LIU Atlas - Semita Lucis System
There are billions of stars, millions of planets, but there is only one man, Terrance McDoogal. Welcome to LIU Atlas.
LIU Atlas - Semita Lucis System
The Ludgonian Industrial Union's galaxy contains billions of stars and billions of planets. Unfortunately, most residents of the LIU could only name a handful of these worlds. In order to improve astronomy grades across the LIU, TV2 has started a new program called LIU Atlas. Follow our host, Terrance McDoogal, as he takes you on a tour across the LIU and some of its more obscure worlds.
Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.
LIU Atlas - Semita Lucis System
The Ludgonian Industrial Union's galaxy contains billions of stars and billions of planets. Unfortunately, most residents of the LIU could only name a handful of these worlds. In order to improve astronomy grades across the LIU, TV2 has started a new program called LIU Atlas. Follow our host, Terrance McDoogal, as he takes you on a tour across the LIU and some of its more obscure worlds.
Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.
Doog: “Welcome to a special edition episode of LIU Atlas. I’m your host, Terrance “Doog” McDoogal. Today we’re visiting the Semita Lucis System, a set of binary stars. The system is comprised of two stars: Lucis, a yellow hypergiant star, and Semita, a red giant star. The two stars orbit a common barycenter in an elliptical orbit. A small space station rests in between the two stars in the system’s L1 Point. We’re headed here to recharge our fuel cells. Our rescuers on Horreum provided us just enough power to reach this system.”
Doog: “The station is oddly shaped. The majority of it looks like a large ring. A small spherical area juts out from the ring. That’s where we’re headed. We’ve secured docking rights and we’re headed inside.”
Bart: “My men told me you wanted me down here. Is something wrong?”
Doog: “So you’re Bart? I’m Doog. I have this show on TV2 called LIU Atlas.”
Bart: “Sorry. I’ve never heard of it. I’m usually too busy to watch TV.”
Doog: “Are you sure? My misadventures are famous.”
Bart: “Yes. I’m sure. Look, I don’t have time for this. We don’t usually sell energy to ships your size. We usually sell power to large tankers. I heard you were stranded without power so I made an exception for you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
Doog: “Well, here’s the thing, we don’t have a lot of credits. I may have gambled most of our profits away.”
Bart: “What does that have to do with me?”
Doog: “Well, if we could somehow do a show while we charge up our ship, I can actually afford to pay you.”
Bart: “Wait! You mean you can’t pay us now!?”
Doog: “Did I forget to mention that before we started refueling? My bad.”
Doog: “So you’re Bart? I’m Doog. I have this show on TV2 called LIU Atlas.”
Bart: “Sorry. I’ve never heard of it. I’m usually too busy to watch TV.”
Doog: “Are you sure? My misadventures are famous.”
Bart: “Yes. I’m sure. Look, I don’t have time for this. We don’t usually sell energy to ships your size. We usually sell power to large tankers. I heard you were stranded without power so I made an exception for you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
Doog: “Well, here’s the thing, we don’t have a lot of credits. I may have gambled most of our profits away.”
Bart: “What does that have to do with me?”
Doog: “Well, if we could somehow do a show while we charge up our ship, I can actually afford to pay you.”
Bart: “Wait! You mean you can’t pay us now!?”
Doog: “Did I forget to mention that before we started refueling? My bad.”
Bart: “Grrr. I guess we have no choice. How long is this going to take?”
Doog: “Judging by these fuel prices…I’d say twenty minutes at the maximum.”
Bart: “Sigh. I really don’t have a lot of time. We’re approaching the Transfer. How about I sell the energy to you at cost and we make it ten minutes?”
Doog: “If that’s the case, how about you give it to me for free and I just leave now? That would save you all kinds of time.”
Bart: “You’re pushing it. This is the LIU. Nothing is free. Follow me.”
Doog: “Judging by these fuel prices…I’d say twenty minutes at the maximum.”
Bart: “Sigh. I really don’t have a lot of time. We’re approaching the Transfer. How about I sell the energy to you at cost and we make it ten minutes?”
Doog: “If that’s the case, how about you give it to me for free and I just leave now? That would save you all kinds of time.”
Bart: “You’re pushing it. This is the LIU. Nothing is free. Follow me.”
Bart: “This is the Power Ring’s main control room.”
Doog: “Wait. Start from the beginning. What’s the Power Ring?”
Bart: “That’s the name of this station. There are three station’s like this spread around the LIU Galaxy’s elliptical binary stars. The stations collect energy from the stars.”
Doog: “How do you collect energy from stars? And why elliptical binaries?
Doog: “Wait. Start from the beginning. What’s the Power Ring?”
Bart: “That’s the name of this station. There are three station’s like this spread around the LIU Galaxy’s elliptical binary stars. The stations collect energy from the stars.”
