The "science" behind the fuel in Elite?

[Norbert]

There is as well another source of propulsion very powerful and very interesting in space, it is gravity. Well used, you can save lols of fuel by calculating ideal trajectories through a solar system. And I am sure space ships will use it to save fuel in the future.

 

[Darren Grey]

There is as well another source of propulsion very powerful and very interesting in space, it is gravity. Well used, you can save lols of fuel by calculating ideal trajectories through a solar system. And I am sure space ships will use it to save fuel in the future.

Indeed, you could do gravitational slingshots in FE2. And Frontier have said the mechanic will be back for the new game when using supercruise

 

[Rollo]

According to the Frontier manual, the hydrogen fuel is used as an energy source for hyperspace travel, and waste products of that are then used as reaction mass for thrusters. (Possibly helium and rarer heavier elements left over from a fusion reaction?)

Military fuel was "an engineered molecule with anti matter atoms suspended in it." so probably gained greater mass-efficiency than a fusion-based reaction by using antimatter annihilation.

In First Encounters, certain ships were able to transmit a signal that made civilian drives but not military drives explode. It's not clear what mechanism this used: it is unlikely to be directly related to the choice of fuel source since the fusion-based drive sounds like it has the far safer source...

Precisely and I do hope military fuel is still a factor in game. It is after all the sustenance of the Sirius Corporation, and everyone wants them to be alright...right? Oh come on!
That signal to make civilian drives explode sounds interesting. I didn't know about that, but then I was "hibernating" during FFE. Knowledge better kept in secret on Factory Central, Lucifer. Yes, it's perfectly safe with us.

 

[Laithlind]

I recall growing up on speculation of using ramjets to scoop hydrogen as interstellar fuel (late 70s/early 80s); I vaguely recall a Sky at Night piece about it. Always assumed that this was the basis of the original Elite game which allowed scooping of fuel from a sun. Something like this:

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=8145

Awesome site

 

[Commander Mick]

Why Does Witch/Hyper-Space Fuel Only Get Used Up

WHY:S:S:S:S

I hope they fix this, even if it means being stranded in inter-planetary space with no fuel at all

 

[Mephane]

WHY:S:S:S:S

I hope they fix this, even if it means being stranded in inter-planetary space with no fuel at all

There will be fuel scoops to collect fuel from some type of astronomical bodies, like gas planets.