From: chakatfirepaw@gmail.com   
      
   On Wed, 02 Nov 2016 16:23:52 -0700, 0something0 wrote:   
      
   > So exactly what kind of drive are we using here? Chemical? Nuclear Ion?   
   > Solar Ion? Fusion?   
      
   This sort of discussion generally assumes plausible midfuture   
   technologies.  Not that it's a big deal, the least observable types of   
   drive that don't involve massive new discoveries in physics are all kinds   
   we are already at least experimenting on.  The "we hope we can one day   
   make these" drives tend to be leaving the realm of "seen from xx AU" and   
   entering "seen from xx LY".   
      
   The most likely drive types are:  Closed-core nuclear thermal and various   
   electric drives, (ion and plasma, perhaps resistojet), for most ships   
   with use of solar sails for things that can get away with very little   
   thrust.   
      
   Less likely are things like Orion and nuclear-salt water, open-core   
   nuclear, anti-matter thermal and anti-matter initiated nuclear.   
      
   We would hope for fusion drives or even anti-matter beam core but those   
   involve crossed fingers and trivial detectability.   
      
   > And what kind of civilization are we up against?   
      
   This is all intra-system stuff.  So generally human cultures that have   
   spread to multiple bodies in the solar system, (i.e. not "Humans v.   
   Xt'at'tic'at" but "Martian Republic v. Commonwealth of Titan.").   
      
   --   
   Chakat Firepaw - Inventor and Scientist (mad)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)