Difference between revisions of "Thruster"

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(Modified 2/3 reference from thrust to power, added more explicit definitions in the Newton's 2nd area, cleaned up units throughout.)
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Thrusters for both small and large ships require reactor energy and apply two different kinds of thrust. A thruster applies its maximum thrust while stabilizing and only 2/3 of maximum thrust when using the movement keys. This means a ship will stabilize faster if the pilot does not activate any maneuvering controls.
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Thrusters for both small and large ships require reactor energy and apply two different kinds of thrust. A thruster applies its maximum thrust while stabilizing with inertial dampeners on and significantly less force when using the movement keys. While dampening the thrusters use 150% of their normal power level.  This means a ship will stabilize faster if the pilot does not activate any maneuvering controls.
  
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To calculate how many thrusters you need, use the formula F(force) = m*a where (m = mass of the ship in kilograms) and (a = desired acceleration in meters per second). Then take this total and divide it by the maneuvering force of the thruster to obtain the number of thrusters needed for each direction.
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To calculate how many thrusters you need, use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_laws_of_motion#Newton.27s_second_law Newton's Second Law], specifically the formula '''F'''=''m'''''a'''. Here '''F''' is force in newtons, ''m'' is the mass of the ship in kilograms and '''a''' is the desired acceleration in meters per second<sup>2</sup>. For additional ease of use it may be helpful to think of '''a''' as the final velocity (in meters per second), minus the initial velocity all over time (in seconds). Using this definition of '''a'''=('''v'''<sub>f</sub>-'''v'''<sub>i</sub>) '''/''' ''t'' it is possible to choose a speed of travel and the time it will take your craft to reach it.  In terrestrial terms this would be akin to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0_to_60_mph zero to 60] metric for cars. By dividing your calculated force by the listed thrust of the engine you choose you arrive at the number of thrusters needed.
  
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Ex. If you want to have a large ship that has 2 million kg of mass accelerate 5 meters/sec you would use the following equation. Force = 2,000,000 x 5, resulting in 10,000,000. Large thrusters for large ships produce 1,200,000 Newtons of force. 10,000,000 divided by 1,200,000 gives you a total of 8.33. This is the number of large thrusters you would need in each direction to accelerate the ship at 5 meters/sec.
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For example, if you have a 2 million kg large ship that needs to accelerate 5 m/s<sup>2</sup> you would use the following equation. '''F''' = 2,000,000 kg '''x''' 5 m/s<sup>2</sup>, resulting in 10 MN thrust required. Large thrusters for large ships produce 1.2 MN of force. 10 MN divided by 1.2 MN gives you a total of 8.33. This is the number of large thrusters you would need both to accelerate and manually brake.  If you apply the other definition of acceleration you can find the time it takes your ship to reach an arbitrary speed.  If you let your cruise speed equal 100 m/s the equation solved for time will be ''t'' = '''v''' '''/''' '''a'''.  Substituting the values in results in a zero to 100 time of 4 seconds for this particular ship.  It's important to note these calculations only hold true for manual firing of the thrusters.  Automatic inertial dampening will produce much higher forces and therefore lower times to zero velocity.
  
  
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See also [[Gyroscope]].
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Currently thrusters act in a purely linear fashion and do not turn vehicles. See [[Gyroscope]] for information on rolling and turning.
 
== Thrusters ==
 
== Thrusters ==
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
 
|-
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|colspan="2"| || Force (N) || Power (GW) || Mass (Kg)
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|colspan="2"| || Force (N) || Power (MW) || Mass (Kg)
 
|-
 
|-
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|rowspan="2"|Small Thruster || Max || align="center"|150 660 || align="center"|42 || rowspan="2" align="center"|3384
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|rowspan="2"|Small Thruster || Max || align="center"|150 660 || align="center"| 0.84 || rowspan="2" align="center"|3384
 
|-
 
|-
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|Maneuvering || align="center"|100 440 || align="center"|28
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|Maneuvering || align="center"|100 440 || align="center"|0.56
 
|-
 
|-
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|rowspan="2"|Large Thruster || Max || align="center"|1 815 000 || align="center"|504 || rowspan="2" align="center"|43212
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|rowspan="2"|Large Thruster || Max || align="center"|1 815 000 || align="center"|10.08 || rowspan="2" align="center"|43212
 
|-
 
|-
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|Maneuvering || align="center"|1 210 000 || align="center"|336
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|Maneuvering || align="center"|1 210 000 || align="center"|6.72
 
|}
 
|}

Revision as of 06:56, 2 July 2014

Thrusters for both small and large ships require reactor energy and apply two different kinds of thrust. A thruster applies its maximum thrust while stabilizing with inertial dampeners on and significantly less force when using the movement keys. While dampening the thrusters use 150% of their normal power level. This means a ship will stabilize faster if the pilot does not activate any maneuvering controls.

To calculate how many thrusters you need, use Newton's Second Law, specifically the formula F=ma. Here F is force in newtons, m is the mass of the ship in kilograms and a is the desired acceleration in meters per second2. For additional ease of use it may be helpful to think of a as the final velocity (in meters per second), minus the initial velocity all over time (in seconds). Using this definition of a=(vf-vi) / t it is possible to choose a speed of travel and the time it will take your craft to reach it. In terrestrial terms this would be akin to the zero to 60 metric for cars. By dividing your calculated force by the listed thrust of the engine you choose you arrive at the number of thrusters needed.

For example, if you have a 2 million kg large ship that needs to accelerate 5 m/s2 you would use the following equation. F = 2,000,000 kg x 5 m/s2, resulting in 10 MN thrust required. Large thrusters for large ships produce 1.2 MN of force. 10 MN divided by 1.2 MN gives you a total of 8.33. This is the number of large thrusters you would need both to accelerate and manually brake. If you apply the other definition of acceleration you can find the time it takes your ship to reach an arbitrary speed. If you let your cruise speed equal 100 m/s the equation solved for time will be t = v / a. Substituting the values in results in a zero to 100 time of 4 seconds for this particular ship. It's important to note these calculations only hold true for manual firing of the thrusters. Automatic inertial dampening will produce much higher forces and therefore lower times to zero velocity.


Currently thrusters act in a purely linear fashion and do not turn vehicles. See Gyroscope for information on rolling and turning.

Thrusters

Block Icon Mass for Small ships (kg) Mass for Large ships (kg) Description
Small Thruster Small Thruster Icon.png
Large Thruster Large Thruster Icon.png

Small Thrust

A small component to create thrust for your ship.

Large Thrust

A large component to create thrust for your ship.

Thruster Characteristics

Small Ships

Force (N) Power (GW) Mass (Kg)
Small Thruster Max 18 165 2.52 93
Maneuvering 12110 1.68
Large Thruster Max 218 250 30 721
Maneuvering 145 500 20

Large Ships

Force (N) Power (MW) Mass (Kg)
Small Thruster Max 150 660 0.84 3384
Maneuvering 100 440 0.56
Large Thruster Max 1 815 000 10.08 43212
Maneuvering 1 210 000 6.72
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