The 10,000g would be approximately uniform through the entire volume of the ship, so no damage. In a regular rocket, the acceleration would have to be transmitted to passengers and cargo through the normal force, and that would crush you.
Makes sense, though if you'd asked me before your explanation, I'd have thought the idea of accelerating at high speed without leaving free fall impossible.
Re:Freeman Dyson: Gravitational Machines
by perihelions on Friday June 09, 2023 @07:51PM
(#36265936)
It's a free fall that leaves the system at a different speed than it arrives!
I found it interesting that such a system could be used to "accelerate delicate and fragile objects to a velocity of 2000 km/sec at an acceleration of 10,000 g, without doing any damage to the objects. ... So a large space ship with human passengers and normal mechanical construction could easily survive the 10,000 g acceleration." This seems counterintuitive, but since the object is in freefall the entire time, I guess it makes sense.