Saturday, April 13, 2013

Energy Technology of Cydoria

Here is some more expurgated material that got left out of the main book. What follows is a completely unnecessary level of detail on some elements of Cydorian technology, or at least imported Rhakadian technology used in the Cydorian cities.


Power Generation

Until twenty years ago, the only practical means of producing power in Cydoria was through human effort, windmills, water wheels, or draft animals. Uruta possesses no fossil fuels. Relatively small amounts of combustible oils were obtained from whales or grass seeds. Cydorian scientists had produced a few wood-powered steam-engines, but for the most part these were considered impractical novelties. The ancient artifacts of the Sdara Vatra seemed to work on their own limitless internal power supply and these were understood only by the reclusive and secretive thaumaturges of the Order of Karak or especially learned university scholars. There was, therefore, simply no incentive to produce internal combustion engines.

Contact with the Rhakadian Empire of Malus introduced many new technologies, but most of these required some sort of power source to operate. As part of their commercial arrangement, the Rhakadian Empire provided the cities of the Vrildarian League with advanced energy generation facilities. These power generators broadcast their energy throughout the city without the need for a distribution network of conductive wires. Energy generation plants are immediately identifiable by the large conical power transmitters on their roofs.

In addition, efficient internal combustion engines, fueled by oils from grass seeds and cellulose, and chemically-based portable fuel cells were supplied to the Vrildarians for use in aero-ships, mobile fortresses, and remote military and industrial facilities.

Torium Power Cores

The primary means of generating energy to power Rhakadian technology is the torium power core. The torium core draws electricity from vacuum energy, free energy trapped within the very fabric of the universe. A cylindrical core made of metallic torium is surrounded by a heavy ring of nanocrystalline silicon. After an initial input of electricity to “prime the pump”, the torium generates a matching amount of electricity, creating electromotive force from vacuum energy even after the initial source of electricity is removed. The resulting electrical current can be harnessed to power electrically-powered devices.

The larger the torium core, the greater the electric current.  A one-ton small electric generator powered by a torium core the size of a brick can generate up to a megawatt of electricity, sufficient to drive four two-hundred horsepower aero-ship propulsion engines, while a  one-thousand-ton generator the size of a building can supply over a thousand megawatts, enough to power an industrialized city like Norukar or Vrildar. Generally, a generator will produce one kilowatt per kilogram or one megawatt per ton.

 Torium cores produce free electricity at a constant rate essentially indefinitely. Overloading a generator with more input energy than the torium core can safely generate will cause the core to burn out, rendering it inert and useless. For example priming a one-megawatt torium generator with two megawatts of electricity from an external source will destroy the torium core.

The energy output of a torium power core can fluctuate due to certain environmental conditions. Solar flare activity, regions of strong electromagnetic interference, and regional fluctuations in gravity can affect the output wattage of the generator, causing lights to flare or dim and motors to rev or slow.

Torium Power Cores are large power generators that generate electricity without fuel. These devices are highly restricted. Unauthorized operation of a Torium Power Core is a crime punishable by execution. These devices are not intended for ownership by a character but are listed here for purposes of comparison only.
SIZ
Size
Powers
Value
40
Small vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
Aero-ship, armored mobile-fortress
Restricted
75
Room, shipping container, 10t
factory, large aero-ship
Restricted
137
Small Building, 100t
Small city, industrial uses
Restricted
286
Large building, 1000t
Large Cydorian city
Restricted

Broadcast Power

The energy created by large central torium generators is, in turn, distributed throughout an area using broadcast power. Broadcast power transmits energy safely through the air from a spherical central broadcasting antenna perched atop tall conical towers. Receiver units transform the broadcast energy into useable electricity. The larger the electricity demand, the larger the receiver unit. A small hand-held receiver can supply a few kilowatts of energy, enough to power home appliances or small electronic devices. A large building-sized receiver can supply hundreds of megawatts for industrial applications.

The range of the largest power transmitters is about five kilometers, with most broadcasting to a range of about a kilometer. This broadcast energy is converted into usable electricity by receiver units. Receiver units range from the size of a small hand-held battery to power portable equipment to room-sized converters capable of providing massive amounts of power to industrial applications. These receivers, in turn, power the lights, heating elements, pumps, and electric motors of the city.

