Why the size and mass of the SW galaxy matter:
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:58 pm
In general, I've not weighed in very much on the debate over the size of the Star Wars galaxy. This is because I think it's particularly hard to come up with and defend any particular figure; the evidence is more than a little bit fuzzy.
However, there are a few things worth talking about with regard to how large a galaxy is. The most obvious is what it says about FTL drives - the STV journey to the center of the galaxy the VOY epic - and the second is that it has a lot of bearing on territorial size and the density of habitable worlds.
Less obvious is the mass distribution of a galaxy determines the shape of the gravitational potential curve, and thus the minimum energy requirements to travel from point to point within the galaxy. The power requirements at any given point can be mitigated by local astronomic data, but regardless of the local gradients, you're likely to pick up a few zettajoules moving a ship from the galactic core to galactic rim - for something like the Milky Way.
I know it hasn't been common for GPE + FTL to be used to determine how much work a starship actually can do, but it's a quite powerful method with fairly minimal assumptions - and some very real complications when we consider the high-end journeys and low-end power estimates.
However, there are a few things worth talking about with regard to how large a galaxy is. The most obvious is what it says about FTL drives - the STV journey to the center of the galaxy the VOY epic - and the second is that it has a lot of bearing on territorial size and the density of habitable worlds.
Less obvious is the mass distribution of a galaxy determines the shape of the gravitational potential curve, and thus the minimum energy requirements to travel from point to point within the galaxy. The power requirements at any given point can be mitigated by local astronomic data, but regardless of the local gradients, you're likely to pick up a few zettajoules moving a ship from the galactic core to galactic rim - for something like the Milky Way.
I know it hasn't been common for GPE + FTL to be used to determine how much work a starship actually can do, but it's a quite powerful method with fairly minimal assumptions - and some very real complications when we consider the high-end journeys and low-end power estimates.