Classroom 5

[Kirby Oak]

*Kirby took a few minutes to think about the questions before responding*

1. The impulse engines are fusion powered.
2. One-fourth the speed of light is full impulse.
3. The abillity to go into warp is created by the controlled mixing of matter and anti-matter.
4. Dilithium becomes pourous when exposed to a high frequency electromagnetic field, which allows anti-matter to pass through it without actually coming in contact with it.
5. Dilithium can be synthesized.
6. The warp coils regulate and focus the flow of matter and anti-matter into the core, as well as contain the magnetic field.
7. A Level 1 diagnostic would be the most in depth.

[FredLurado]

"I will lead the way".

OOC: Continue in the Celtic Corner - Avalon Habitat Board

[Jennithefluffy1]

*Raises hand slowly and tentatively*

"Good morning Sir, I believe that engineering is where all the ships functions are maintained. It would contain the Warp core among other vital systems." Jenni answered, shifting nervously about in her rather uncomfortable chair.

[Baphomet]

Baphomet materialises into the room and approaches the only Cadet in the classroom.

"Greetings Cadet Muise, I am Lieutenant Commander Baphomet and I will be your Instructor."

She continues; "Currently there is no set curriculum as yet, but I see no logical reason we should not begin, before I start I will ask if you have any questions...?"

OOC: As stated, the curriculum is pending, but I am here and will answer any questions you have about your chosen position and profession.
Anything at all actually...to do with EF etc...

[Gunn Mann]

*Cadet C4 Gunn Mann entered the Engineering Classroom and stood respectfully in front of Captain Archer*

"Cadet C4 Gunn Mann reporting as ordered Sir.  I am ready to begin my training in the Deep Space Academy Engineering Course."

[Eugene Archer]

Cadet Mann, I just received words that cadet Dane has not been able to bring up the motivation to continue studying at the academy. Therefore I will continue teaching this course to you solely. I am curious about your findings, so let's hear them.

[Gunn Mann]

"Yes Sir.  There are three different types of propulsion systems aboard starships."

"The first one are manuevering thrusters.  The manuevernig thrusters are very low velocity means of propulsion used primarily when pinpoint accuracy is needed.  The best example of when thrusters would be used is when the starship is entering or leaving spacedock."

"The second means of propulsion are the impulse engines.  The impulse drive is the method of propulsion that starships and other spacecraft use when they are travelling below the speed of light. Typically powered by nuclear fusion reactions, impulse engines let ships travel interplanetery distances readily. For example, starships can travel very efficiently in planetary systems using the impulse engines."

"There are three practical challenges surrounding impulse drive design: acceleration, time dilation and energy conservation. Inertial dampeners compensate for acceleration. Time dilation would become noticeable at appreciable fractions of the speed of light.  

"Impulse engines are Nuclear Fusion engines.  The plasma from the fusion reactor powers a massive magnetic coil to propel the ship. It is a form of Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. This is used in conjunction with the ship's warp drive's alteration of the ships relativistic mass, to achieve mid to high sub-light speeds."

"Since a ship travelling at impulse velocities (slower than, but approaching, the speed of light) is still travelling in the normal space-time continuum, concerns of time dilation apply, so high relativistic speeds are avoided unless absolutely necessary; impulse power is therefore customarily limited to a maximum of 1/4 lightspeed. (Warp travel, on the other hand, does not involve time dilation effects.)"

"The last form of propulsion is of course the Warp Drive.  Warp drive is utilized for faster than light (FTL) travel without any type of time dilation or relativistic effects being felt by those on the starship."

"The power source for the Warp Drive is the Warp Core.  Warp cores utilize a matter-antimatter reaction that is regulated by dilithium crystals. When matter and antimatter are exposed, they annihilate each other upon contact. This annihilation releases colossal amounts of energy. Dilithium crystals are used to regulate the reaction because they are nonreactive to anti-matter when bombarded with high levels of radiation. The matter used in the reaction is usually deuterium, a form of hydrogen, and the antimatter is usually antideuterium, the corresponding antimatter to deuterium. The matter and anti-matter reaction inside the dilithium matrix is usually referred to as the matter-antimatter reaction assembly (MARA). The MARA is surrounded by a magnetic field to prevent the highly reactive anti-matter from escaping the assembly. The energy is then transferred into a highly energetic form of plasma called warp plasma."

"This warp plasma then travels to the warp nacelles via magnetic conduits. The warp coils are exposed to the warp plasma by plasma injectors, which carefully release the plasma into the coils. When exposed to such energetic plasma, the coils create an energy field called a warp bubble. The warp bubble expands space behind the vessel and contracts space in front of the vessel, and the warp bubble forms the barrier between these distortions. The bubble is accelerated while the space inside the bubble does not technically move, so the vessel does not experience time dilation, and time passes inside the bubble at the same rate as time in the other parts of the galaxy."

