C3 Multicannon Spin-Up Time

[space pilot]

You sure could. Though our MCs all spin in the same direction.

Well I didn't build 'em.

I'm thinking the operating mechanism would probably be proportional to the gun size, as the gun size is proportional to the platform (aircraft/spacecraft), so what works today would probably work in Space Future. The Vulture's hull supposedly weighs 230 Tons, which is substantially more than an A-10.

 

[Gunnet]

If you want to be concerned about something, I find more interesting that the whole thing doesn't cause our ships to do barrel rolls while firing.

There could be an internal flywheel which always rotates at the correct speed to counter the torque from the barrel assembly.

 

[Chris Simon]

There could be an internal flywheel which always rotates at the correct speed to counter the torque from the barrel assembly.

I don't think that is a power and weight efficient solution.

Anyway, I derailed the thread sufficiently. Pretend I was never here.

Spoiler

 

[SeeZaa]

The disadvantage of the spin-up time would outweigh the disadvantages of various other presently definable cooling systems, namely one that's always on.

oh yeah thanks, forgot about that...

another really important issue is power management. why use an always on system, meaning an increased power draw, for something you actively select as on or off, and by all accounts use for only a relatively small portion of the overall active time of the vessel? and just on the off chance you have an objection that is size/space/weight related.. another really important issue is mass.. why include extra components/systems on the main chassis, for equipment you may never have/need/use on your ship? all these ships are modular by design in order to accommodate the many different credit balances, or roles they will assume, now all these considerations would matter in real life, that is almost the very essence of engineering as a profession, and yet you are trying to argue past their feasibility, in a discussion talking about realism.. that is very confusing!!

 

[thirstyfish]

There could be an internal flywheel which always rotates at the correct speed to counter the torque from the barrel assembly.

Still friction to overcome. Also the mechanics of a gatling gun makes that not possible. Don't really know how to explain it, but it has to do with how the gun actually fires the rounds. There are springs that have to be pushed down as the barrels spin and that causes friction. A flyweel won't solve that.

 

[thirstyfish]

I'm surprised projectiles are still used in the year 3000.

Projectiles get used all over sci-fi. Mass Effect has them, as does Halo. Ship based kinetic weapons is a staple.

Just ask the gunnery chief in ME2 about kinetic weapons:

"Gunnery Chief: This, recruits, is a 20-kilo ferrous slug. Feel the weight. Every five seconds, the main gun of an Everest-class dreadnought accelerates one to 1.3 percent of light speed. It impacts with the force of a 38-kilotomb bomb. That is three times the yield of the city buster dropped on Hiroshima back on Earth.That means Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest [REDACTED] in space. Now! Serviceman Burnside! What is Newton's First Law?

Recruit: Sir! A object in motion stays in motion, sir!

Gunnery Chief: No credit for partial answers, maggot!

Recruit: Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir!

Gunnery Chief: [REDACTED] straight! I dare to assume you ignorant [REDACTED] know that space is empty. Once you fire a husk of metal, it keeps going until it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years.
If you pull the trigger on this, you're ruining someone's day somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your [REDACTED] targets! That is why you wait for the computer to give you a [REDACTED] firing solution! That is why, Serviceman Chung, we do not "eyeball it!" This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip.

Recruit: Sir, yes sir!"

That right there is the perfect explanation for why kinetic weapons are perfect for space combat.

 

[SeeZaa]

If you want to be concerned about something, I find more interesting that the whole thing doesn't cause our ships to do barrel rolls while firing.

aye there is that lol, i'm also sure it was brought up a few years back.. i think the response to that discussion was the ship using the FA mechanics to compensate.

 

[space pilot]

oh yeah thanks, forgot about that...

another really important issue is power management. why use an always on system, meaning an increased power draw, for something you actively select as on or off, and by all accounts use for only a relatively small portion of the overall active time of the vessel? and just on the off chance you have an objection that is size/space/weight related.. another really important issue is mass.. why include extra components/systems on the main chassis, for equipment you may never have/need/use on your ship? all these ships are modular by design in order to accommodate the many different credit balances, or roles they will assume, now all these considerations would matter in real life, that is almost the very essence of engineering as a profession, and yet here you are, trying to argue past their feasibility, in a discussion talking about realism.. that is very confusing!!

You got me! Or maybe it's not a binary world where on means using all the power in the universe and off means zero. The on/off nature of a gun, however, is very important. When you want it on, you really want it on, and when you want it off, you really want it off. Cooling could always be on, or could only come on when needed, or could even not come on if you're strapped for power and elect to only use the weapon in short bursts or until it fails in a desperate last resort.

With how heat buildup works in a gun, gatling included, having coolant flow (using your paradigm) before shooting starts would be completely unnecessary. Significant heat wouldn't be generated until many rounds had already been fired, so if an on/off high power cooling system were in use, it wouldn't need to come online before firing started.

Only in the most fantastical world does your argument hold any weight. The same kind of world where "What if a hamster has to run on a wheel to build up power before barrels can rotate?" or "What if a flying spaghetti monster has to bless your multicannon before it starts firing each time?" are possible.