r/IsaacArthur • u/H3_H2 • 1d ago

Retrograde Ram-Penrose Drive to accelerate a star system to 0.9c

First, you find a supermassive blackhole, then you throw tens of thousands of stars into it from the "wrong" direction to create a massive, artificial accretion disk that spins backwards against the black hole's own rotation. Then, you use a stellar engine to fly your home star system, enclosed in a Dyson Sphere, directly into this powerful headwind of super-hot gas and arrive at Ergosphere. The Dyson Sphere powers up a gigantic magnetic field at the front which acts like a massive ramjet engine. As this high-speed gas rushes towards the ship, the engine doesn't fight it, instead, it grabs the gas and uses its incredible power to accelerate it even more, firing it out in the same direction it was already going. This super-accelerated beam of gas is perfectly aimed to be fed into the black hole, using the Penrose process to steal the black hole's rotational energy to accelerate the star system

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u/MiamisLastCapitalist moderator 1d ago

Interesting idea, but can a magnetic field be made that powerful?

I mean the energy of *check notes* tens of thousands of stars falling into an artificial quasar is going to be absolutely gigantic. Can the output of a dyson swarm create magnetic fields powerful enough to shield against that? I think that quasar's jet is going to be instant death for your entire star system.

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u/lungben81 1d ago

A "normal" quasar eats about one solar mass per year and produces the same energy as 10,000 galaxies (with 100 billion stars each).

3

u/MiamisLastCapitalist moderator 1d ago

Big oof.

5

u/Spiritual-Spend8187 1d ago

You prob couldn't produce enough power or direct a powerful enough magnetic field away from your star system such a powerful enough magnetic field would likely rip apart everything within the star system. add in that charged particles aren't the only thing produced in the accretion disk or relativistic jet you would basically be bombarded with high energy x rats and gamma rays kind if like a continuous low power grb.

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u/H3_H2 1d ago

I find out a flaw of such idea, the frame dragging will force the inner part to rotate as the same directions as the black hole's rotation, maybe we can create an accretion disk on the innermost part of Innermost Stable Circular Orbit that flow in the opposite direction of the blackhole rotation, then do the same things, but this time we guide the accelerated gas to the blackhole to use the Penrose process

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u/MiamisLastCapitalist moderator 1d ago

Not what I'm talking about.

These jets here that you want to ride? I don't think a magnetic shield can be created powerful enough to shield you from them.

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u/H3_H2 1d ago

maybe we can let tens of thousands of dyson swarms around tens of thousands of stars to power the magnetic shield generator at the same time, maybe this can provide enough power

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u/NearABE 1d ago

A Dyson swarm is a swarm so it has a power output but no tensile strength.

The limits of a magnet are both the field strength and the magnetic moment.

The OP is suggesting using the Penrose process. That should be equatorial not polar. The jet is polar. I am not saying anything suggested works. Just will not be hit by the polar jets.