07-14-2015, 07:07 AM
I used the terms "internal" and "external" to describe where the energetic phase of the propulsive cycle takes place. For example, in the Orion-type drive, the "propellant" is ejected through the pusher plate and detonated some distance behind the ship; this is what I would classify as an "external" reaction (whether using fission, fusion, antimatter, or even chemical explosives). With the Daedalus, Longshot, and other ICF-based drives, the "propellant" is heated and compressed by lasers/masers/etc. located within the ship's structure. The fusion reaction takes place within a "combustion chamber" that is generally also located within the ship's structure.; these types are classified as "internal." In a magnetic or electrostatic confinement fusion (MCF/ECF) drive, the energetic portion of the cycle also takes place within the ship's structure, and can also be classified as "internal."
Radtech497
Radtech497
"I'd much rather see you on my side, than scattered into... atoms." Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the Universe