I had an idea, tell me if this will work
- Thread starter JBONE27
- Start date
Great stuff, keep it coming! 
Greenfield
Adventurer
Okay.
First, the bad news. The hamster died.
Even if it had the hit points of an elephant, it's dead. It burned up in the atmosphere like a small, cute, fuzzy meteor. And then it turned back into a mule (or elephant) and lost all that extra velocity.
The good news is that the boulder is immortal, and is the basis for our new mass driver used to fire projectiles into orbit.
A little math to determine how big a payload it can carry, and the old orbital mirror array is back online!
You need to calculate the final mass of the shrunken boulder, and then determine how much additional weight is needed to slow it down from relativistic velocities to simple orbital speeds, and we can launch payloads into space with a relatively low level spell. We just need to make sure we have a way to eject the "booster" once we're in orbit, since it will lose all that orbital speed when the spell wears off.
Now for a 5th level caster, they can reduce 1,660 lbs of stone (10 cubic feet) to about 0.4 lbs.
If we use lead, we start with 7,800 lbs., reducing to just under two pounds.
For Iron, we get 4,500, which reduces to just over a pound.
Iron is good for this. We can create it with Wall of Iron, and 10 cubic feet is easy to get. At 12th level caster (you need to be 11th, minimum to cast it anyway) you get 3 inches of thickness per 5x5 foot square, which works out to 6.25 cubic feet, or 75 cubic feet total. At 50 gp per casting, Iron is a cheap solution.
Reducing 10 cubic feet get 1 lb at 260 million miles an hour, and we're trying to get to about 20,000 mph at launch point to attain geosynch at 18,000 mph.
That gives us a payload of about 13,000 lbs. Allow 3000 of that as heat shield (we'll use the leftover iron) and support structure, intended to burn away as it does a reverse-falling-star, and that gives us a 10,000 lb payload.
That works out to about 7 gp per launch, in actual coin out of pocket. Eat your heart out, NASA!
So here's the next challenge: Find a way to pack the payload so it survives the zero-to-20,000 mph launch. And no, you can't shrink it.
First, the bad news. The hamster died.
Even if it had the hit points of an elephant, it's dead. It burned up in the atmosphere like a small, cute, fuzzy meteor. And then it turned back into a mule (or elephant) and lost all that extra velocity.
The good news is that the boulder is immortal, and is the basis for our new mass driver used to fire projectiles into orbit.
A little math to determine how big a payload it can carry, and the old orbital mirror array is back online!
You need to calculate the final mass of the shrunken boulder, and then determine how much additional weight is needed to slow it down from relativistic velocities to simple orbital speeds, and we can launch payloads into space with a relatively low level spell. We just need to make sure we have a way to eject the "booster" once we're in orbit, since it will lose all that orbital speed when the spell wears off.
Now for a 5th level caster, they can reduce 1,660 lbs of stone (10 cubic feet) to about 0.4 lbs.
If we use lead, we start with 7,800 lbs., reducing to just under two pounds.
For Iron, we get 4,500, which reduces to just over a pound.
Iron is good for this. We can create it with Wall of Iron, and 10 cubic feet is easy to get. At 12th level caster (you need to be 11th, minimum to cast it anyway) you get 3 inches of thickness per 5x5 foot square, which works out to 6.25 cubic feet, or 75 cubic feet total. At 50 gp per casting, Iron is a cheap solution.
Reducing 10 cubic feet get 1 lb at 260 million miles an hour, and we're trying to get to about 20,000 mph at launch point to attain geosynch at 18,000 mph.
That gives us a payload of about 13,000 lbs. Allow 3000 of that as heat shield (we'll use the leftover iron) and support structure, intended to burn away as it does a reverse-falling-star, and that gives us a 10,000 lb payload.
That works out to about 7 gp per launch, in actual coin out of pocket. Eat your heart out, NASA!
So here's the next challenge: Find a way to pack the payload so it survives the zero-to-20,000 mph launch. And no, you can't shrink it.
Scott DeWar
Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure
Greenfield: if you are looking for a magic to physics comparison for that DM that tried to apply modern real life at the hamster to mule with boulders, remember the spell Pebbles to boulders.
Wilphe
Adventurer
<edit> The last time I brought this up, we got into a discussion on the aerodynamic properties of hamsters, and whether he should be pointed nose-first or butt first. You don't want to go there, trust me.
In case no one has asked yet:
African or European Hamster?
Greenfield
Adventurer
Thanks. for the tip. Not really familiar with that spell. What book is it from?
Over all, though, I'm not arguing for the use of Shrink Item as an orbital vehicle launch system, I' just showing how silly it is to try to apply physics to magic.
To paraphrase a fictional Elf, magic is the art of telling the laws of physics to sit down and shut up. By their very nature, meta-physics operate outside normal physics.
Though it was a funny convenience to discover that one cubic foot of iron reduces to about 1 pound, and will drive 1000 pounds of cargo into geosynchronous orbit. (plus 300 lbs of launch vehicle.) Neat to have it work out to such round numbers (after I rounded them off, that is).
Rhun
First Post
So here's the next challenge: Find a way to pack the payload so it survives the zero-to-20,000 mph launch. And no, you can't shrink it.
EZ-PZ. Just research an Inertial Dampening spell.
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