*Cadet Mann remained at attention waiting for the Fleet Captain's evaluation*

[Kassie]

<A rather nervous ensign enters the class room and takes her seat>

[Eugene Archer]

"Don't worry about it ensign, I'm not gonna let you fail the test because of such a small overlooked item. Let's continue."

"You mentioned back-up areas. Do you, by that, mean like another complete base to fall back to when we get attacked, or just some of the most important parts? Another thing I would like to ask you, is the following: We are currently on Avalon Station. When the planetary base is finished, Avalon Station will probably still be up here circling Dantor. The Station could get attacked and/or destroyed as well. If there was the slightest change to save the thousands of people on board the station, what would we do with them> There aren't enough shuttles and escape pods to get them down, this would also be much too dangerous. How would you solve this 'problem'?"

OOC: You may think that we're not really moving on, but I'm trying to do this one point at a time, because this is quite important, for you, but also for me and the other senior officers. By the way, the assignment is not very big, and if we would cover everything at once, we would be finished within the hour, which is not necessary nor exciting.

[FredLurado]

"We will now look at the fuel for motion in a starship. Dilithium".

Lurado stood, and a large screen came on to the front of the room, appearing on it was text and images.

Quote

Dilithium is a key factor in the design of any efficient matter / antimatter reactor, and has been incorporated into Federation Starship designs since it replaced lithium crystals in 2265. The key to the success of dilithium lies in the remarkable properties of this material. When subjected to a high frequency electromagnetic field in the megawatt range, dilithium - or 2<5>6 dilithium 2<:> diallosilicate 1:9:1 heptoferranide to give it the full scientific name - becomes completely porous to antimatter. The field dynamo effect created by the iron atoms within the crystalline structure allows antimatter atoms to pass through without actually touching it; it is thus the only known substance which does not react to the antimatter fuel commonly used in Starships. Dilithium can thus be used to mediate the reaction, boosting efficiency. Eventually reliance on natural dilithium was reduced after breakthroughs in nuclear epitaxy and antieutectics made it possible to synthesize dilithium for Starship use through theta-matrix compositing techniques utilizing gamma radiation bombardment. However, refining dilithium ore is a procedure which is still viable for Starships which are unable to obtain synthetic dilithium from a Starbase or other manufacturing facility.

http://www.expansionfleet.com/images/dilithium.jpg" border="0">

"What makes the ship able to go into warp drive?" Lurado said.
The screen changed to more text information.

Quote

The warp coils generate a multi-layered set of fields around the craft, creating the propulsive forces that enable a Starship to travel beyond light speed. Manipulation of the shape and size of the field determines the velocity, acceleration and direction of the vessel.

"Those are the fundamentals of the Starships Engine. Look over that information Cadet, and any questions you have please make them known. When you complete the study of that, I will quickly cover more of the technical information. I will try to get through this 'book work' in a timely manner, the interesting part of this comes to the Holodeck training".

[Kirby Oak]

"Thank you, Sir."

*Kirby walked over to Captain Lurado.*

"I haven't actually had much time to look around and I'd be happy to have a drink with you."

[Simon Rajnus]

"Hmmmm, your correct on the vital systems, however, you forgot one system that is much more important.  Life support, without it your pretty much dead without air." Simon explained with a stern look.

"Hmmmm, Your sort of correct.  However, You should have said both Shields and engines.  Shields would be needed to make sure you were able to survive long enough to go into warp.  Also repairing the engines is a good start because without them your pretty much screwed either way." Simon said thinking about his next question.

"Ok, In what ways would a Warp field fail to initiate?, what would you do to re-initialize the warp field?.  Remember, if you cant get the warp field back you have to sometimes think outside the box."

[Spencer W. Muise]

"I don't have any questions at the moment."

[Andrew Yates]

*A Message from Admiral Yates reaches the office in the Instructors Office.*

"Greetings, I am Admiral Andrew Yates, I will be filling for Captain Diaz while he is away. You have a new cadet for you so please report in asap. Yates, out."

[Eugene Archer]

*Archer stood up from behind his desk and walked towards cadet Mann*

"Welcome back cadet, thank you for coming so soon. Probably we will get another cadet in this course soon, but I don't think it's wise to wait for him to turn up. If we start now, we can finish this course as soon as possible."

*Archer walked back to his desk*

"But before we start, I would like to ask you a favour. Because of tactical and logistical purposes, Avalon Station (the station where this academy is located in) will be moved soon to another part of the delta quadrant. Vice-Admiral Julian is in charge of the operation and the current plans are to tractor it to the planet Dantor. There is a need for engineers and pilots to align the tractor beams, and implement new tractor beams into shuttles. Admiral Julian has asked me if I have some cadets to help out. I was wondering whether you would like to help in this operation. If yes, I will teach you all about tractor beams first."