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These
images show a large conceptual system with long oblique swing arms
packed closely to minimize the load per swing arm pair. The
distributed swing arms are fabricated from advanced fiber
kevlar® and the entire system is enclosed in a partial vacuum (or
low atomic weight gas) to minimize aerodynamic drag on the
orbiting machinery. The spiral system is designed to be
capable of very high orbiting swing speed v > 300 m/sec
and possibly v ~ 500 m/sec. It could be powered by
electric motors that are synchronized with feedback circuits to
suppress elastic waves in the spiral structure. This 3-turn
machine could also be scaled to larger geometrically similar
machines capable of accelerating projectiles of very high mass
and, if needed, with large L/D. Its projectile velocity
performance V ~ Vin +
5vNturns could
also be increased to above 10 km/sec by adding a couple of additional
turns to the spiral. Potential applications of this family
of machines include ground-to-space or intercontinental
launch, for which large L/D projectiles would be required as shown
in some images. The machine would also
be of interest in providing a very high impact power source
for physics experiments, including possibly impact fusion
using magnetized fuel targets for which shorter L/D projectiles
would be used.
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