According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D2G_reactor, nuclear cruisers (since decommisioned) employed two nuclear reactors rated at 150 MW each. If all power was diverted to the railgun (which probably is not as practical as it seemed to be on Star Trek) this would mean that a 64 MJ gun would be fully charged in less than a quarter of a second. Obviously, then, bleeding off 1% (from a vessel designed to operate on only one reactor, so this is excessively conservative) would still allow for a recharge in less than a minute. Power is not the limiting factor. How fast capacitors can safely charge and how quickly the gun can physically recuperate from firing is the issue.
There is also some speculation that particles of four quarks have been observed
http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/43/5/2 Thus far, experiment has verified three quark particles (and multiples of three quarks, as in nuclei) and quark/antiquark pairs.
A 'four quark' particle would actually be a dimeson with two quarks and two antiquarks, the 'five quark' particle ("conglomeron?") is four quarks plus an antiquark.
In every case, the color law of QCD (the real "rule") has been preserved, it's just that new arrangements of quarks have now been postulated.
'c' is more than just an arbitrary constant, it does have fundamental meaning, as it relates to the scaling of the time vs. the space dimensions. Think of c as an aspect ratio. The ratios of the space dimensions are (usually) 1, which is like a computer screen made of perfectly square pixels layed out evenly; if you rotate an image on that screen, it doesn't change at all. If the ratio is not 1, then rotating the image makes a difference, and the distortion (circles becomes ellipses, faces get squished, etc.) is dependent upon the ratio.
Where is this 'distortion' then, in space-time? It is all the weird things that happen when objects approach the speed of light. Moving between reference frames is like rotating the screen, and thus the value of c influences these behaviors. So what? Even if you're not a space traveler, things like the color of gold are dependent on this number. Shift 'c' enough, and it's lead that's pretty and gold dull.
The units we use may be convenient and flexible, but space and time are not arbitrary, even ignoring relativity. For example, you could measure the speed of light in terms of (diameters of uranium nuclei) per (period of light emitted by first ionization of hydrogen) or any such, and it should be clear that changing this velocity would require rewiring the universe.
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According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D2G_reactor, nuclear cruisers (since decommisioned) employed two nuclear reactors rated at 150 MW each. If all power was diverted to the railgun (which probably is not as practical as it seemed to be on Star Trek) this would mean that a 64 MJ gun would be fully charged in less than a quarter of a second. Obviously, then, bleeding off 1% (from a vessel designed to operate on only one reactor, so this is excessively conservative) would still allow for a recharge in less than a minute.
Power is not the limiting factor. How fast capacitors can safely charge and how quickly the gun can physically recuperate from firing is the issue.
There is also some speculation that particles of four quarks have been observed
http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/43/5/2
Thus far, experiment has verified three quark particles (and multiples of three quarks, as in nuclei) and quark/antiquark pairs.
A 'four quark' particle would actually be a dimeson with two quarks and two antiquarks, the 'five quark' particle ("conglomeron?") is four quarks plus an antiquark.
In every case, the color law of QCD (the real "rule") has been preserved, it's just that new arrangements of quarks have now been postulated.
This is a Disney 'cotton candy' movie, light and entertaining.
Where else can you get Leprechauns and Sean Connery at the same time?
'c' is more than just an arbitrary constant, it does have fundamental meaning, as it relates to the scaling of the time vs. the space dimensions.
Think of c as an aspect ratio. The ratios of the space dimensions are (usually) 1, which is like a computer screen made of perfectly square pixels layed out evenly; if you rotate an image on that screen, it doesn't change at all. If the ratio is not 1, then rotating the image makes a difference, and the distortion (circles becomes ellipses, faces get squished, etc.) is dependent upon the ratio.
Where is this 'distortion' then, in space-time? It is all the weird things that happen when objects approach the speed of light. Moving between reference frames is like rotating the screen, and thus the value of c influences these behaviors. So what? Even if you're not a space traveler, things like the color of gold are dependent on this number. Shift 'c' enough, and it's lead that's pretty and gold dull.
The units we use may be convenient and flexible, but space and time are not arbitrary, even ignoring relativity. For example, you could measure the speed of light in terms of (diameters of uranium nuclei) per (period of light emitted by first ionization of hydrogen) or any such, and it should be clear that changing this velocity would require rewiring the universe.
-AlphaGeek