History Main / RamScoop

* Hydrogen fusion ramscoops are mentioned, but never shown, in Creator/JohnVarley's ''GaeaTrilogy''.

* Appears a lot in LarryNiven novels.

** In ''{{Ringworld}}'', the eponymous ringworld has several ramscoops docked with it, left over from an earlier age when it received cargo from other star systems. It is mentioned that the ringworld itself could be used in this way, using its enormous magnetic field to first turn its star into a fusion drive and, should it run out, gather hydrogen and fuse it in the middle, giving both propulsion and sunlight.

''But'' ... the space between the planets and stars is ''filled with hydrogen!'' Not ''much'' hydrogen, to be sure -- current estimates for the local interstellar medium come in at about 1 atom of hydrogen for every 10 cubic centimeters of space -- but if you could build a friggin' ginormous[[hottip:*:as in, hundreds or thousands of kilometers across]] scoop on the front of your space ship, it might be possible to scoop in this tenuous interstellar hydrogen and use it to run your fusion engines ''indefinitely.'' You'd have an interstellar ramjet that would never run out of fuel.

* AlastairReynolds' novel, ''Literature/ThePrefect'', shows a mothballed Ramscoop powered interstellar ship, designed to allow interstellar travel without the [[TransHuman Conjoiner's]] conjoiner drive. The ramscoop's massive magnetic fields are used to horrific effect as a weapon. The Conjoiner Drive has a built in ramscoop, but [[ReactionlessDrive it is not required for thrust]], as the drive shuts down the ramscoop in-system yet continues to produce thrust.

* In OrsonScottCard's ''[[EndersGame Earth Unaware]]'' prequel novel, the kilometer-wide Hiver/Formic/Hormiga starship has an opening at the front designed to collect interstellar hydrogen (it's even mentioned that it would only really work when going at a high percentage of the speed of light) and use the collected "gamma plasma" as both reaction mass (i.e. expel it out the back) and fuel. Additionally, the ship actually collects ''more'' than it can use, and dumps excess "gamma plasma" periodically through "pores" all over the ship's hull. In a pinch, this system can also be used to destroy any meteors or asteroids in the ship's path or destroy enemy ships/stations within several a range of several hundred thousand kilometers. As a byproduct, the periodic bursts end up scrambling human communications ([[spoiler:which the Buggers don't know, as they don't have radio]]).

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' has a full scoop on the front of the ship, though that might have been for collecting asteroids and debris for harvesting, rather than propulsion -- it was a mining ship, after all.
** The novel does describe it as a hydrogen scoop.

** In ''Protector'', the Pak use ramscoops to cross the 30,000 light-years from their homeworld to Earth. Eventually, after [[spoiler:Brennan]] becomes a Protector, he ends up in a ''dogfight'' with another ramscoop, piloted by Pak who's out to kill him.

* ''{{Elite}}'' and its sequel has this as a purchasable option for your ship. It's fairly worthless, because cheap fuel is available at every space station, so the only reason to scoop it would be to jump through a particular system without docking there. It takes forever to fly close to the star and get fueled up, and you can still get attacked by pirates while heading there.

* ''{{Elite}}'' and its sequel has this as a purchasable option for your ship. Of course, you could still get attacked by pirates while heading for the star.

* In ''AlienLegacy'', all the colony ships sent from Earth use fusion-powered drives. The intro even shows a giant net unfurling from the ''Callypso'' in order to collect enough hydrogen to slow down in order to enter [[AllPlanetsAreEarthLike Gaea's]] orbit.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' has a full scoop on the front of the ship. (Though that might have been for collecting asteroids and debris for harvesting, rather than propulsion -- it was a mining ship, after all.)

* AlastairReynolds' novel, ''ThePrefect'', shows a mothballed Ramscoop powered interstellar ship, designed to allow interstellar travel without the [[TransHuman Conjoiner's]] conjoiner drive. The ramscoop's massive magnetic fields are used to horrific effect as a weapon. The Conjoiner Drive has a built in ramscoop, but [[ReactionlessDrive it is not required for thrust]], as the drive shuts down the ramscoop in-system yet continues to produce thrust.

* Ramscoops also get a brief mention in GregoryBenford's ''The Stars in Shroud'', although FTL jump-drive technology is the main means of interstellar travel in that universe.

* ''Franchise/WingCommander'' mentions various forms of ramscoop drives across the games and tie-in novels. In the main series of games, some {{Space Fighter}}s are powered by antimatter engines that refuel via ramscoop [[note]]Nevermind that spaceborne antihydrogen particles would be even rarer than normal hydrogen[[/note]]. In game mechanics, this gives you an infinite supply of {{Afterburner}} fuel. In the various novels, all capital ships and fighters (''except'' the ones mentioned in the games) use ramscoops to gather hydrogen fuel; in a nod to real physics, the fuel collection rate increases with the velocity of the spacecraft. Thus, a ship that uses up its fuel supply without maintaining sufficient velocity may have to coast for days or weeks to get enough fuel to fire its engines back up.

