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I just finished reading the second of the Ringworld books, and this seems very much like a first step towards the ramjets the book is all about. so, to-do: *

I just finished reading the second of the Ringworld books, and this seems very much like a first step towards the ramjets the book is all about. so, to-do: * find way to scoop up more incoming material * replace electric propulsion with sth more powerful * write smug think piece about how sci-fi guides engineering

spuz 9y ago
I haven't read Ringworld, but are you sure that it is not describing this already existing technology? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet
JumpCrisscross 9y ago
Ringworld posited interstellar Bussard ramjets [1]. Since they were proposed (and Ringworld written) we have discovered there isn’t enough hydrogen in interstellar space to make such vehicles feasible. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet