[net.startrek] Why doesn"t the Enterprise tumble?

jj (04/07/83)

	Gee!  You guys (and gals, if any) seem to forget that you
are watching SCIENCE FICTION!  Let us suppose that rather than
merely providing a thrust vector, the Warp Engines (Which, according
to the 'common knowledge', actually affect the fabric of space) can
also provide a TORQUE that keeps the enterprise in the right attitude
and  so on.  <While that's certainly a violation of Newton's laws,
specific relativity, and the like, this IS fiction, and a little more
violation really doesn't matter.>  Why don't we all just accept the 
idea that we are talking about creative fiction, and stop trying to
figure out how the damnfool Enterprise works in the first place.
	If you accept the fact that the Enterprise will tumble because
of the misplaced thrust of the warp engines, then you also have to
accept the fact that the Enterprise can't even move through space
since it's a plastic model.  At that point, you'dd be better off
watching "Laverne and Shirley" since they are at most improbable,
rather than impossible.  
	Me?  I'll stick to my stereo.  At least I can enforce some
order on that.

All comments except gestures of support or fiduciary largesse should
be sent to /dev/null.  Save your phone bill for something important.

If you've got to take yourself so seriously that you can't just relax and
enjoy entertainment<which is all that ST is>, don't bother me.

kar (04/09/83)

	Why doesn't the ship tumble?  I don't know about the early episodes,
but in the later adventures, there was a large counterbalancing mass positioned
at an angle to the center of gravity that was symmetrical with the angle of the
engines.  You guessed it: Kirk on the bridge.

lingas (04/26/83)

  The warp engines, a has been stated before, are warp 'generators' that
affect the fabric of space and operate in hyper or warp space, and
are therefore unaffected by newtonian physics. It should also be noted
that the impulse engines drive the ship in normal space,and that they are also
more centrally located (behind the disk). The ENTERPRISE also has many
attitude control jets or thrusters (they were referred to in ST,TMP as
the Enterprise was leaving 'drydock') to counteract any spinning force.
 
                                       Sasha Ivanovich Lingas
                                       Reed College (talk about space cases)