In Part 2 of this series on the technology of When Morpheus Overslept, I will describe the way Graviton Drive was developed during the late 21st and early 22nd centuries, and this is indeed the meat of this topic since its use drives not only the spaceship in which the main characters travel but also a major part of the plot of the novel.
Graviton Field Generators
Graviton field generators—or as they are more properly known on Earth, Higgs-Kelsang Graviton Field Attenuator-Inverters and Mass-Inertial Dampeners—were first developed in the late 21st century after the graviton particle was first identified in 2071. Subsequently, it was discovered that electromagnetic fields attenuated properly could affect the functional effects of graviton particles on objects in a variety of ways. The earliest versions of these devices were limited by the immense amount of power that they required to operate, and, thus, could only be used to lighten loads for launching into space or for traveling on Earth, or to provide thrust once a spacecraft had already been launched.
The devices generate an electromagnetic field that surrounds an object and then increases or decreases the effects of graviton particles on the object(s) isolated within. The changes to gravitational effects only work within the field, and the size of the field generated as well as its relative strength are driven by how much power is provided. Starting in 2099, scientists and engineers developed the ability to distinguish between and selectively isolate both push- and pull-gravitons individually. Thus, second-generation graviton field generators could also reverse the effects of gravity within the field by shunting out pull-gravitons and attracting push-gravitons.
In the early 22nd century, these second generation GFGs were used to levitate space stations and spacecraft into orbit for deployment. One of the first major projects for which they were used in this new iteration was the Phillips International Space Halo in 2101, a massive ring of space stations encircling the globe in geosynchronous orbit above the equator (more on this in a future blog, but the station is gravitationally locked onto the iron core of the Earth and the resulting differential between the core of the Earth and its crust and mantle produces the majority of the power). First and second generations of graviton field generators were used in a variety of other capacities—lightening heavy payloads both on Earth and in space, flying vehicles, decreasing the costs of transportation, as well as unique and specific scientific applications, especially in particle physics. It was the latter use that ultimately produced a major breakthrough in space travel in the following decades.
E3/E4 Nuclear Fusion Power
- Containment Method: Graviton Field
- Structure: Toroidal
- Fuel Cycle(s): Catalyzed D-D+D (4 2H → 4He [3.6 MeV] + 4He [3.6 MeV] + 40.5 MeV), D-3He (2H + 3He → 4He + 1H + 18.33 or 4 MeV) via 3He injection, D-T (2H + 3H → 4He + 1n + 17.63 or 4 MeV) for startup via tritium injection bred from neutron capturing
- Direct Power Generation: By liquid lithium proton capture during both D-3He and catalyzed D-D fuel cycles
- Core Temperature: 15,000,000 K, effectively “cold” fusion due to the effects of graviton fields generator in replicating stellar gravity
The issues of power are of tantamount importance. The amount of power required to reach relativistic speeds is logarithmic. This is partly due to the fact that the interior of the spacecraft must also be protected from the acceleration via inertial dampening—which is also a function of graviton field generators. Thus, the Graviton Drive is simultaneously creating enormous thrust by manipulating the gravity of a nearby star and cancelling out the effects of the resulting inertia upon the occupants. As one can imagine, this involves an almost inconceivable amount of power.
It is for this purpose that E3 nuclear fusion reactors were first created, and this comprises the other purpose that graviton field generators serve that created the possibility of Graviton Drive in the first place. In the fictional history of Earth in this story, it is difficult to say which came first—it is a proverbial chicken-or-the-egg situation—as the functions of graviton field generators and E3 fusion reactors are deeply intertwined in the development of Graviton Drive.
To briefly provide a layman’s view of the process: the graviton field generators are used to accelerate the collisions of particles within the fusion core. Due to the Coulomb force within atomic particles (this is the inherent energy within a particle that resists the molecules being combined), a great deal of energy is required in order to smash those atoms together. This is why net-energy nuclear fusion has been so difficult to achieve in real-life nuclear physics—the amount of energy necessary to force the atoms together typically exceeds the amount of energy received in return (or the ability to fully capture that energy and use it efficiently).
This is not true for the sun because it has such immense gravity that it can continue to easily fuse hydrogen (and even more complex elements) for billions of years in a near perpetual competition of gravitational collapse and exothermic reactions. The sun is constantly trying to both explode and collapse in on itself; the two processes are maintained in a perfect and nearly eternal balance.
By contrast, just starting such a process is difficult upon Earth, as we currently cannot simulate such gravitational forces. With a graviton field generator, however, the process is made much easier. Here is fundamentally how it works to ultimately solve all of the current issues surrounding nuclear fusion reactors, inevitably allowing for smaller core sizes with exponentially greater power:
Graviton field generators are far more efficient than magnetic fields for containing plasma, forming the first wall against the plasma, and containment is made near perfect by replicating stellar gravitational conditions in the exact center of the core. Turbulence is dramatically reduced by increasing the fluid viscosity of the plasma with periodic Higgs Boson injections. Magnetic field containment is only briefly required during boot-up of the system until the secondary fuel cycle can begin. Core temperature is also much cooler than would otherwise be necessary, similar to that of a yellow star. Finally, by reducing the nuclear potential with nuclear fusion accelerators—which is a more subtle use of graviton field generators—particles within the plasma can be smashed together with significantly greater ease. This produces a higher quantity of electron voltage with each collision. Standard MeV values can therefore be increased by the exponent given to the particular generation of fusion reactors: E3 is to an exponent of three, E4 to an exponent of four.
