philj.tektronix%Rand-Relay@tekig.UUCP (12/19/83)
Just to throw my monkey wrench into the ring, 'parsec' stands for PARA-llax SEC-ond. The 'second' is an angle measurement (degrees, minutes, seconds). It is a measure of the amount of warp generated by the drive field, therefore a measure of speed. 180 degrees is 0 relative velocity, 0 degrees is infinite velocity. The 'parallax' part has to do with how the instruments measure warp angle while within the warp. External instruments, of course, measure different relative velocities. The reasons for using 'parsecs' are much too technical to discuss here; try asking for help in 'net.astro.expert' or 'net.weapons.secret'. They will tell you where to go for more information. Phil Jansen tektronix!tekig!philj ps Boasting about making a run "within three parsecs" of zero degrees shows how reckless Han was in his younger days. Thank goodness he got married and settled down to raise kids.