<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">You might get some answers as well from <br>http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/RingworldRPG/ <br>There is at least one game going on from some members of that group. <br>Daniel<br><br>--- On <b>Sun, 5/5/13, runequest-request@rpgreview.net <i><runequest-request@rpgreview.net></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br>From: runequest-request@rpgreview.net <runequest-request@rpgreview.net><br>Subject: Runequest Digest, Vol 56, Issue 4<br>To: runequest@rpgreview.net<br>Date: Sunday, May 5, 2013, 7:00 PM<br><br><div class="plainMail">Send Runequest mailing list submissions to<br> <a ymailto="mailto:runequest@rpgreview.net" href="/mc/compose?to=runequest@rpgreview.net">runequest@rpgreview.net</a><br><br>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web,
visit<br> <a href="http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net" target="_blank">http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net</a><br>or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to<br> <a ymailto="mailto:runequest-request@rpgreview.net" href="/mc/compose?to=runequest-request@rpgreview.net">runequest-request@rpgreview.net</a><br><br>You can reach the person managing the list at<br> <a ymailto="mailto:runequest-owner@rpgreview.net" href="/mc/compose?to=runequest-owner@rpgreview.net">runequest-owner@rpgreview.net</a><br><br>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific<br>than "Re: Contents of Runequest digest..."<br><br><br>Today's Topics:<br><br> 1. Re: Fact check (Peter Maranci)<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Message: 1<br>Date: Sun, 5 May 2013 20:14:24
-0400<br>From: Peter Maranci <<a ymailto="mailto:pmaranci@gmail.com" href="/mc/compose?to=pmaranci@gmail.com">pmaranci@gmail.com</a>><br>To: RuneQuest Rules <<a ymailto="mailto:runequest@rpgreview.net" href="/mc/compose?to=runequest@rpgreview.net">runequest@rpgreview.net</a>><br>Subject: Re: [Runequest] Fact check<br>Message-ID:<br> <CAHk=<a ymailto="mailto:cBAfyuQSBMsF4W4kdOnZrfTWh_yO7mMYH5dWsF9o8wfK4g@mail.gmail.com" href="/mc/compose?to=cBAfyuQSBMsF4W4kdOnZrfTWh_yO7mMYH5dWsF9o8wfK4g@mail.gmail.com">cBAfyuQSBMsF4W4kdOnZrfTWh_yO7mMYH5dWsF9o8wfK4g@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br><br>Sorry to bring this up, but the issue is escalating and I could use some<br>insight from people who've actually parachuted. In the last session the<br>great troll had a couple of extra-large parachutes made, by a talented<br>tailor who had never been introduced to the concepts of parachutes
before<br>(he's from a universe in which there is considerably less gravity than<br>most).<br><br>The troll has never seen a parachute landing. His sole exposure to anyone<br>who HAD was a few seconds of grabbing a parachute off a WWII plane that was<br>under fire, and then a few seconds of combat while he killed the<br>paratrooper who was fighting to keep his parachute.<br><br>Here's the question: how hard it is to make your first parachute jump with<br>absolutely no training or experience? What would be some likely outcomes?<br><br>In this case, it wasn't a 500-mile jump to the Ringworld (that may happen<br>after the troll gets out of traction). It was a fall of about 800 feet, in<br>which a secondary parachute opened at about 100 feet up. He was wearing<br>full plate mail and carrying a greatsword and troll maul. According to my<br>reckoning, both of his legs are not only broken, but are effectively maimed<br>- although luckily for him, he's in the
best hospital in a high-magic<br>world. Does anyone think that that's unreasonable? Because I suspect that<br>I'm going to get a lot of arguments on this one.<br><br>Also, do you think that his leg armor would survive the fall?<br><br>->Peter<br><br><br>On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 1:09 PM, Styopa <<a ymailto="mailto:styopa1@gmail.com" href="/mc/compose?to=styopa1@gmail.com">styopa1@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br>> All credit to Niven. He's an intelligent fellow, and it's not casting any<br>> aspersions on him to simply say that the math behind a ringworld is<br>> extraordinarily complex, a nearly-unique frame of reference, and one could<br>> spend - especially in 1970, when Babbage's Children were barely toddlers -<br>> much of one's life down the rabbit-hole of computations trying to "get it<br>> right". Personally, I'm much happier that Mr. Niven DIDN'T do so, and<br>> instead actually wrote the book, physics-warts
and all.<br>><br>> Frankly it's a fun exercise, and has provided some entertaining<br>> discussions between myself, and people who know more about physics than me<br>> - actual rocket scientists, some of them. One (probably more usefully)<br>> spends most of his day working with the physics of golf balls. (Well, I<br>> often do as well, but not to the MATHEMATICS of them. Mine is a<br>> more....experimental...approach, using lots of profanity.)<br>><br>> The fact is that (unless for some reason my posts didn't make it to these<br>> lists) I've proven with reasonable accuracy that our Armored Troll would<br>> fall the 500 miles in 406-some seconds (in a vacuum), and would hit at<br>> 000's of miles per hour. Certainly, he'd hit terminal velocity before<br>> that, but he would MOST CERTAINLY impact with a most-terminal of velocities<br>> - probably several hundred miles per