Thus, E3 nuclear fusion was born. The E3 means that energy received from the nuclear fusion reactor is cubed—energy times energy times energy, providing, at a minimum, depending on the size of the reactor, 640 gigawatts of energy. (The ‘E’ may be thought of as referring to ‘energy’ or ‘exponent’ as you prefer.)
The two technologies work in tandem—as the nuclear fusion reactor begins, more and more power is fed into the graviton field generators, which then apply their forces upon the fusion reactor, speeding the hydrogen collisions in the reactor and increasing the power exponentially, thus providing more power for the graviton field generators to in turn increase yet again the fusion power. The cycle ramps up exponentially until you finally have enough power to drive a ship to the stars.
The immense energy produced is captured for immediate use by a liquid lithium-ion barrier coating the inner surface of the spherical reactor chamber. This functions as a giant, constantly recharging battery with the particles from the reactor providing the charge. Plasma is instead used to power the weapons in ships with Plasma EM Cannons.
The boot-up process of an E3 fusion reactor on a spacecraft with Graviton Drive is as follows:
- An injection of deuterium and tritium into the core and the establishment of a magnetic containment field together begin the D-T fuel cycle. This part of the process is similar to 21st century tokamak nuclear fusion reactors. This boot-up uses stored power from powerful quantum entanglement batteries.
- Still using batteries, the graviton field generators surrounding the nuclear fusion core activate and begin reinforcing containment with a graviton field acting as the first wall.
- Core temperature quickly increases and the lithium on the inner surface melts and flows along the outer surface of the first wall.
- An injection of 3He into the core begins the D-3He fuel cycle.
- Proton emission and capture within the liquid lithium begins, and the direct generation of electricity dramatically ramps the power levels up to E2.
- Magnetic containment is dropped as the graviton field fully stabilizes the toroidal plasma. Gravitational pressures continue to increase as the graviton field generators gain more power.
- The fuel cycle moderates to a fully catalyzed D-D+D fuel cycle with D-T and D-3He side reactions that create a mixture of protons and neutrons that are captured by the lithium barrier and a boron-infused metal alloy on the inner surface of the core respectively.
- The fully catalyzed fuel cycle pumps even more power into the graviton field generators, and particle collisions are progressively accelerated by the graviton field. This increases power levels to E3.
- Sufficient power (~E3-E3.3) allows for full operation of graviton drive, which is a separate set of more powerful graviton field generators that surround the entire spaceship in a graviton field capable of fully manipulating the forces of gravity.
- The entire bootup process requires about thirty seconds from a cold start to full power. Performance varies widely however, dependent on the precise make and model of spacecraft and its age.
Graviton Drive
Graviton field generators require a massive object in order to function as a means of levitation or propulsion—as their capability is directly proportional to the nearest mass. In the early days of their use, this was naturally the Earth itself. However, the more massive the body nearby, the greater the effects when manipulated by the graviton field generator. Provided enough power, they can not only reverse the effects of local gravity but greatly increase by attracting a huge number of push-gravitons. An object, such as a spacecraft, can not only be levitated into space, but the effects of gravity are used to fling the spacecraft into space at great speed. If sufficient power is available and the mass of a nearby object is great enough, then relativistic speeds near the speed of light are possible. This is how Graviton Drive functions.
I’ll use some concrete data in a more specific example. The maximum terminal velocity for the Earth—discounting wind resistance*—is 320 km/h. If a ship with Graviton Drive were to simply switch the polarity of the gravitons within its graviton field, then gravity would begin to operate in reverse, causing the ship to fall upwards until it reached terminal velocity. This would mean a casual flight up into space, reaching 330 kilometers in the thermosphere (roughly the orbit of the International Space Station) in a little over an hour. The occupants would not be required to pull any G’s. However, it is also possible to press the metaphorical accelerator. Graviton Drive can increase the effects of the reversed gravity by orders of magnitude. The amount of increase varies depending on the available power.
A ship like Morpheus-I (launched in 2129) had the capacity to increase the effects of gravity roughly 500 times, which would have produced a velocity of 444 km/s (using Earth as its thrust), which is an incredible speed that would enable very easy travel within the solar system—that’s roughly 12-13 days to Mars at the shortest distance. Later model spaceships (with E4 and greater fusion power) enabled the speed to be increased on a logarithmic curve. All of this power is used in one almighty burst to throw the ship in the intended direction, since the effects of the celestial body’s mass diminish the further the ship travels away due to the inverse square law of gravity.
