hay business)

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Lanthanum works best, but other things also work.

 

[far-trader]

There's nothing to suggest a different jump grid is needed in canon to my recollection. Note that misjumps work the same no matter the drive used or the distance travelled. Of course those are anomalous so maybe not a good example. And it is an interesting idea worth exploring.

 

[aramis]

IMTU, Lanthanum and Irridium both work for Jump Grids; Irridium aggravates misjumps.

 

[far-trader]

I prefer to stick to the lanthanoide group (excluding lutetium). Lanthanum being the lowest (atomic number) in the group is the best suited with the others being marginally less desirable but not enough to exacerbate misjumps (though that's an interesting idea I may borrow).

The reason lanthanum is preferred is it's durability, the others break down quicker. A big chunk of annual maintenance (imtu) is grid relining as it degrades over time which can lead to misjumps (the missed maintenance misjump increase).

EDIT: Never really pegged the time difference, probably go for something like a week or two less per step up the atomic table. Yeah, two weeks per step looks good, that makes it between 6 months (for ytterbium) and 1 year (for lanthanum). Probably throw in a 1% or 2% discount per step in the jump drive cost to make it a balancing game so you could have cheaper to buy but more maintenance prone drives balanced with the more reliable lower maintenance drives.

 

[Gadrin]

I prefer to stick to the lanthanoide group (excluding lutetium). Lanthanum being the lowest (atomic number) in the group is the best suited with the others being marginally less desirable but not enough to exacerbate misjumps (though that's an interesting idea I may borrow).

yes it is.

The reason lanthanum is preferred is it's durability, the others break down quicker. A big chunk of annual maintenance (imtu) is grid relining as it degrades over time which can lead to misjumps (the missed maintenance misjump increase).

I wonder if tampering with the grid could also prevent a jump, versus always having a misjump ?

I'd assume most crews give their ships a visual walkthru just like aircraft in our own world and obvious problems are dealt with before making orbit. I'm probably thinking too "gimmicky" on this one though.

so you could have cheaper to buy but more maintenance prone drives balanced with the more reliable lower maintenance drives.

based on their composition right ?

trying to decide (without causing a jump revolution) if introducing a new jump composite is worth it or not, for a pocket empire. I could compartmentalize the new drives by only making them available to certain groups, the macguffin being that the information is certainly valuable, but the composite is equally rare.



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[Xerxeskingofking]

it could be "worth" it, for reasons not related to pure efficientcy, for a pocket empire.

if, for example, the new composite was one that could be mined easily inside the pocket empires borders, then it may be cheaper to use a more mantainace intensive composition than it may be to import the "standard" mix form maybe dozens of jumps away.

other ideas:

the new mix is more resistant to damage for electical storms, such as those a ship suffers when refueling form a gas giant. the pocket empire relies heavily on this method of refueling, so it's a good idea for them.

the standard composition reacts badly with the atomosphere of one the major worlds of the empire, so they need to use another mix to mitigate the effects.

the standard composition is a monopoly of either a megacorp or a major power, one which the empire has poor relations with. the new mix allows them to be less dependant on that corp/power, and so they can act more freely.

Is there a relationship between a ship's jump grid & jump drive ? meaning does a J-6 ship with a J-6 drive need an upgraded J-Grid ?

I remeber a old piece of fluff that said somthing along the lines of the jump grids shape being partly a cosmetic choice, in that thier were several different patterns that worked equally well (or well enough that thier was little to choose form between them) imperium built ships had square grids, but the Zhodani favoured a triangluar pattern, for example.

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

if, for example, the new composite was one that could be mined easily inside the pocket empires borders, then it may be cheaper to use a more mantainace intensive composition than it may be to import the "standard" mix form maybe dozens of jumps away.

According to MT's Starship Operator's Manual, that's exactly why the Vargr originally chose barium to wire up their jump grids (and coils). Lanthanum is supposedly rather hard to come by on Lair, and so they got used to making do with other rare earths. Barium jump drives are also apparently something that all futuristic, space-faring and sensible humans find hilariously wacky -- but then again, there is a tendency to distill the Vargr into The Clown Princes of Outer Space in a lot of TU's.

The SOM also says that the Ancients would make use of a number of unspecified rare earth materials (including lanthanum) in constructing their jump grids. But at least at the current tech level, Lanthanum is the best there is.

 

[BlackBat242]

Or you could have Lanthanum be the only one that allows J6... the other useable elements produce jump fields that can only handle J5, or J4.

 

[HiverLord]

Quote from Gadrin:
I'd assume most crews give their ships a visual walkthru just like aircraft in our own world and obvious problems are dealt with before making orbit. I'm probably thinking too "gimmicky" on this one though.


Wouldn't part of the test process before a jump include sending electrical test impulses down the circuits?
A quick test would generally determine if a circuit/connection exists, and longer, more thorough testing (taking many hours or perhaps days) could possibly determine less obvious circuitry problems.
I believe this type of testing is used in most power grid systems (I may have to inquire with my retired-nuclear-engineer uncle sometime about this).