Why cap-drives use the L1

Is there a reason listed in I-War cannon as to why the cap-drives use the L1 Lagrange points?

I'm trying to 'sculpt' some science to back up an effect I want.

<font size="1"><font face="Book Antiqua"><font color="black">"Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march; it was a stampede-- without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of Civilisation... of the massacre of Mankind."
--H. G. Wells The War Of The Worlds</font id="black"></font id="Book Antiqua"> </font id="size1">

It is the point where two gravity fields balance. And this balance point can be made "the same" as another balance point. Essentially folding the two pieces of space together into one place. (or that what I have picked up).

Larry Niven proposed a similar drive once. His idea went kind of like this: in our world locations are organized by distance. And you can step between two places that are placed next to one another. But you cannot step between places that are distant. In his "jump space" locations are organized by energy state. So two locations - no matter how far apart physically - would be right next to one another if they had exactly the same energy level. Same gravity, heat, mass, etc. So if you could move into this "jump space" you could move back out at almost any distance away, as long as you had a destination with a matching energy.

Niven's idea might even been the basis for jump points. Who knows?

-Gtrout

Actualy, strictly speaking cap drives do not use the L1 point - L1 the point between primary and secondary where the two gravitational forces plus the centripetal acceleration due to moving below orbital velocity (WRT the system barycenter) balance out.

A cap drive uses the actual point of gravitational neutrality.

As for how its possible to place a station stationary WRT this neutrality point, with fusion technology you have enough ISP to keep it there with thrusters.

Thanks gentlemen.

Maybe what I'm after is more of an explanation of capsule space than the L-point itself.

For instance: Let's say there's an Exploration company, which makes it's living scouting for possible routes to new systems.

Obviously, there's a L1 point anywhere you find two bodies (one orbiting another). But you cannot perform a capsule jump at just 'any' L-point... only certain ones.

So, how would this exploration company find out where a capsule jump would lead to?

In Hoffer's Wake, the Alexander L-point allows a capsule jump to the Coyote system. Why did it not allow a jump to Santa Romera itself? Or Dagda? Is it a question of the cap-drives range? Or a matter of L-point direction? What is the factor that determines where the L-point leads to?

Yes, I know... "Because the game designers wanted it that way." But in many reviews of I-War and EoC, praise is heaped upon PS for setting up the science first and then building their game from that framework. It does create a more 'real' simulation than other games I've played (where the cotton-candy techie stuff is just pasted on after the game's been built).

There seems little info on the subject (and I wonder if I didn't just miss it somewhere). Whenever I try to come up with a mission plot or story element which involves some unusal use of an L-point/cap jump, I always feel like I'm on shaky scientific ground.

So if anyone has some ideas or knows where some info could be found, please let me know.

<font size="1"><font face="Book Antiqua"><font color="black">"Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march; it was a stampede-- without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of Civilisation... of the massacre of Mankind."
--H. G. Wells The War Of The Worlds</font id="black"></font id="Book Antiqua"> </font id="size1">

In fact, you are on kind of shakey ground. Everyone is, as the physics of capsule drives, capsule space and the whole idea of FTL travel between two points in real space is still more theoretical speculation more than science. There was an excellent discussion at the ina board on the physics of I War (I think it was one of dreadnaught's threads) back before the first great purge. It probably got lost along with so many other gems, but maybe dready backed it up (?). It discussed the nature of the 'capsule' being referred to, the bright 'strings' seen in the centre of the capsule space 'tube' and the energy states involved, and required to get to and from this kind of space. I wasn't anywhere near informed enough to be a participant, but I enjoyed the discussion immensely. I'll bet you could set up a thread both here and there, and get some lively input on the topic still.

--
Hot4Darmat

If I am remembering the original Iwar correctly - there was no limit on which lpoint you jumped out of. The indies were always showing up in Sol system, despite the huge navy presence. Essentially a blockade had to cover all lpoints.

In EoC I have noticed that they are putting the longest jump points near the largest gas giants. And I turned that speculation into a rule "the distance a jump point can link, is directly related to the steepness of the nearby gravity well." So the larger the planet the longer the reach. The larger the star the longer the reach. And if a bit gas giant is tight orbiting a large star - huge reach. (but you could make up your own rule)

If the energy state was the basis of capsule drive tech, then an experimental drive might be able to jump you from two matched points - say opposite sides of a star. or opposite sides of a planet. or perhaps anywhere along the orbital path of a planet (slightly adjusted for the locations of the other planets). Hmmm. what if this drive was slightly unstable. You could not exactly control where you left. Say you jump, and then reappear at some random position, but always the same distance from the main planet body. Who would want that? I don't know, just ideas...

[Edit]
Here is another idea or two for linking jump points: An lpoint exists between a planet and an orbiting moon. So that means the lpoint is always moving. Suppose an lpoint has the longest link when you jump in the direction of the "pole" of the rotation. So the earth - sun forms a disk with a pole down the middle. And the longest jumps would be staight up or down along that pole. And stars are tipped all crazy ways, so this forms a bunch of paths of links.

Suppose it is not the planet-star rotation, but planet-moon rotation that is important. Then the same star system could have planets and moons tipped different directions. Then you would need to survey the planet and moon. and calculate what stars could be reached pointing along the pole.

It could be cool because the trip might end up one way. You can jump into somewhere, but none of the lpoints aim back out the way you came in.... (standard lpoints don't support that, but special ones can do it).

And yet another crazy idea: suppose the lpoint gives the strongest link depending on the planets orbit direction around the sun. So stable lpoints will be around distant slow revolving gas giants. Lpoints around the inner planets will sweep like lighthouse beams, changing a degree or more in direction every day. Now the player must have a star chart to make a path! because every day the links are changing. Now would that be cool or what!

"Ok, 10 days from now we will be in Zephir, and for that month we can jump for Romus. But if we wait longer than that our window closes, and we are forced to take the Deft-Brodus route. And given the fighting in Brodus, well, let's not be late...."


-Gtrout