Doog: “How do you collect energy from stars? And why elliptical binaries?
Bart: “Some elliptical binaries, like the Semita Lucis System, undergo a process called mass transfer. In this case, Lucis’ mass has exceeded its Roche Lobe, so its outer plasma layers are transferred to Semita when the two stars make their closest approach. If you look at this simulation on the horizontal screen, you’ll see the estimated path of this mass transfer.”
Doog: “And you collect this plasma?”
Bart: “Yes. The station’s ring is designed to capture this plasma trail and store its energy.”
Doog: “And you collect this plasma?”
Bart: “Yes. The station’s ring is designed to capture this plasma trail and store its energy.”
Bart: “At the peak of the transfer, this plasma trail releases almost one yottajoule of energy. Our goal is to capture at least 500 zettajoules of this.”
Doog: “Is that a lot?”
Bart: “Put it this way, most civilized worlds use 1 to 5 zettajoules a year depending on how developed they are. If we
successfully capture 500 zettajoules of energy, then we can power approximately 150 worlds for an entire year.”
Doog: “Wow that’s a lot.”
Bart: “Yeah, but it hardly puts a dent in the millions of inhabited worlds. We do our part, I guess.”
Doog: “Is that a lot?”
Bart: “Put it this way, most civilized worlds use 1 to 5 zettajoules a year depending on how developed they are. If we
successfully capture 500 zettajoules of energy, then we can power approximately 150 worlds for an entire year.”
Doog: “Wow that’s a lot.”
Bart: “Yeah, but it hardly puts a dent in the millions of inhabited worlds. We do our part, I guess.”
Bart: “To ensure we capture the maximum amount of energy, we’ve installed sensors all over the ring. We want to position the ring so each sensor position receives equal amounts of power.”
Doog: “Things don’t look very equal.”
Bart: “Yes, but the transfer has yet to begin. The sensors are just picking up left over radiation from the last transfer. Once the next transfer begins, these sensors will help us to align the ring properly.”
Doog: “Things don’t look very equal.”
Bart: “Yes, but the transfer has yet to begin. The sensors are just picking up left over radiation from the last transfer. Once the next transfer begins, these sensors will help us to align the ring properly.”
Bart: “We’re headed to ring portion of the station. This part of the station is insulated from the spherical portion for safety reasons. Please be cautious. The amount of amps flowing this portion of the station can kill you a million times over.”
Doog: “Well that’s comforting.”
Doog: “Well that’s comforting.”
Bart: “The superstructure of the ring is made of hyperconductive materials that absorb the plasma trail and convert it to electricity. Collection is the easy part. Storing this much energy is the hard part. Let’s head to the final part of the tour.”
Bart: “Most of the ring is made up of huge power cells like this. It’s essentially a gigantic battery. The cells use Fovean technology.”
Doog: “So then what?”
Bart: “We sell the energy to various energy deprived planets, like the galaxy’s fourteen Ecumenopoli. They use much more power than they can produce. No matter who gets the energy, we hope to unload the entire 500 zettajoules before the next transfer begins.”
Doog: “How often does the transfer take place?”
Bart: “About every two years.”
Doog: “Lot’s of downtime, huh?”
Bart: “Not really. Maintaining power storage and preparing for the next transfer keeps us pretty busy.”
Doog: “Yeah sure. Well, I guess our ten minutes are up. Thanks for your time.”
Bart: “Yeah sure. Don’t ever pull something like this again.”
Doog: “So then what?”
Bart: “We sell the energy to various energy deprived planets, like the galaxy’s fourteen Ecumenopoli. They use much more power than they can produce. No matter who gets the energy, we hope to unload the entire 500 zettajoules before the next transfer begins.”
Doog: “How often does the transfer take place?”
Bart: “About every two years.”
Doog: “Lot’s of downtime, huh?”
Bart: “Not really. Maintaining power storage and preparing for the next transfer keeps us pretty busy.”
Doog: “Yeah sure. Well, I guess our ten minutes are up. Thanks for your time.”
Bart: “Yeah sure. Don’t ever pull something like this again.”
Doog: “Well folks, the Semita Lucis System is an interesting place. Workers on a space station collect huge amounts of energy by placing themselves in between two stars transferring matter. They help power the galaxy. More importantly, they helped refuel the Magellan. I guess we can finally get on with the next episode. See ya!”
Note:
Many civilized planets can’t produce enough power to meet their populations’ high-tech lifestyle. These planets depend on energy from outside sources, like the Semita Lucis System.
CLICK HERE FOR NEXT EPISODE: Season 6 - Episode 7 - Barathrum
Note:
Many civilized planets can’t produce enough power to meet their populations’ high-tech lifestyle. These planets depend on energy from outside sources, like the Semita Lucis System.
CLICK HERE FOR NEXT EPISODE: Season 6 - Episode 7 - Barathrum
