Editing Nebula Class (section)

==TRACTOR BEAM==

The Nebula Class is equipped with a multiphase subspace graviton beam, used for direct manipulation of objects from a submicron to a macroscopic level at any relative bearing to the ship. Each emitter is directly mounted to the primary members of the ship's framework, to lessen the effects of isopiestic subspace shearing, inertial potential imbalance, and mechanical stress.

Each tractor beam emitter is built around three multiphase 15 MW graviton polarity sources, each feeding two 475 millicochrane subspace field amplifiers. Phase accuracy is within 1.3 arc-seconds per microsecond, which gives superior interference pattern control. Each emitter can gain extra power from the SIF by means of molybdenum-jacketed waveguides. The subspace fields generated around the beam (when the beam is used) can envelop objects up to 920 meters, lowering the local gravitational constant of the universe for the region inside the field and making the object much easier to manipulate.

Effective tractor beam range varies with payload mass and desired delta-v (change in relative velocity). Assuming a nominal 15 m/sec-squared delta-v, the multiphase tractor emitters can be used with a payload approaching 116,380,000,000 metric tons at less than 2,000 meters. Conversely, the same delta-v can be imparted to an object massing about one metric ton at ranges approaching 30,000 kilometers.