[Fyron]

Originally posted by President Elect Shang:
Keep in mind that the size of a ship represents all of it's mass. It is not a measure of volume. Having a component be "external" does not mean that it hass less mass than an "internal" component.

Well first I don't see how the mass of an object plays into an external component for damage of a system that is being designed with the ability "Armor" because it is exposed on the outside of the ship.
Second this is a ship in space, and this ship has engines able to accelerate it to x% of c in a matter of moments without turning the crew into anchovy paste. A large percent of c that is.
Third if you are assuming a ship that CAN accelerate to x% of c than you can also assume (we all know what that means) that a little change in mass is not important if we can design a component that more closely mimics “external”. Right now the B5 Mod “external” systems are just small “internal” systems.
Wait. Not done.
Finally a true “external” system in a zero g environment (a ship in space); is only limited by the surface area of the ship; the true weight (mass) of this component would be near meaningless.
Right?

Force = Mass x Acceleration
The more massive an object is, the more force (thrust) it requires to accelerate the object. Whether a component is "internal" or "external", it should still have roughly the same mass. The location of the mass is irrelevant. In a vacuum there is no resistance from the media (or lack thereof). A sleek starship requires the same force to accelerate as an equal mass oblong hulk. So, an external component shouldn't necessarily be less massive (ie: fewer kilotons (smaller)) than an internal one.

[ September 17, 2002, 19:54: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]