* ''Franchise/WingCommander'' mentions various forms of ramscoop drives across the games and tie-in novels. In the main series of games, some {{Space Fighter}}s are powered by antimatter engines that refuel via ramscoop. In game mechanics, this gives you an infinite supply of {{Afterburner}} fuel. In the various novels, all capital ships (and the few fighters mentioned in the games) use ramscoops to gather hydrogen fuel; in a nod to real physics, the fuel collection rate increases with the velocity of the spacecraft. Thus, a ship that uses up its fuel supply without maintaining sufficient velocity may have to coast for days or weeks to get enough fuel to fire its engines back up.

* ''{{Stars}}!'' has two types of engines: conventional and ramscoop. When traveling slowly, scoop-type engines produce surplus fuel, but have lesser optimal (and combat) warp speed than normal engines of the same TechLevels and when exceeding it eat even more than normal ones. There's also the "[[http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/No_Ram_Scoop_Engines No Ram Scoop Engines]]" trait -- unless paired with Improved Fuel Efficiency, this means dependence on big starbases and fragile fuel plants. Radiating Hydro-Ram Scoop, the lowest commonly available on the TechTree, gradually kills transported colonists in the same fleet unless the race has a very high radiation optimum value. This means not only are ships with rad-scoop limited to hauling minerals, but armed escorts would have to dance around a transport or colonizer as a separate fleet without merging. Ships with scoops also suffer 1/4 more damage per engine from SpaceMines.

* ''Stars!'' have scooping engines -- when flying slowly, they produce surplus fuel, but have lesser optimal (and combat) warp speed than normal engines of the same TechLevels and when exceeding it eat even more than normal ones. There's also "[[http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/No_Ram_Scoop_Engines No Ram Scoop Engines]]" trait -- unless paired with Improved Fuel Efficiency, this means dependence on big starbases and fragile fuel plants. Radiating Hydro-Ram Scoop, the lowest commonly available on TechTree, gradually kills transported colonists in the same fleet unless the race got rather high radiation optimum (not even maximum) value. This means not only ships with rad-scoop are limited to hauling minerals, but e.g. armed escorts would have to dance around a transport or colonizer as a separate fleet without merging. Ships with scoops also suffer 1/4 more damage per engine from SpaceMines.

* AlastairReynolds' novel, ''ThePrefect'', shows a mothballed Ramscoop powered interstellar ship, designed to allow interstellar travel without the [[TransHuman Conjoiner's]] conjoiner drive. The ramscoop's massive magnetic fields are used to horrific effect as a weapon.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' has a full scoop on the front of the ship.

** In ''{{Ringworld}}'', the eponymous ringworld has several ramscoops docked with it, left over from an earlier age when it received cargo from other star systems.

For some for whom the news ''has'' reached them yet, three compromises to Bussard's design have cropped up:

* AlastairReynolds' novel, ''ThePrefect'', shows a mothballed Ramscoop powered interstellar ship, designed to allow interstellar travel without the [[TransHuman Conjoiner]]'s conjoiner drive. The ramscoop's massive magnetic fields are used to horrific effect as a weapon.

* ''{{Andromeda}}'' has one case of a ship collecting fuel from a recently supernovaed star.

* Ramscoops and Ramjets are some of the equipment available in the 4X game, ''{{Star Ruler}}''. As the ship moves, they slowly restore fuel, allowing you to have effectively infinite fuel, so long as you use a small rocket. Ramjets are basically a rocket and ramscoop combined, eliminating the need for fuel tanks.

* In ''AlienLegacy'', all the colony ships sent from Earth use fusion-powered drives. The intro even shows a giant net unfurling from the ''Callypso'' in order to collect enough hydrogen to slow down in order to enter [[AllPlanetsAreEarthLike Gaea]]'s orbit.

* PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TauZero''.
* {{Vernor Vinge}}'s ''A Fire Upon the Deep'' mentions ramscoops, particularly for use in the Lower Beyond. ''A Deepness in the Sky'', set in the Slow Zone, features ramscoops exclusively. They use force fields to make big enough ramscoops.

** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "The Cloud", Janeway attempts early to collect particles from a SpaceCloud to use for replicator reaction mass. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the nebula is ''alive'', and doesn't take kindly to ''Voyager'' collecting its particles.]]

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* Hydrogen fusion ramscoops are mentioned, but never shown, in JohnVarley's GaeaTrilogy.

* Exist in ''StarTrek''. The red glowy things on the fronts of the ''Enterprise'''s warp nacelles are called "Bussard collectors", and were mentioned once a season.

** In ''{{Ringworld}}'', the titular ringworld has several ramscoops docked with it, left over from an earlier age when it received cargo from other star systems.