| ...Quantite | |
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Unstable quantum materials such as quantite have several unique properties. For example, the electrons and protons that make up quantite can not be exchanged with those of another object, as one might experience with static electricity. The physical state of quantite can not be altered easily and, due to the fundamental binding forces of the atoms being unstable on a multidimensional plane, any massive alteration of the movement of quantite molecules will result in a massive detonation. Upon the discovery of Quantite, scientists found that by radically altering the atomic movement within Quantite atoms, specifically via the use of heat, they could produce a massive energy release. An increase in temperature would cause the molecules of Quantite to move about more quickly, just like heated air in a balloon and when the molecules reached a specific state of excited movement the super strings binding the atom together at the subatomic level would completely destabilize and a detonation would occur. By combining fusion technology with Quantite, Starfleet is able to abandon matter/anti-matter and nuclear fusion as their primary means of power generation for the following reason: Unlike matter/anti-matter reactors, Quantite does not require complex electromagnetic fields, or expensive methods of containment that can easily be breached. Refined Quantite is stable at temperatures as low as -500° C and as high as 11000° C, which means it can be stored at room temperature with practically no extraneous containment system, while matter/anti-matter requires a massive cryogenic super-cooling system to maintain safe storage. Quantite can be mined off of a planet,while production of matter/anti-matter is a negative-result venture, as it required more power to produce an given amount of anti-matter, then the potential energy the produced anti-matter was capable of generating. Quantite cam be used to produce a massive amount of energy with a minimal amount of resources. Matter/anti-matter requires an extremely complex and unreliable M/AM injector system prone to catastrophic system failure. One of the key problems in using Quantite was the fact that not all Quantite reached detonation at the same temperatures. Quantite from one planet could be ignited at temperatures as low as 2000° C, while Quantite from another planet would require temperatures as high as 20,000° C... it all depended on how close the planetoid was to whatever catastrophic event that created it. Consequently fusion power is often used in conjunction with Quantite. Fusion reactor plasma has a temperature of 5*10^7° K, several thousand degrees above the maximum ignition point of any known grade of Quantite, thus negating this problem. A Quantite/Fusion reactor consists of the following three parts and works like this: Fusion: A nuclear fusion reactor creates power by forcing two separate atomic nuclei to unite into a larger more powerful atomic mass. Resultant energy release created by fusion results in plasma. Quantite: Purified Quantite ore, which is produced by passing the ore through an intense Electromagnetic field, breaking the Quantite ore down into its base components, effectively removing the impurities and leaving only the Quantite. Concluding purification, the bulk of the remaining compound is pure Quantite. Refined Quantite, which is now in a dense, metallic powder form, is then stored within armored, incredibly heat resistant storage tanks. Main Energizer: This is the reactor housing in which plasma and Quantite are introduced. Charged plasma and purified Quantite are pumped into the ship's main energizer. Once injected into the energizer the two compounds come into contact and the hot plasma ignites the Quantite. A magneto/gravitational matrix, which is essentially a powerful gravitic force field, contains the resulting explosion and the energy released by the explosion is then forced out the Energizer's power distrubition node. Small bits of these two compounds, on the scale of grams, produce the massive amount of energy a ship needs to power the vessel and allow it to create artificial gravity, travel at speeds near that of light and warp from one star to another. Energy Estimation of Quantite: We have been assuming that Quantite reaction is approximate to matter/anti-matter reaction, a means of power generation that produces 9*10^16 J/kg. Given that a entire M-class planet was destroyed by an explosion of experimental Quantite mine, the destructive force needed to destroy the planet would have been within the range of 1*10^38 joule. Matter/Anti-Matter reaction has an output of 9*10^16 j/kg and, if Quantite detonation is equivalent to M/AM reaction, then the compound Quantite would have only made up 1.85% of the planet's total mass. Assuming that Carolon was approximately the same size as Earth, then the planet's mass per meter cubed would have been 6,631.45 kg/m^3(Obviously we don't know the density of Quantite, but since this is all guess work and a nonexistent fictional material, we will use these rough figures to estimate fuel capacity). For example, Quantite fuel tanks having a volume of approximately 9,000 m^3 and holding quantite at a density of 6.6E3 kg/m^3, the total Quantite fuel capacity for a ship with tanks like this would have been approximately 59,683,103.7 kg. Given the potential energy to mass ratio for Quantite, the total Quantite Energizer's energy output would have been approximately 5.37*10^24 Joule, or 5,371,479 exajoules. In order for a Quantite reactor to work, any given race attempting to create such a device would need comprehensive knowledge of zero-point energy fields and gravimetric technology. Less advanced races first exploring the use of such a reactor, might be able to make do with an electromagnetic containment matrix. Unlike races using gravimetric technology, races using an electromagnetic containment system would only be able to achieve a reactor efficiency of approximately 24%. |
