TrekWars - The Furry Conflict: Ion Drive Propulsion

	PROPULSION: SUBLIGHT: ION DRIVE
	Technical Brief:

The theory of ion propulsion predates interstellar space travel, and despite it's age, the technology has proved a viable and efficient means of propelling space cruisers across interplanetary distances for thousands of years. When used in concert with FTL technology, such as warp drive or hyperdrive, a cruiser becomes a viable and versatile starship, capable of traversing the great voids of space, creating physical paths of travel between planets separated by astronomical distances.

Ion propulsion is the sub-light method of propulsion of choice for much of the galaxy controlled by the Galactic Empire. Most every space-cruiser mounts ion engines in one form or another, ranging from the Seinar Fleet Systems P-s4 Twin Ion Engines mounted on the common TIE Line Fighter, to the huge custom designed blood-red ion propulsion units used to power Executor-class command ships through space.

The concepts behind ion engine propulsion are relatively simple: a propellant supply, usually waste material from a ships reactor core or sometimes from a specially designed fuel containment tank, provides raw material to the deepest part of the ion engine, the ionization chamber, which converts neutral particles to ions of either positive or negative charge. Not all ion engines use an ionization chamber in their design, as some rare configurations store fuel in an already ionzied state. This is dangerous, because a leak or break in an ion containment tank could easily ionize the entire vessel, knocking out all electronics.

As the fuel passes through the ionization chamber, the ions proceed through the second stage of the engine, the turbine, which accelerates the particles to relativistic speeds using a series of magnetic field constrictors.

From there, the ions are ejected into space, providing thrust which moves the ship in a forward direction. Common ion drives are capable of pushing ships at accelerations up to 75 MGLT, but some Imperial experimental military systems have been clocked up at speeds as high as 400 MGLT.

Ion engines are mildly radioactive, requiring technicians to use protective suits when servicing them. As a common protocol, ships do not use their ion engines when in atmosphere, but instead rely on gravity repulsorlifts to prevent spreading radiation into a planet's environment.

Although impressive, and capable of moving and maneuvering vessels effectively through the micro-gravity environment of space, ion drives are inherently inferior to drive systems which use mass-diversion technology, such as impulse drive. These limitations are largely due to the laws of relativity, which exponentially increase energy requirements as a vessel approaches the speed of light, making relativistic propulsion speeds infeasible. Once Imperial sources were able to properly acquire impulse drive technology, they immediately began research and implementation, resulting in abnormally nimble space cruisers such as the Vengeance Class Advanced Star Destroyer.

For additional discussion of the topic of ion drive, please refer to the Ion Propulsion thread in the What Is...? Forum.

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