For most devices, power is transmitted from broadcast power stations and turned into useable electricity using receiving units. Broadcast power receivers vary in size and capability. A small receiver, a cylinder or flat bar the size of a finger, is sufficient to power most portable hand-hand devices and weapons. A vehicle can be powered by a receiver the size of a brick.
SIZ
Size
Powers
Value
1
AA battery, pack of gum
Hand-held device, computer
Average
1
Baseball, 6V battery, candy bar, 1kg
A cyberslave or cyberdroid, plasma hand-weapon
Average
4
Brick, 12V car battery, 10kg
A small vehicle, plasma cannon
Expensive
8
Backpack, suitcase, 50kg
Shop, laboratory
Expensive
16
Bale of hay, standard shipping box,100kg
Small building
Priceless
40
Small vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
Large building
Restricted
75
Room, shipping container, 10t
Large factory, industrial uses
Restricted

Electrochemical Voltaic Fuel Cell

A less expensive alternative to the torium core generator is the electrochemical voltaic fuel cell. Fuel cells are heavy-duty rechargeable batteries. Fuel cells can be recharged simply by entering the range of a broadcast power station. Most long-range vehicles that are expected to travel away from broadcast power are driven by fuel cells. Many less expensive aero-ships forego expensive torium core generators in favor of affordable fuel cells to power their electric engines. A typical aero-ship driven by fuel cells usually has just enough charge to travel thousand kilometers. 

A Fuel Cell is a more mobile alternative to the broadcast power. Although they are larger, they do not need to be within range of a broadcast power transmitter. However, a fuel cell eventually loses its charge. Fuel cells can be recharged in two to sixteen (2d8) hours using a broadcast power receiver. Fuel cells are usually installed on long-range vehicles and aero-ships. Cyberdroids are also powered by a SIZ 4 fuel cell.
SIZ
Size
Powers
Value
1
Baseball, 6V battery, bar of chocolate, 1kg
Hand-held device, computer
Average
4
Brick, 12V car battery, 10kg
A cyberslave or cyberdroid, plasma hand-weapon
Expensive
8
Backpack, suitcase, 50kg
A small vehicle, plasma cannon
Expensive
16
Bale of hay, standard shipping box,100kg
Shop, laboratory
Priceless
40
Small vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
Small building
Restricted
75
Room, shipping container, 10t
Aero-ship
Restricted

Internal Combustion Engines

Because the atmosphere of the planet Malus is poor in oxygen and lacks fossil fuels, the Rhakadians developed little in the way of internal combustion engines. The internal combustion engines used on Uruta are primarily of Phanosian design. Phanosian internal combustion engines are designed to operate on fuels derived from the grass seeds and cellulose. Compared to fuel cells and torium power cores, internal combustion engines are loud, smelly, and dirty. They require difficult-to-produce and relatively rare fuel. As such, internal combustion engines are generally only found in remote settlements that cannot afford a torium power core. Such settlements grow their own grass for fuel and broadcast the power out to one hundred meters. Since internal combustion engines are not of Rhakadian design, they are considered contraband by the Vrildarian Inquisition.
SIZ
Size
Powers
Value
1
Baseball, 6V battery, bar of chocolate, 1kg
Hand-held device, computer
Inexpensive
4
Brick, 12V car battery, 10kg
A cyberslave or cyberdroid, plasma hand-weapon
Average
8
Backpack, suitcase, 50kg
A small vehicle, plasma cannon
Average
16
Bale of hay, standard shipping box,100kg
Shop, laboratory, village
Expensive
40
Small vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
Small building, town, Aeroship
Priceless
75
Room, shipping container, 10t
Large building, small city
Restricted

The Energy Economy

All torium core electric generators and fuel cells are manufactured by the Rhakadian Empire which uses them to power their mining operations and industrial facilities. Many are traded in exchange for access to mine Uruta’s resources. The Rhakadians provide no more than a two hundred fifty generators of various sizes and five hundred fuel cells a year. Of these, two hundred are assigned to the Vrildarian military while the remaining fifty are awarded to nobles as gifts from the Emperor. In addition, The Phanosians supplied nearly a thousand to the Coalition of Timan before the Ill-fated War. At least half of these have been found and confiscated by the Vrildarian inquisition. Illegal smuggling since the war also introduces another fifty generators to Uruta a year. The end result is that there are roughly seven thousand five hundred torium core electric generators on Uruta.
Owner
Approximate Number of Generators
Use
Rhadkadian Empire
100
A few large industrial-sized generators to power their mining and refining operations and several dozen medium-sized generators on aero-ships and land-vehicles
Vrildarian military
4000
A few large industrial-sized generators to power the larger military bases; many medium-sized generators to power smaller bases, aero-ships, and armored mobile-fortresses; many man-portable units for recharging plasma weapons
Vrildarian nobility
1000
A few large industrial-sized generators to power the large cities and industrial facilities of the east; several hundred medium-sized generators to power aero-ships, and  a few remote settlements and agricultural colonies; a few dozen small man-portable units for personal noble use
Demetrian Resistance
300
A few dozen medium-sized generators to power aero-ships; over two hundred easily hidden man-portable units for recharging plasma weapons or powering small secret hideouts
Dazumi Pirates
200
A handful of large generators to power secret bases; several medium-sized generators to power aero-ships; a few easily hidden man-portable units for recharging plasma weapons
Other
500
Predominantly small-to-medium-sized generators, easily hidden, to power villages, farmsteads, or secret Techno-mystic laboratories





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