Asymmetrical Ship Sets

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by DirectorTsaarx:
Once they made his face perfectly symmetrical, he really was a decent-looking guy. So, natural selection should tend towards symmetry. Perfect symmetry isn't going to happen, but many people come pretty close. Barring major accidents, of course.

It is so bizzare to hear you say that. When I took high school psychology the teacher told us that asymmetry was preferable. A perfectly symmetrical face would just look wrong. People would dislike it and not know why. But if it improved Lyle Lovett , well I gotta remember that one to use for my wedding photos.

That teacher also tried to convince us that striving for perfect symmetry was a sign of a sick mind. If an adult still drew a stick figure house symmetrically -- perfect square, triange roof, flanked by two equal trees, chiminey and sun in the center -- you had to look out, they are likly to crack under pressure.

He actually taught this method and other tricks to people who wanted to avoid the draft in the '50's. And presumably it worked (or the other tricks did, or everyone just got lucky)

[ October 01, 2002, 03:57: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[dumbluck]

Pax: Manuevering thrust calculations would be a [explicative deleted] on a severely asymetrical ship. I think...

[LazarusLong42]

Dumbluck: I would contend otherwise. A standard set of manuevering thrusters is three sets of four: yaw, roll, pitch. As long as each member of a given set is placed symmetrically with respect to an axis passing through the center of gravity of the ship, the calculations become trivial.

And on top of that, you have the computer to do all the heavy math lifting for you anyway

[geoschmo]

Correct. Asymetry is purely a visual thing. For any ship design to be sound from an engineering poitn of view it HAS to be "balanced" around a center of gravity and the thrust has to be applied either centerline to that or balanced on all sides of that centerline or you get rotation instead of directional thrust.

Balance is not an option, it has to be balanced. But being balaced does not mean it has to be visually symetrical.

Geoschmo

[Suicide Junkie]

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works here, how about battle damage?

Would it be easier to recalculate the thrust balance and vectoring in order to fly straight after a torpedo has torn a chunk out of your hull given a previously-symmetrical ship or not?

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works here, how about battle damage?

Would it be easier to recalculate the thrust balance and vectoring in order to fly straight after a torpedo has torn a chunk out of your hull given a previously-symmetrical ship or not?

I'd say it probably wouldn't matter either way. Unless the damage was to the engines themselves, or the guidance computer, it shouldn't have an effect on either. And the damage was to one fo these critical areas it would effect either ship to the same degree likely.

Geoschmo

EDIT: Hmm. I may have answered that too fast. Given that an asymetrical design of the same mass would likely have mass farther out from the center of gravity, then perhaps. Because the farther form the COG you lose mass due to battle damage, the more it will affect the handling characteristics. I still tend to think the engines and thrusters could compensate, but that depends on how much redundancy is built into the design.

[ October 01, 2002, 17:15: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

[Pax]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works here, how about battle damage?

Would it be easier to recalculate the thrust balance and vectoring in order to fly straight after a torpedo has torn a chunk out of your hull given a previously-symmetrical ship or not?

Presuming your species is "normal" and needs water, possibly in large quantities ... place your water tanks in such a way as to permit shedding weight where you need to to rebalance the ship (at least partially).

Also consider, against many energy weapons -- especially lasers! -- misting water out around your ship, soit freezes into gajillions of ice crystals in a cloud, is a decent form of protection from the beams. As long as it refracts optically, a cloud of ice crystals will diffuse it a bit before it hits your ARMOR.