Ring Racers : F1 entry

Samir

Yet another late start in the Blender F1 arena, but I kept myself busy with the 3Dluvr contest till now and started on this as soon as I got the chance.

I have never been a big fan of Formula1 racing, but I'm fascinated by a good looking piece of machinery as much as the next person. I see the point of F1 as a platform for technical achievement, but I have never seen the point of it as a spectator sport. After all, how long can you look at wierd ground-hugging cars driving around in circles?

Taking this thought to the exaggerated next level, I had the image of a kind of race where the "cars" race around the rings of Saturn. Now it was a matter of filling in my newly created future universe, and here is the result.

The History of Ring Racers

By the year 2251 atomic energy was the only option to sustain the speed thirst of an ever improving Formula1 culture. Unfortunately in 2275, an on-track reactor implosion lead to the destruction of the majority of the world's F1 community and a great many fans and spectators.

F1 racing was banned. Decades became centuries and F1 became the guilty fascination of a species that looked back at this and similar practices as vestiges of a barbaric past - the circus maximus of the 2200s with the drivers as the heroic gladiators.

In 2363 a manned exploration of the giant comet Janus, lead to the discovery that it wasn't a regular comet at all but the remains of material that escaped the outer territories of a black hole. The gravitational effects of the singularity had moulded the rock into a substance that had an inherent gravitational effect. It was named Gravitite.

Decades of research into the properties of gravitite and its interactions with electromegnetic radiation resulted in the invention of new propulsion systems which manipulated space-time itself in the presence of high energy gravitation fields to make faster than light travel possible. By the 2500s man had travelled to nearby star systems and found many new worlds to conquer. Mining ships were created to travel to blackholes and withstand the great pressures just outside the event horizon so that humanity might harness an almost infinite supply of Gravitite.

In the 2600s some clever engineers had put together the mechanics of ion propulsion with the new features of gravitite to create a slightly unstable but usable form of small scale controlled levitation. Since racing was still banned on Earth, the new races began as informal events along the rings of Saturn, and soon spread to other systems where more conducive ring systems could be found around even more massive gas giants. Ring Racing was here to stay.

(Don't laugh. It's only a sketch.)

So that's my story.
I have no idea if I can finish this by the deadline, but I am certainly going to try. Next up is the actual design of the vehicle, the 'Ring Racer' - NO! This has nothing to do with Hobbits in donkey carts. Since I didn't know much about F1 to begin with I started reading up some technical info on F1 car design - I can't help it, I'm a graphic designer by profession. Here are some links for those who are interested:

Great Moments in Science : Formula 1 Racing
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s282081.htm

Build Your Own Race Car
http://www.gmecca.com/byorc/

Did You Know: F1 Technical Stuff
http://www.indiacar.com/nfs/technical/know.htm

Keeping all the above infomation and my created universe in mind, I am now coming up with what this vehicle needs to do and look like.

That's will be in "The Science of Ring Racers". Coming soon to a forum near you.

All comments are welcome and appreciated as usual.

Samir

NQE1

Don't have time to read the story now, but it looks like an interesting idea. Now lets see you do it justice with the modelling!

holycoww74

That is definately a very cool story.... even if you can't finish for the deadline, I hope you take this idea somewhere. anywhoo.... keep on keepin on.

Samir

NQE1

Quote:

Now lets see you do it justice with the modelling!

Challenge accepted.

holycoww74

Quote:

That is definately a very cool story.... even if you can't finish for the deadline, I hope you take this idea somewhere. anywhoo.... keep on keepin on.

Thanks. Glad you liked it. Will definitely get this done eventually.

Now I'm going back to "keeping on". My next post should be up in a few hours.

Samir

Samir

As promised,

The Science of Ring Racers

The basic element of the propulsion system is the ion charged gravitite disc. A grill of metallic electrodes are embedded into the surface of the gravitite. The electrodes produce an ionic discharge that regulates the gravitational effect of the disc. The density of the mesh is greater towards the centre of the circle since that is bound to be more structurally sound than, say the edges of the rock disc. Unfortunately, gravity is an invisible force and there is no visible indication that a multi-G gravitational field is emanating from the disc. As a safety measure, the ionic electrodes also produce a luminous plasma discharge as an indication of a live disc.

In a regular F1 car, the wheels are attached to the chassis via a suspension. Suspension is required to cushion the physical contact of the vehicle with the ground. Since the Ring Racer is not in contact with a driving surface, physical suspension is un-necessary. Also, putting the gravitite discs onto axles or protrusions of any kind is not a good idea because to bear the brunt of the gravitational forces, the axle or protrusion would have to be infinitely strong. So it is better that the discs are directly attached to the major structural component and mass of the vehicle, the chassis.

