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I imagine it would be done at a relatively slow rate (dammit! I just agreed with Seafort again!) for two reasons: it takes a definite amount of energy to effect an M-to-AM conversion, and during normal replenishment there would be no need to turn that inot a high rate of power used; and there is a finite amount of AM storage space.

The fact there is a finite amount of AM storage space shouldn't effect it - considering that it could be under an indefinite amount of compression (well, there would be a cap around the singularity level ). I don't get what you're saying in the first half of your sentence, though. If it takes a set amount of energy to convert it, and we don't know what that set amount is, and we don't know the output of the fusion reactors, then it'd be impossible to say it's a particularly slow or fast rate. And this is only applicable when the conversion energy is greater than the mass-energy, if the conversion energy was less than the mass-energy, it would be very fast. While we don't know either way, I'd hazard a guess than the conversion energy was less simply going by the knowledge there is no lower limit for the energy requirements for the conversion, and the fact that the energy requirements currently trend downwards and will only ever trend downwards.

I'd think you'd want to stop compression well short of creating an event horizon.

And what I meant was that no matter what the actual energy required for conversion, doing it slower means less power drawn than doing it faster.

Mikey wrote: And what I meant was that no matter what the actual energy required for conversion, doing it slower means less power drawn than doing it faster.

Yes, but you're just sitting in a nebula not doing much anyway. If you need shields or the like, just send half of the created antimatter to the warp core, and half to storage until you've filled up. A faster rate of fusion means you get anti-matter quicker, and I'd hazard a guess it's more important to have fuel available for the warp core than for the impulse engines.

Yes, of course; I was referring to situations when the ship was actually doing something other than sitting in a deuterium-rich nebula.

Like battleing the Kazon, over and over and...
While I didn't like the idea at first, your arguments are persuasive. Making antimatter does make sense for Voyager's situation, though less so (IMO) for other ships.

I'd imagine it'd be pretty much impossible for Voy to survive without some sort of AM creating facilities. Unless, of course, they happened to run into a planet of sufficiently advanced tech who were happy to sell them some every time they ran low on the stuff.

Rochey wrote:I'd imagine it'd be pretty much impossible for Voy to survive without some sort of AM creating facilities. Unless, of course, they happened to run into a planet of sufficiently advanced tech who were happy to sell them some every time they ran low on the stuff.

So, Seafort, Rochey, Mikey, Thorin and myself all agree on something.


*KABOOM!*

Oh, man, if Teaos agrees then I think we'll end up breaking reality.

If Teaos agrees, I'm going to tell Ian to go back to the old forum.

I agree, but that doesn't mean anything.

I would take Data... by our times defenisions he would be considered hardware, not a person.

And futhermore he would know alot of stuff. Given enought time he could probaly build phasers, replicators, warpcores ect.

and the argument that you can get the database but not the data does not apply here. If you where to strip out all the info from Data he would not be Data, he would be B4 or something simular. So to get Data you would also get all that he knows.

Yeah yeah I know Im bending the rules, but I have yet to brake them

I want 3 million dollars transfered to my bank account or I'll do it... I'll agree with you all.

$3 million US? That's like $1.25 NZ, right?

Greger wrote:I would take Data... by our times defenisions he would be considered hardware, not a person.

He's a computer by the definition of any era. The question asked in "The Measure of a Man", among others, is whether he's a person as well.

And futhermore he would know alot of stuff. Given enought time he could probaly build phasers, replicators, warpcores ect.

The OP specifically stated that only the actually piece of kit is allowed. This would fall under the category of "no making phasers with your replicator".

and the argument that you can get the database but not the data does not apply here. If you where to strip out all the info from Data he would not be Data, he would be B4 or something simular. So to get Data you would also get all that he knows.

The difference between Data and B4 is one of sophistication, not of what information they store. Strip out his knowledge of Trek technology and Data would still be a sapient android, albeit probably with a slightly different personality to the one we see.