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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!bentley!kwh
From: kwh@bentley.UUCP (KW Heuer)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: FTL weapons
Message-ID: <656@bentley.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Mar-86 23:03:28 EST
Article-I.D.: bentley.656
Posted: Fri Mar 21 23:03:28 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Mar-86 00:33:01 EST
References: <313@astroatc.UUCP> <4595MIQ@PSUVMA> <4609MW9@PSUVM> <4610MW9@PSUVM>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner
Lines: 29

In <313@astroatc.UUCP> johnw@astroatc.UUCP (John F. Wardale) writes:
>Does any non-physics type out there want to take a crack at explaining
>their theory as to how the Big E can fire these [weapons at FTL]?

My first reaction was that there should be no difficulty.  As pointed
out by MIQ@PSUVMA.BITNET in <4595MIQ@PSUVMA>, an FTL weapon should be
no harder than an FTL ship.  Moreover, if you assume additive velocity,
the weapon can be slower than light relative to the ship (as mentioned
in articles <4609MW9@PSUVM><4610MW9@PSUVM> by MW9@PSUVM.BITNET).

Now I'm not going to invoke Einstein because [0] you wanted "non-physics
types"; [1] Einstein's equations don't behave nicely for v > c; and [2]
Star Trek seems to have taken a leap beyond Einstein, all the way to
Aristotle.  :-)

Note that in the Star Trek universe, FTL is some sort of abnormal state.
"No natural object can travel faster than light!" (I don't remember the
episode.)  It strains the engines to _continue_ to travel at warp 10;
they can't just coast.  In fact if they turn off the engines, don't they
revert to sublight?  Perhaps even "stop"?  (Relative to what?)  Given
this, one would expect that the weaponry must have its own propulsion
system, once it leaves the field that propels the ship.  Has there ever
been any mention of such a system?  (I remember that the Romulan weaponry
had a tracking device.)

Note also that the sensors, since they can observe an oncoming FTL object,
must transmit FTL information (probably instantaneously).

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ihnp4!bentley!kwh), The Walking Lint