The horizontally placed discs act as upward thrust, pushing against the rock and other material in the planetary ring. Vertical and angled discs at the side act as steering and balancing forces. Along the base a set of discs towards the back of the vehicle push the vehicle upward and forward. One forward angled disc comes into play as a breaking and speed dampening force. There are no discs placed vertically at the back and front of the vehicle because these would directly affect other competing racers, in front or behind the vehicle.

Now we come to the cockpit of the racer. As mentioned before this vehicle has no suspension to cushion it. That might be fine for the machinery, but how is a human being going to survive amidst all the fluctuating pulls and pushes of gravity and inertia? To tackle this problem, the cockpit in itself is sort of an inertia dampener. An array of gravitite discs are aimed inward in the fuselage, and a corresponding array of discs are aimed outward on the separate cockpit pod. By alternatingly attracting and repulsing like a string of christmas lights switching on and off, these discs act as a sort of lock to keep the cockpit capsule in place, without any actual physical contact between cockpit and fuselage. Voila! Instant inertial-dampener and cockpit suspension system.

To add to this, if all the discs were to be suddenly switched to repulsion at the same time, the cockpit pod would shoot upwards like a bullet away from the fuselage. So, we now also have an emergency ejection system.

Last, but not the least, is the 'aerodynamics' of the vehicle. While these races are taking place in vacuum, the rings of planets are quite a dense collection of solids and gasses. All these materials streaming by at high speeds would behave in a way very similar to air here on Earth. So 'air flow' is still important. The most aerodynamically efficient shape is generally a teardrop sort of structure. While the racer could be made tear drop shaped with the discs embedded in the surface, that would cause some problems. First, the surface of the vehicle would be directly exposed to fast moving microscopic and macroscopic debris in the rings. That could be disastrous. Plus the teardrop would not be ideal for the visibility of the driver. So, we keep the shape of the racer as required by functionality and we add in a gravity shield in front in the teardrop shape which repels large particles, hence behaving like an aerodynamic solid. This also protects the driver who is now able to sit in an open cockpit as F1 drivers always have, without worrying about safety concerns.

Another issue is the angled thrust provided by the forward thrusters. This would result in the back of the vehicle being raised as speed increased and could lead to total loss of control at extreme speeds. To counter this inverted wing shapes are placed on the back of the vehicle to provide downforce to keep the racer firmly levelled. This is exactly the kind of trick used by present F1 cars to avoid 'flying" at high speeds.

This brings as to the end of our little science lesson. I hope it has made interesting reading for the patient readers amongst you. All this is mainly just a way for me to crystalize my concept and make it a little more logical that “it works on pixie dust” (I appologize to anyone who has already used that statement

). This underlying logic should also help me in the modelling, which is coming up next.

Samir

Mr Wonka

I hate to bring this up. You've obviously thought all this out pretty well and it all makes sense, in a F1 of the future kind of way.

However, you seem to have overlooked the orbital physics of the whole caboodle. The way I understand it the rings of Saturn are made up of billlions of particles orbiting the planet. Racing around on the surface of the rings assumes that they produce gravity. Which ok, they do, but not at any kind of significant level. Unlike the planet which is what keeps things spinning. Your racer would there fore need to have all its shinanigans pointed at the strongest source of the gravity. i.e. the planet. Which would effectivly put it in orbit around it. The speed of the racer would therefore be limited by the escape velocity of saturn. Going faster would result in the racer disappearing off into the ether. Slowing would result in it falling towards the planet and being crushed by the weight of it's gasses. Lucky it has the grav plate whatnots really.

What I'm saying is that i can't see what the race would be. Go fast and you fly off into space. Go slow and you lose.

Just my $0.02

Mr Wonka

Samir

Mr Wonka said,

Quote:

... , you seem to have overlooked the orbital physics of the whole caboodle...

Lo! We have a disbeliever in the house.
... Didn't I mention it works on pixie dust ...?

But, seriously, my flights of fancy are not as fanciful as they may seem at first sight. To make this work, you need to think a little away from classic physics and delve more into the realms of quantum physics and general relativity. Since faster than light travel is already part of the story, I'm not exactly sticking to classic physics for the rest.

Going by the theory of General Relativity we can think of Gravity as a field which exists as a curvature of 4-dimensional space-time. What this means is that given a very gigantic body of matter, like our gas giant, space around it is curved to a large extent. This leads to orbital (geodesic) movement. But this massive field also leads to a curvature of time. So, time is different for the orbiting body and for a standby observer, such as the planet itself. Since speed/velocity is a measure per unit time, escape velocity is suddenly not a fixed quantity as time is not absolute. Also, escape velocity simply means that at that particular velocity the orbiting body is free from the gravitational pull of the planet. It does not mean that the body automatically shoots off into space, not unless it wants to and doesn't do anything about it. It can still steer itself into whatever trajectory it requires, as long as it has the power to counter the centrifugal forces.

