History Main / RamScoop

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

** The earlier novel ''A World Out Of Time'', itself an expansion of the short story "Rammer", has this as a central plot point.

In RealLife, no nuclear fusion technology (aside from hydrogen bombs) has yet "broken even" -- they all consume more energy to induce nuclear fusion than they get out of it. And, worse, the most promising fusion technologies don't use the regular garden-variety hydrogen lying around the universe, they use a much rarer isotope called [[superscript:2]]H or deuterium. As explained over [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet on The Other Wiki]] and [[http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/slowerlight.php#id--Go_Fast--Bussard_Ramjet Atomic Rockets]], since Bussard first proposed the idea there's been some serious questions about whether it would actually work. Still, a lot of fiction features them as that news hasn't reached everyone yet. Unfortunately, a lot of fiction writers don't understand even given a perfect fusion rocket, drag forces limit the maximum speed of a ramscoop to no more than ~10% of the speed of light.

** In ''[[Literature/KnownSpace 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.

** the earlier novel WorldOutOfTime, itself an expansion of the short story Rammer, has this as a central plot point.

* ''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]]never mind 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 [[note]]''except'' the {{antimatter}} powered fighters mentioned in the games[[/note]] 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.

* [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Demiurg]] capital ships, from the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' GaidenGame ''TabletopGame/BattlefleetGothic'', are equipped with electromagnetic force fields around their prows deigned to scoop up interstellar hydrogen that is then used to power their engines. This effect can also be reversed to produce a powerful, if short ranged, cutting beam that the Demiurg use for [[AsteroidMiners mining operations]], as well as to cut up enemy ships.

* In ''SwordOfTheStars'', the [[InsectoidAliens Hivers]], having no [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL]] capability except a PortalNetwork, can research Ramscoop technology that allows their ships to travel without expending fuel. However, unlike a "standard" Bussard collector, Hiver ramscoops are powerful magnets that do the same job.

* It's mentioned several times throughout the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' lore that helium-3/deuterium fusion reactors are the primary method of shipboard power generation. The most common commercial method of propulsion are called fusion torches, which vent the ionized gases produced by these power plants as reaction mass. The helium-3 for the reactors is stated to be "skimmed" from gas giants, presumably using the second variety of RamScoop described on this page. Almost every system that you visit in the games that have inhabitated colonies also have gas giants that are used for supplying helium-3, with one notable exception where it's mentioned that it needs to be expensively shipped in from another system.

* In Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''[[Literature/EndersGame Earth Unaware]]'' prequel novel, the kilometer-wide Bugger/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]]).

* In OrsonScottCard's ''[[EndersGame Earth Unaware]]'' prequel novel, the kilometer-wide Bugger/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]]).
** It's never stated how the human ships in ''Ender's Game'' work, but considering that they were reverse-engineered from Formic technology it can be assumed that they use ramscoops as well. By ''Speaker for the Dead'' (3,000 years later) they seem to have switched to a ReactionlessDrive though.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TauZero'' takes place entirely on a ramscoop ship.

** ''Elite: Dangerous'' also features ramscoops, but alleviates the need to fly forever to the star from the jump-in point of a system by putting jump-in points right next to the system's parent star (or, in the case of binary/multiple star systems, right next to its primary star).

In RealLife, no nuclear fusion technology (aside from hydrogen bombs) has yet "broken even" -- they all consume more energy to induce nuclear fusion than they get out of it. And, worse, the most promising fusion technologies don't use the regular garden-variety hydrogen lying around the universe, they use a much rarer isotope called [[superscript:2]]H or deuterium. As explained over [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet on The Other Wiki]] and [[http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/slowerlight.php#id--Go_Fast--Bussard_Ramjet Atomic Rockets]], since Bussard first proposed the idea there's been some serious questions about whether it would actually work. Still, a lot of fiction features them as that news hasn't reached everyone yet.

In RealLife, no nuclear fusion technology (aside from hydrogen bombs) has yet "broken even" -- they all consume more energy to induce nuclear fusion than they get out of it. And, worse, the most promising fusion technologies don't use the regular garden-variety hydrogen lying around the universe, they use a much rarer isotope called [[superscript:2]]H or deuterium. As explained over [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet on The Other Wiki]] and [[http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/slowerlight.php#id--Bussard_Ramjet Atomic Rockets]], since Bussard first proposed the idea there's been some serious questions about whether it would actually work. Still, a lot of fiction features them as that news hasn't reached everyone yet.

* Ramscoops and Ramjets are some of the equipment available in the 4X game, ''StarRuler''. 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.

** The Conjoiner drives are of the RAIR type described above: they use the material gathered with the ramscoop as remass, and accelerate it with energy drawn from ([[spoiler:a pair of wormholes to the very early, hot universe.]])

One of the most promising methods of propulsion for spacecraft, particularly spacecraft that need to cover vast interplanetary or interstellar distances, is nuclear fusion. The fusion of hydrogen into helium produces more than two ''million'' times as much energy as [[OhTheHumanity chemically combusting the same quantity of hydrogen with oxygen]].

* In a novel of ''TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy'' series, the ''Alpha'', the first extrasolar colony ship, is supposed to be accelerated by three extremely-powerful fusion engines (CaptainsLog mentions that their combined power rivals a star). When the ship ends up in the Orion Nebula by accidentally tearing a hole between dimensions with the engines, they expend most of their on-board hydrogen tearing another hole back to our universe. The system in the nebula has no habitable planets, so the crew and the colonists are forced to live on one of the barren worlds for several generations, while the ship makes a long orbit through the dense part of the nebula, collecting hydrogen with its scoop. When the ship is found centuries later, it has only managed to replenish about a third of its stores. Not that it matters, as everybody uses FasterThanLightTravel by that point.

* ''{{Elite}}'' and its sequel have this as a purchasable option for your ship. It's fairly worthless for its primary use, 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. However, the scoops also let you pick up goods and prisoners from ships you destroy, which can be much more valuable than fuel.

* Ramscoops are a purchasable ship add-on in the ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'' series. Mechanically they increase your fuel regeneration rate.

* CarlSagan mentions the Bussard ramship design in ''{{Cosmos}}''. His take on it was somewhat optimistic.

* It's mentioned several times throughout the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' lore that helium-3/deuterium fusion reactors are the primary method of shipboard power generation. The most common commercial method of propulsion are called fusion torches, which vent the ionized hydrogen produced by these power plants as reaction mass. The helium-3 for the reactors is stated to be "skimmed" from gas giants, presumably using the second variety of RamScoop described on this page. Almost every system that you visit in the games that have inhabitated colonies also have gas giants that are used for supplying helium-3, with one notable exception where it's mentioned that it needs to be expensively shipped in from another system.

* In the Series/DoctorWho episode "42", the Doctor ends up on a ship that uses "energy scoops". The ship scoops hydrogen from a star with [[GeniusLoci diasaterous consequences]].