How far could a spaceship go if we never ran out of thrust? (2020)

Re:How far could a spaceship go if we never ran out of thrus... by spaetzleesser on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @08:52AM (#28128184)

I remember reading about a design that basically works like this. It’s sucks up all the atoms in front of the ship and uses them for acceleration. I think there is also a book about this where such a ship has a problem which doesn’t allow it to slow down. So they just keep accelerating. Wish I could remember the name.

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Re:How far could a spaceship go if we never ran out of thrus... by kadoban on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @09:30AM (#28128592)

You're likely talking about a Bussard ramjet. The book should be Tau Zero.

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Re:How far could a spaceship go if we never ran out of thrus... by kanisae on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @10:27AM (#28129250)

You are thinking of Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. It's well worth reading even though the cosmology is dated.

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