Through the lens of quantum physics, all forces act through the exchange or transfer of subatomic particles like photons. While gravitation is a very weak force and it's transfer particle is un-detectable (thus far), the force of gravity must work through the transfer of an energy particle which has been named the Graviton. Since all particles have been found to have an anti-particle, and the Graviton results in an attractive force, it is not too much of a guess to postulate an anti-graviton that results in a repulsive force. Now we already know of radioactive substances that emit high-energy particles like alpha, beta etc. It is also known that these emissions can be changed by exposure to different electromagnetic energies. I have taken the leap of assuming a substance called Gravitite which emits gravitons.

Gravity usually is an automatic interaction between masses. But if we could control the emission of gravitons in an arbitrary manner, gravitational forces would no longer be dependent on mass. Hence creating anti-gravitational thrust against an insubstantial ring-substance mass is not that far fetched. Basically the fictional part here is this substance that emits gravitons separate from it's mass characteristics. Once you make that leap of faith, it all becomes possible.

Until the next time, true believers ...

Samir

Tuggles

I just have one little problem. You said that there is a shield protecting this racer from the debris in the ring. Well, if you have this sheild the effect that is sposed to be like atmosphere would not effect any part of the vehical including the inverse airfoil. Ok, now lets asume you are saying that this airfoil is outside of the shield. Then, that would mean that you are using a material that could resist the wear and tear of all these particles at extreme speeds. If you are using this material, then why would you need a shield sarounding the whole racer when the only thing that needs protected is the driver himself.

Samir

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuggles

... Well, if you have this sheild the effect that is sposed to be like atmosphere would not effect any part of the vehical including the inverse airfoil. ... If you are using this material, then why would you need a shield sarounding the whole racer when the only thing that needs protected is the driver himself.

A very valid question Tuggles and thanks for your interest. I apologize for not explaining this part of the concept in more detail before. Here's the thing... as I said in a post above, Gravity exists as a field. That is its natural state of being. When I mentioned a "Frontal Gravity Shield" I was talking in terms of a gravitational field and not so much a Star Trek like force field which is impenetrable while it is up. I meant for it to be only frontal and not all encompassing. It will only protect the driver and front of the vehicle from larger projectiles, which anyway are no use as "airflow". This means the driver is still exposed to vacuum and will need to wear a pressurized suit. Like in real F1 today, the driver is exposed to the elements, but wears appropriate protection.

About the inverted wing at the back, smaller particles and gasses will still be able to make it through the frontal field albeit a bit slowed down, so the aerodynamic effect will still be viable. Yes there will be damage from particle collision, but firstly they would be slowed down, and secondly, all large bodies would have been repelled into a tangential trajectory by the frontal field. By larger bodies of course, I do not mean large asteroids. Like F1 today, the driver still needs great skill. If he/she drives straight into a wall, they are just as dead as they would have always been in a similar situation. The peril is a major part of this sport.

Anyway, moving away from the conceptual nitty-gritties, here is a Blender image of a live gravitite disc.

Samir

Samir

Some modelling work done on the cockpit.

Samir

The modelling so far.

rndrdbrian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samir

Some modelling work done on the cockpit.

Looking good!

I really hope you make the deadline for the contest, if not do continue!

--
Brian

NQE1

I'm not sure about this, and you seem to know more about space, but I thought I've heard that the radiation in space requires really thick ship walls to protect the inhabitants. If I'm right for once, that may cut a hole in the reasonableness (?) of your design. Is this true?

I do like the progress you're making, and that's a fine looking chair. Didn't read all the stuff on gravitite, but it seems well thought out.

Samir

Thank you for the encouragement, rndrdbrian. I definitely intend to get this done.

NQE1,
You make a very good point about radiation. If I'm not mistaken, though, human beings do have some level of tolerance to cosmic radiation. While the atmosphere protects us from the majority of it. Exposure for short durations doesn't necessarily mean instantaneous death. Also, since today's astronauts can spacewalk in their protective suits, I will assume that the protective suit worn by the driver will also suffice for the duration of the race. For prolonged exposure, I am sure you are absolutely right about the dangers of cosmic radiation. Thanks for the interest, and keep those comments flowing.

Here is my latest progress report.

Samir

ShaDowMosEs

The sun is very active at the moment, solar storms are bombarding the earth with unusually high levels of radiation. Airlines have been aware for a long time that air travel exposes their employees and passengers to some health risks such as deep vein thrombosis and the spread of germs and viruses. They also know that cosmic radiation has the potential to cause cancer and some are funding research to find out exactly what the effects are, and who, if any, are at risk.

