The Starflight Handbook

I received this book the other day, after having developed an interest in Interstellar Travel and ordering it from Amazon.
It covers a range of methods for reaching the stars and discusses objectives, feasibility, communication and the general problems with each one, in fairly non-technical language. It even goes as far as to devote a section in the book to the travelling methods which often lie in the realms of Sci-fi.

Here’s an excerpt from the book’s back cover:

• In-depth discussions of everything from nuclear pulse propulsion engines to in-flight navigation, in flowing, non-technical language.
• Sidebars and appendices cover technical and mathematical concepts in detail.
• Seventy-five elegant and enlightening illustratons depicting starships and their hardware.
  

Bussard Ramjets Aplenty!

What with my sudden revived interest in Red Dwarf, I’ve wanted to find out more about it, as in, the actual ship, how it works and whatnot. I’ve known for a long time that the scoop at the front of the ship (also known as a Bussard Ramjet) takes Hydrogen from the currents of space and converts it into fuel, as a mining ship nearly 6 miles long is heavy enough without having to carry thousands upon thousands of gallons of the stuff. So I know what purpose they serve, it’s just I’m uncertain as to how they actually work. This led me to the wiki article (where else?), and so I read up on them.

This in turn, led me to a book which I later bought on Interstellar Travel (which I still haven’t recieved, but will do tomorrow), which includes a section on Bussard Ramjets, as well as other methods, and discusses them in-depth, along with feasability and the various problems with each.