Speed of Communication within a planetary system (TL 12)
- Thread starter Vidgar
- Start date
Annatar Giftbringer
Emperor Mongoose
499 seconds
the time it takes for light to travel one AU. Approx 8 minutes
the time it takes for light to travel one AU. Approx 8 minutes
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
One would assume bandwidth and power has some effect, if only on the quality.
Midnightplat
Banded Mongoose
There are a few polities' intelligence branches who believe the Dryone may be ahead of everyone else with the closely guarded secret of the Tachyon Fax Machine. Why:
is the final mystery of the Ancients.
alex_greene
Guest
Always remember - 1 astronomical unit = about 8.33 light minutes. If you send out a radio signal, it will reach a receiver 1 astronomical unit away in about 8 minutes 20 or so seconds. So they will know that there's a radio source 1AU away, and they'll know what your location was 8.33 minutes ago.
An object, such as a planetary body, that is 1 light hour out is 7.2 and a bit AU out. Light and radio signals will take one hour to get to that body. Don't expect a response in any less than 2 hours, not including the time it takes to access, download, decrypt and read your message, compose a reply, fire up their own transmitter, encode it, and send back their own radio ping.
Jupiter is 5.2 AU out. So any receiver at that distance able to receive a signal from your radio source would be 0.72 light hours out.
Using just radio signals, communications within a solar system would be subject to lag time in hours, rather than weeks. Kind of like an Age of Sail situation, but think on a smaller scale, people using homing pigeons rather than sailing ships.
An object, such as a planetary body, that is 1 light hour out is 7.2 and a bit AU out. Light and radio signals will take one hour to get to that body. Don't expect a response in any less than 2 hours, not including the time it takes to access, download, decrypt and read your message, compose a reply, fire up their own transmitter, encode it, and send back their own radio ping.
Jupiter is 5.2 AU out. So any receiver at that distance able to receive a signal from your radio source would be 0.72 light hours out.
Using just radio signals, communications within a solar system would be subject to lag time in hours, rather than weeks. Kind of like an Age of Sail situation, but think on a smaller scale, people using homing pigeons rather than sailing ships.
ottarrus
Emperor Mongoose
Something to note here... That 8 minute window is the fastest a message will transmit in system. No messenger ship or other mechanical device is going to move faster than light speed. Unless science gives us a previously unexpected ability, TL improvements in communications will be more along the lines of signal enhancements for clearer audio/visual transmission and reception. And likely improvements on signal jamming as well.
In a Traveller mechanics sense, the higher the TL the more clear and legible the signal and the signal jamming. Just as in the modern world, the electronic battle will still be the most important battle in a confrontation.
In a Traveller mechanics sense, the higher the TL the more clear and legible the signal and the signal jamming. Just as in the modern world, the electronic battle will still be the most important battle in a confrontation.