The amounts of cosmic radiation you are exposed to while flying depends on a number of things, the altitude, latitude, length and frequency of time spent flying and solar activity. The higher you fly the less effective the earth’s protective layers are. Certain routes are known to expose those travelling by air to higher levels of radiation. Flying across the northern and southern poles where the earth’s magnetic fields are not as efficient at deflecting particles exposing us to more radiation, so long haul flights to Japan do in theory heighten your chances of getting cancer. A transatlantic flight is equivalent to having at least one chest X-ray. Passengers flying at 35,000 feet are exposed to between 50 and 100 times more radiation than when they are on earth. So should we be worried?

The Radiation Protection Bureau in Canada states that cosmic radiation, ‘adds a small addition to the underlying cancer risk from all causes’. They do express concern about the effect on babies as it is known that babies are very sensitive to the effects of radiation and airlines in general recommend that pregnant women keep their exposure to the same levels and small variations as is present in ‘natural background radiation.

A resent research study from Iceland found female flight attendants who worked for 5 years or more from 1971 were 5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those with less experience.

Facts about Radiation

Cosmic radiation is made up from charged particles such as protons and Helium zooming through space that originate from the sun and the wider universe. When these particles enter the earth atmosphere they disrupt atoms producing radiation.
Radiation is always present on the earth, about 17% of it is from cosmic radiation, about 50% from radon gas, about 20% from minerals in the soil and about 13% from our bodies (from food and water).

-Jerry Kennard

ShaDowMosEs

NASA has barred veteran astronaut Donald Thomas from serving on the International Space Station, citing concerns over his long-term exposure to cosmic radiation. What is cosmic radiation?

Perhaps best known as the mysterious force that gave comicdom's Fantastic Four their superpowers, cosmic radiation is omnipresent in the universe. Much of it consists of low-energy subatomic particles left over from the Big Bang's aftermath—a sort of interstellar background noise. These photons and neutrinos are not considered hazardous to humans.

More worrisome is the radiation produced by solar flares, periodic eruptions during which the sun releases energy equivalent to a billion mega-tons of TNT. The Earth is protected from these lethal streams by the atmosphere and ozone layer, two luxuries not enjoyed by astronauts. If a spacewalker were to be inadvertently exposed to solar-flare radiation, odds are he or she would come down with fatal radiation sickness. The good news is that, since solar flares can be detected before the particles arrive, there is often plenty of time for a spacewalker to find a well-shielded spot aboard a spacecraft.

But even shielding does little good against so-called galactic cosmic radiation, which originates in deep space. Consisting chiefly of high-energy protons and electrons produced by stars, black holes, and gamma-ray bursts, GCR is tough to defend against. Shields help a little, but they can't stop every subatomic bit. Astronauts who spend too much time aloft are believed to dramatically raise their risk of developing cancer, although they're not in immediate danger of suffering from radiation sickness.

How much time in space is too much? A precise correlation between GCR exposure and cancer has yet to be established, but NASA was worried enough to hold back Thomas, who has spent 43 days in space on four previous missions. The Russians, however, seem a bit more carefree with their spacemen's well-being. New space-station resident Nikolai Budarin once spent nearly 10 months aboard Mir.

By Brendan I. Koerner
Posted Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002, at 3:23 PM PT

Walibie

Nice explenation of the problem, but I have one critic:

Maybe your right but I tought their is no radiation that can escape from the very strong gravity-force of a black hole, if thats right, he can use heavy discs as a radiation schield.

Walibie

Samir

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaDowMosEs

Perhaps best known as the mysterious force that gave comicdom's Fantastic Four their superpowers, cosmic radiation is omnipresent in the universe.

LOL. Thanks for the in-depth information. As you have probably guessed from this entire thread, I sort of enjoy all this (arguably) unnecessary technical information regarding my concept. I think it makes it more involving and adds an extra layer of interest. Any other related comments and facts you would like to share are always welcome.

Walibie,
You are probably right about the possibility of using the discs as shielding, but at the moment, lets just leave it at the fact that like F1 today, this future version has its own set of dangers. Thanks for sharing the idea.

Here is the latest. I modelled a very low res (before subdivision) driver dummy, to pilot the vehicle. With some texturing and bump mapping, it should suffice for long to mid shots.

Samir

Samir

A little texturing.
All this was applied globally to the fuselage. I have also completed the UV setup, which I plan to use to add in a layer of form-specific paint/decals.

Samir

Samir

Some more texturing and accessories.

Yikes! Running out of time.
C&C welcome.

Samir