hour.<br>><br>> Oh, and re the 'atmosphere' and 'spill walls' - yes, the point observed is<br>> accurate. The height of the walls DIRECTLY impacts the atmospheric<br>> densities on the surface of the ring. Assuming as physics-shorthand that<br>> the 1g force in the revolving frame of reference is uniform, the<br>><br>> I'm NOT an atmospheric scientist, nor do I know any. I'd speculate<br>> however that:<br>> - in this very odd frame of reference, I couldn't find any data on the<br>> surface cross section of liquids, but I *suspect* that it would be a<br>> shallow parabola, possibly a hyperbola. But for this I'm just going to<br>> assume it's uniform in effect at the surface, because in any case I suspect<br>> a varying pressure effect laterally would anyway be homogenized by the air<br>> shifting around anyway. For this model, assume the cross-section of the<br>> atmosphere
height is horizontal (to someone on the ring-surface).<br>> - ANYWAY, I checked against atmospheric height and surface pressure for<br>> Venus, Mars, and Earth... just to see. It turns out there's a fairly<br>> straight log-function that describes the relationship. For Mars (atmos<br>> height ~25km) = surface pressure is 600 pascals. Earth (~100km)<br>> 101kilopascals. Venus (~250km) 9 megapascals. Assuming that the<br>> atmospheric behavior is the same when extrapolated linearly, a 500km-high<br>> side wall means probably 100 megapascals....or the pressure of water at<br>> 10000m depth (yes, 10km).<br>> The point of this atmospheric diversion?<br>> To illustrate only that the 500mile spillwalls DON'T necessarily mean it's<br>> atmosphere 'all the way up'. In fact, given the quality of the Ringworld<br>> Engineers, it would make sense that they would OVER engineer the spillwalls<br>>
to defend against pretty much anything that would 'cost' the structure<br>> airloss, if they could, so 500 mile sidewalls (800km) still still might<br>> only mean 100km atmosphere height.<br>><br>> Simple enough...except for our trollish friend.<br>><br>> Because this means that at least 7/8ths of his 'fall' from the edge (from<br>> the PoV of the surface), or of his fling-sideways (from the PoV of an<br>> outsider watching), is in vacuum....meaning he's going to 'hit' atmosphere<br>> at 000's of mph, relative.<br>><br>> Taking into account the atmosphere, then, suggests that he would fall most<br>> of the way without atmospheric hindrance, until he hits atmosphere at<br>> something like Mach 7, and really doesn't enjoy the next few moments.<br>><br>><br>> On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 9:02 PM, Sven Lugar <<a ymailto="mailto:vikingjarl@gmail.com"
href="/mc/compose?to=vikingjarl@gmail.com">vikingjarl@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>><br>>> Ringworld is based on Larry Niven's book of the same name. I came to<br>>> know him fairly well back in the days when we both going to Cons & to<br>>> English Regency Dancing events. He always struck me as very stringent in<br>>> using his science in books. I remember an occasion of him discussing the<br>>> physics of it & also mentioning that it was based on the work of Dyson (of<br>>> the "Dyson Sphere concept"). So I suspect that he is probably correct in<br>>> his assumptions to make the concept work. Perhaps someone who is more<br>>> versed in these things can shed some light on this.<br>>><br>>> Sven<br>>><br>>><br>>><br>> _______________________________________________<br>> Runequest mailing list<br>> <a ymailto="mailto:Runequest@rpgreview.net"
href="/mc/compose?to=Runequest@rpgreview.net">Runequest@rpgreview.net</a><br>> <a href="http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net" target="_blank">http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net</a><br>><br>><br><br><br>-- <br>Peter Maranci - <a ymailto="mailto:pmaranci@gmail.com" href="/mc/compose?to=pmaranci@gmail.com">pmaranci@gmail.com</a><br>Pete's RuneQuest & Roleplaying! <a href="http://www.runequest.org/rq.htm" target="_blank">http://www.runequest.org/rq.htm</a><br>The Diary of A Simple Man: <a href="http://bobquasit.livejournal.com/" target="_blank">http://bobquasit.livejournal.com/</a><br>-------------- next part --------------<br>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...<br>URL: <<a href="http://rpgreview.net/pipermail/runequest_rpgreview.net/attachments/20130505/945f296f/attachment-0001.html"
target="_blank">http://rpgreview.net/pipermail/runequest_rpgreview.net/attachments/20130505/945f296f/attachment-0001.html</a>><br><br>------------------------------<br><br>Subject: Digest Footer<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Runequest mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:Runequest@rpgreview.net" href="/mc/compose?to=Runequest@rpgreview.net">Runequest@rpgreview.net</a><br><a href="http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net" target="_blank">http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/runequest_rpgreview.net</a><br><br><br>------------------------------<br><br>End of Runequest Digest, Vol 56, Issue 4<br>****************************************<br></div></blockquote></td></tr></table>