The Tsiolkovsky rocket equation gives a general formula, applicable to any time of rocket that shoots exhaust out the back to accelerate in the forward direction, which can tell you the ratio of initial mass including fuel to final mass once fuel has been expended, given the values of the "effective exhaust velocity" (given for different types real and of hypothetical rockets here and here), the acceleration rate during the rocket burn, and the change in the rocket's velocity between the beginning and end of the burn.
Of course, ships travelling on a sustained burn need to flip around at the half-way point and then burn in the opposite direction to slow down, which gives the pasengers the same simulated gravity throughout the journey (with the exception of the flipping). Humans raised on Earth can survive slightly higher than 9.8 m/s² without trouble, while those from the asteroids prefer even lower than that. The limitation of acceleration here is the human body, but there are steroid cocktails that let humans survive very high burns for short periods of time. The Epstein drive can sustain higher accelerations without problems too, to reach the destination faster. While the engines are on, the ship is accelerated to simulate gravity (in this case, accelerated at 9.8 meters per second, simulating Earth's gravity).
#Expanse spaceships for free
It can be read online for free on Syfy's web site: – it might make you able to suspend your disbelief on this matter. There is also a short story called Drive, which is a prequel focusing on the invention of the Epstein drive.
#Expanse spaceships series
I don't remember how much the TV series talked about the Epstein drives, but the technology is introduced on the very first page of the first book in the series ( Leviathan Wakes) and immediately explains how the solar system was colonized. And, of course, completely fictional and indistinguishable from magic – most of the physics in the show and book series is realistic, but the existence of the highly efficient Epstein drives is the main hand-waving they had to do in order to present a colonized solar system (while still confining humanity to the solar system). The entire point of the engines in The Expanse, called "Epstein drives", is that they're not "fast and inefficient". So, considering the fast but inefficient engines of The Expanse So, considering the fast but inefficient engines of The Expanse, just how much fuel would one ship need to burn in order to sustain a constant sense of gravity for the entire duration of a trip (such as from Earth to Ceres)? Sure, a massive vessel like the Donnager could probably hold enough fuel, but there's no way a ship as tiny as the Rocinante could pull off a journey that far, right? But although constantly accelerating engines are used today, it is far less efficient than lining up a transfer through one quick burn.
But, there was one detail that still kind of confuses me: gravity on ships like the Donnager and the Rocinante. So, I've been binge watching The Expanse on Syfy, and I love how much detail the screenwriters and authors put into making the ships and the physics as real as possible in the show.
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