Faster-than-light (FTL) travel mechanics
The standard drive for faster-than-light travel included in modern DAX-series chassis (detailed elsewhere) is a 206 kilojoule NS-90 Quasar Jump Drive (P/N 90-0166-Q) manufactured by the Nanite Systems Aeronautics Division. Like other small-scale FTL drives, the Quasar exploits the Thorne effect to produce an Einstein–Rosen wormhole, which has the attractive property of being able to travel up to 860 km (535 mi) on a single capacitor charge.
To prevent overheating, power is accumulated in an auxiliary FTL capacitor and kept there as long as the FTL drive is online. This capacitor can hold up to 206 kJ—the cost of a maximum-distance jump—and automatically recharges after a jump, temporarily disabling the ability to discharge the FTL capacitor again. This recharging process is known as spooling.
Spooling lasts a minimum of 2 seconds and a maximum of 10 seconds. The variance can be attributed to jump distance, with each 625 m (0.39 mi) adding one second to the recharge time. As the recharge rate is 20.6 kJ per second, it can be understood that opening a wormhole costs 41.2 kJ, and each 625 m of travel costs an additional 20.6 kJ, up to a maximum of 5 km, beyond which the overall cost is a constant 206 kJ.
Although there is no detectable indicator of FTL travel at the unit's point of departure, the location at which it arrives does receive a brief burst of gamma radiation. The particular wavelengths of radiation produced can affect sensitive electronics, such as charge-coupled light sensors, analog-to-digital signal converters, and the quantum annealing components of the CTL and CPL elements within a CortexPlus processing core. The dosage is harmless for humans, but technicians working in maintenance facilities should wear a radiation badge at all times to manage the risks of synchrotron radiation in the event of a drive malfunction.
Predicting jump costs
To prevent overheating, power is accumulated in an auxiliary FTL capacitor and kept there as long as the FTL drive is online. This capacitor can hold up to 206 kJ—the cost of a maximum-distance jump—and automatically recharges after a jump, temporarily disabling the ability to discharge the FTL capacitor again. This recharging process is known as spooling.
Spooling lasts a minimum of 2 seconds and a maximum of 10 seconds. The variance can be attributed to jump distance, with each 625 m (0.39 mi) adding one second to the recharge time. As the recharge rate is 20.6 kJ per second, it can be understood that opening a wormhole costs 41.2 kJ, and each 625 m of travel costs an additional 20.6 kJ, up to a maximum of 5 km, beyond which the overall cost is a constant 206 kJ.
Teleport wakes
Although there is no detectable indicator of FTL travel at the unit's point of departure, the location at which it arrives does receive a brief burst of gamma radiation. The particular wavelengths of radiation produced can affect sensitive electronics, such as charge-coupled light sensors, analog-to-digital signal converters, and the quantum annealing components of the CTL and CPL elements within a CortexPlus processing core. The dosage is harmless for humans, but technicians working in maintenance facilities should wear a radiation badge at all times to manage the risks of synchrotron radiation in the event of a drive malfunction.