XPost: alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise, alt.startrek, rec.arts.startrek.current   
   XPost: rec.arts.startrek.tech   
   From: fluidstates_NO+SPAM@REMOVE-ME.verizon.net   
      
   "First Fallen"  wrote in message   
   news:Lrrhe.1350398$Xk.1167951@pd7tw3no...   
      
   > (I always thought it was stupid - "It's a science vessel" or "It's a   
   > medical   
   > ship" "it has minimum armament"  Why?  Scientists and doctors don't need   
   > to   
   > defend themselves?)   
      
   Because that's the way it was always done in the Navy (Roddenberry's a Navy   
   pilot, remember?) and the Navy does that due to a particular pattern of   
   logic.  Frigates, destroyers...each one, each design, is optimized for that   
   purpose.  There is only so much room on a ship for materials, equipment,   
   propulsion, crew space.  By deciding the use the space is optimized for that   
   usage.  You cannot have maximum science lab abilities if you are giving room   
   for large weaponry and the storage space necessary for war.  A medical ship   
   needs causality space, lots of it, plus subsystems designed to support the   
   systems that help the sick (power systems routed to medical devices),   
   therefore away from weapons and self-defense.   
      
   The only time you can get all of the above is when you design a ship so   
   massive that you have room for all of the above, or at least a goodly   
   majority of the above.  But a larger ship is less maneuverable and takes   
   more resources - in outfitting, supplying, building - meaning you have less   
   ships overall due to larger capital ships.  A large capital ship is not the   
   best thing to go into combat with - please see the conversion of ocean   
   liners into auxiliary cruisers during WWII.  For most the conversion did not   
   last long - the Admiralty realized that the ship was just too big, too much   
   a target.  They were generally reconverted into troop transports and medical   
   ships.   
      
   War has it's own rules, and naval design is generally governed by war needs.   
   I guess Star Trek's designers still remember those needs and design ships   
   based upon the necessary need - therefore optimized to reduce requirements   
   to build but optimize return.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)