Talk:FTL/Archive 1

Multiple Jumps in Cylon Raider

However, it is far more likely that Starbuck had to make a series of jumps back to Caprica (especially given the condition she was in upon arrival) witch would indicate that the Cylon Raiders FTL-range is not that extremely superior.

While plausible, that's clearly not the implication of the on-screen events, IMO. --Peter Farago 12:32, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

My Big Problem With FTL

I have a big problem with the FTL drives in the BSG universe and thats how many times they can jump before they refuel. In the episode 33, we see the fleet make over 250 consecutive jumps. Would it make sense for a 747 airliner to make that many consecutive flights w/o refueling? Fuel tanks would have to have a huge capacity to make that many jumps. Why would you design such a large fuel tank into a commercial transport like Colonial One. Every extra pound put into the vessel is one extra pound to push out of orbit. Jumping MUST require a considerable ammount of fuel or getting it wouldn't be an issue. I can understand a large fuel tank in something like a transport vessel or a mining ship, but not a starliner, its just not practical. I wouldnt normally complain about something like this, but given RDM's goal of making a 'realistic' sci-fi show, it bothers me. Are there any explinations for the capability to jump that many times?--Antagonist

I see no logical disconect in any of the things you've just stated. It all simply makes sense to me, as well as seems realistic. --The Merovingian 03:54, 18 February 2006 (EST)

It would be like designing a 747 with a un-refueled range of a hundred thousand miles or a car with a 500 gallon gas tank. --Antagonist 13:34, 18 February 2006 (EST)

Hmm i see your point here. However it has been stated that they do have a refinery ship, and refuels have been mentioned in prev eps. I choose to believe that unseen ships rushed around during the 33 mins..In other words, Im letting that one go with a la la la :) Also do FTL's use the same fuel as the sublight engines? Or something else? --Simmons 03:34, 19 February 2006 (EST)

Well, if the Cylons were tracking by radio signals from spies in "33," then the jumps are 33 light-minutes. Maybe the Colonials were intentionally making small jumps just to try to lose the Cylons. I don't really consider it likely though, if they were jumping 33 light-minutes, you would think they would notice the 33 minute attack intervals and change up the jump lengths. But if they were making short jumps in that episode, it might be the equivalent of a trip down the block, where it's conceivable to go 300 blocks without refueling. Either that or the fuel analogy being used is a poor one and we should be comparing the usage to a nuclear powered sea vessel which can go years without changing the reactor core, but that introduces problems such as the rate of reactor usage being more steady in a nuclear reactor.--Jeremias 19:14, 2 March 2006 (CST)

Tracking an FTL Jump

Im not sure its been mentioned anywhere in an ep, but I assume that ships can not be tracked through an FTL jump?--Simmons 03:39, 19 February 2006 (EST)

You can't track a Jump in progress, but you can discern its destination after. This happened to the Fleet as it was tracked, presumably with a hidden Cylon Transponder on the Olympic Carrier in the events of "33," the first series episode. --Spencerian 09:24, 19 February 2006 (EST)

They said in the Miniseries it is impossible to track an FTL Jump. However, the Cylons have spies and stuff with transponders in the Fleet, and they can send signals which the Cylons can then detect and Jump to. --The Merovingian 13:15, 19 February 2006 (EST)

So has there been any mention of FTL communications (doesn't seem likely in light of "The Hand of God")? Otherwise, this might limit the length of the jumps to 33 light-minutes. 33 light-minutes when making jumps every 33 minutes is arduous leads to long times to cover interstellar distances. Also, it seems like something Adama or Tigh should have noticed. "We jump 33 light-minutes, they attack every 33 minutes...what a quandry." Maybe their detecting the gravitational waves a ships arrival might produce. This is dependent on gravity having a propagation speed different from c, which hasn't been adequately explored, though the assumption and indication by some preliminary experiments is that the speeds are the same. Alternatively, the Cylons have better probed FTL phenomena than the Colonials and discovered ways to track jumps. --Jeremias 19:06, 2 March 2006 (CST)

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.

Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another