From: [r--dd--n] at [ttidca.TTI.COM] (John Redden)
Subject: Other Suns : 16
------------------ OS.16 ----------------------------------------
This is being posted to the net by myself for Niall Shapero.
Others Suns is copyright by Niall Shapero. This gaming material is
distributed on a shareware basis. If you do not use the material you
owe the author nothing. If you do use it please pay him what you
think it is worth at a fair price becasue it took a damn lot of work
to develop and playtest. The USmail address is:
Niall Shapero
2536 Short Ave
Los Angeles CA 90066
USA
Those of you with modems can dial into his BBS using this phone number:
(213)822-6729
Please email any comments to my electronic mailing address and I will
pass them on to Niall.
---------------- end of preamble -------------------------------------------
HOW HIGH CAN I JUMP?
Suppose we have a standing man with a center of mass h0
meters off the ground. He is not moving, so his total
energy is in potential form (mass x gee x height of center
of mass). Now suppose that he jumps straight up. While
he's still moving, he obviously isn't at the "peak" (the
maximum height) of his jump. When he reaches the maximum
height, his kinetic energy will again be zero, and all of
his energy will be potential.
Suppose in an arbitrary gravity field?
We assume no external levers are used (as in pole vault) and
that we can ignore air resistance.
The change in total energy of the man in the jump is also
assumed to be constant (we assume that the man's muscles
work no more or less efficiently over the range of gravita-
tional values considered).
Since in 1 gee, the man's total energy at the maximum height
is simply h1 x m x g, the change in total energy will be (h1
- h0) x m x g. If this change in energy is constant, then
the change in height of the center of gravity when the
maximum height is reached will be inversely proportional to
the change in the gravity field strength.
So, if a man can jump to a height of H meters in a 1 gee
field, he will be able to jump to a height of (H-h0) x N +
h0 meters in a 1/N gee field. Obviously, the lower the
value of h0, the better the final jump height will be (in
other words, crouch down low, and use your legs to jump --
don't try to "jump with your toes"). But the maximum height
reached by the center of mass in a jump does not vary exact-
ly inversely with the strength of the gravity field.
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POWERGUNS for OTHER SUNS
An adaptation of the principal handgun in David Drake's
HAMMER'S SLAMMERS science fiction future history
A Powergun does 30 points of damage per charge. The magazine
holds 30 plastic "wafers" (the charges). There is an attached
liquid nitrogen cannister used in cooling the firing chamber and
the ejector head; the coolant cannister contains sufficient gas
to cool 900 points.
Cooling is at the rate of 5 points per second (so 6 seconds of
cooling after a discharge will reduce chamber temperature from
the 30 point level of firing to the 0 point level of jam free
repeated firing). Chamber temperature is increased by an amount
equal to the damage point value of the charge plus the chamber
temperature just prior to firing. Probability of a JAM following
firing is 2 x Chamber temperature BEFORE firing as a percentage.
Chamber temperature decreases naturally by 0.1 points each second
that the weapon is not fired.
To unjam requires use of the ARMORER skill: 30 points of "jam"
must be cleared (at 1D10 points cleared per successful use of the
skill). Each use of the ARMORER skill in this instance requires
30/[skill level] seconds (so a 50% armorer will spend 60 seconds,
and a 75% armorer will spend 40 seconds per attempt).
Firing Interval Jam after 2nd Jam after 3rd Jam after 4th
=============== ============= ============= =============
6 seconds nil nil nil
5 seconds 10% 20% 30%
4 seconds 20% 40% 60%
3 seconds 30% 60% 90%
2 seconds 40% 80% certain
1 second 50% certain certain
Powerguns may not be fired in wide beam mode -- like lasers they
are pinpoint beams.