05-03-2006, 10:31 PM
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Incurable SEMROC Fan
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho, USA
Posts: 2,319
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"The Naming of the Names"
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Originally Posted by DeanHFox
Way cool design, Jay. Was the name and design inspired by the Poul Anderson novel?
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The design came out of my twisted little noggin, but yes, the name is indeed from that very book. (My original working name for this rocket was "Biff Pau" -- most likely a reference to the 1960's "Batman" TV show starring Adam West.  )
I even consulted a friend of mine who's an astrophysicist at the nearby college, and he said, "Yes, the closer you get to lightspeed, the value for 'Tau' in the equations gets closer to zero." IIRC, he also said that when Tau equals zero, you've reached the speed of light. And then he muttered something to the effect of "then all the rules change," or somesuch astrophysical mysticism.   
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Always liked that book (although current cosmological theory says, "No way the universe will contract and be reborn"). 
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Don't worry. Wait a few years, and another (clarifying? opposing?) theory will come along. They always do. 
Cheers,
--Jay |