This is, however, much akin to throwing a baseball in space. If there is no intervening object to stop the ball in its path, then it will continue with its momentum indefinitely. Similarly, once a spacecraft has been launched in this way and has left the gravity field of its point of origin, it cannot slow down until it reaches another massive body; without another gravity field to manipulate, it cannot increase its speed or alter course in any significant way. Therefore, upon launching the spacecraft, the navigation must be extremely accurate. Aim must be precise, because, if the intended star system is missed, the ship will not be able to use the gravity of the destination star to slow its travel. If such a catastrophe were to occur, the ship would be stuck wandering through space until it just happened upon another such star or other massive body with sufficient mass to slow its speed—obviously, this might take centuries or millennia. While all such spacecraft are fitted with thrusters that can alter their course, these would be inadequate to change the speed overmuch and are used primarily by the onboard computer systems to make micro-adjustments in course that guarantee the ship reaches its destination.
Furthermore, if anything were to somehow cancel the momentum of the spacecraft once it was launched and in between its point of departure and destination, the ship would be forever marooned in space, its thrusters almost certainly too inadequate to reach any massive body within the occupants’ lifetimes. These simple facts eliminate the possibility of any wheeling and maneuvering about in interstellar space. No such spacecraft would dare sacrifice its momentum to engage in a fight, knowing that this would strand them forever. Thus, the space dogfights of Star Wars and other science-fiction concepts are impossible except in the immediate vicinity of a planet or star. This proposes an intriguing scenario, one in which two bitter enemies traveling between star systems or planets, might pass each other in space, and be unwilling to stop and try to destroy one another due to the unfortunate consequences that would result.
When traveling with Graviton Drive, graviton field generators also function as deflectors, shunting aside any small particles encountered in space along the path of the spacecraft. If the ship should encounter a massive object that it cannot deflect, the onboard computer will automatically maneuver around it, using the mass of the object to do so, and then redirect the ship back onto its original course. In the vast majority of cases, this can be done without any loss of speed.
In addition, interstellar hydrogen can be gathered as the ship travels through space, which means that the only fuel deficit that might occur is Helium-3. Initially, this necessary fusion fuel was mined from the lunar regolith during a massive infrastructure project called the Lunar Beltline—a massive cummerbund of solar panels built along the moon’s equator during the early 22nd century. Earth accumulated a stockpile of Helium-3, and, later, when that ran low, it was mined from the atmosphere of Jupiter, where there remains an almost limitless supply.
Graviton field generators also have the ability to create artificial gravity fields within the spacecraft by increasing the effects of the mass of the spacecraft itself on its occupants. This can be accomplished with the available power because the speed of the ship is gained by a single almighty thrust when it is first launched. Thus, once the ship gains its maximum speed, all power from its nuclear fusion reactors and battery array is available for other uses. During acceleration occupants remain in their hibernation pods where they are protected from the increased gravitational forces. Though this affects their perception of time to a degree, the acceleration period is so brief that over the course of the journey the difference is negligible.
From here, the next step was to develop a means of faster-than-light travel. The limitations of Graviton Drive now made obvious—the tediousness of interstellar navigation and its relatively slow speed, which required the use of sleeper ships, as well as very undesirable time dilation—human beings needed a means of traveling more quickly between star systems. Graviton Drive was fine for travel within local star systems. Indeed, it was a miracle technology that allowed for Earth to colonize and exploit for its resources nearly every celestial body in the solar system with relative ease.
By the 23rd century, the earlier physics theories had been proved out, and the technology had moved on. A third generation of graviton field generators was born, and these proved capable of increasing fusion exponentially yet again. Thus, E4 nuclear fusion reactors became a reality—available energy moved resoundingly to the fourth power, 62.5 Petawatts. With this newfound energy, it was discovered that a strong enough graviton field could mimic the effects of black holes and other exponentially powerful gravitational phenomenon. This allowed the newer space vessels to open navigational wormholes that bridged the gap between distant star systems. And, thus, the dream of mankind became a reality, and all of the galaxy became much closer to home. This created the final ripple in the pond of invention—Bardolian Superluminal Drive. I will be discussing this superluminal drive technology in Part 3 of this series.
Dr. Henry Sullivan was the first physicist to work out the theories necessary for superluminal travel, and he is the main protagonist of my novel, When Morpheus Overslept. When Morpheus Overslept is due out on the 15th of February 2021. Pre-order the Kindle edition now at Amazon.com.
Yours in print,
—Michael
* Please note that terminal velocity is not a straightforward subject and is instead rather complex, and the speed of a falling body varies wildly depending on the atmospheric conditions, its size and shape, and its surface geometry and aerodynamics. I’m simplifying for the purpose of illustration and assuming ideal conditions similar to a skydiver narrowing his body like an arrow and diving into the atmosphere.
Also, different planets will produce different potentials in velocity when using Graviton Drive, though it should also be noted that since push-gravitons can be isolated virtually anywhere in the universe, a more massive planet is not at all an increased hindrance but a benefit. A denser atmosphere would have far more of a negative effect on performance, though the graviton field also increases aerodynamics, functionally making spacecraft more “slippery.”