Zero Element Focus Drives, also known as ZEF drives, are the primary mode of space travel in Silveronia. These engines are split into several different integral parts that, together, create a powerful thruster and generator combination that is used in almost every starship designed in the system. We will take a look at these parts individually first, and then, once all of them are explained separately, we will look at the system as a whole.
The Electric Motor
ZEF Drives have electric motors at the front that can be used to move tri-directionally, which will make sense in a moment. These motors are powered by high-efficiency solar batteries that charge using panels built into the craft’s armor. The electrical motors are mounted at the front of the system, because they are used to rotate a magnet that is carefully placed inside the motor, which needs the ability to rotate along any and all of the three axes. The motors are also plated with material that does not conduct magnetic fields, in order to keep the large internal magnet from affecting the inside of the ship.
The Magnet
The magnet is a large super magnet, made of Crystalarium-Klaristun-Carbide, usually between six inches square and two feet square, depending on the size of the ship. These magnets are extremely powerful and dangerous if mishandled. This magnet is locked to a Crystalarium or other elementally conductive gem during the fuel integration process. The only purpose of this magnet is to spin the gem that is locked to it at high rates of speed, and to create a powerful magnetic field within the ZEF Drive.
The Fuel Chamber
The fuel chamber is separated from the electric motor compartment by a thin wall that is made of a non-magnetic material. The fuel chamber is a large, open chamber that contains hundreds of electrodes that emit small electrical bolts similarly to a Tesla coil. These small lighting rods are aimed at the center of the chamber in order to create an electric field that will hold a singular elemental gem in place until it is completely drained of energy. During the fuel integration process, these electrodes are turned off for an elementally conductive gem to be placed gently inside the chamber, in any place. When the electrodes are turned on, the gem is electrically charged, and is pulled up on the magnetic field until it is centered in the chamber, at which point it acts similarly to a superconductor and locks to the magnet that is in the electric motor. At this point, when the electric motor is turned in any direction, the crystal will rotate in the same direction, at approximately five times the speed of the magnet. This rotation, along with the electrical shock from the electrodes, causes elemental energy to build up in the fuel chamber until the optimal pressure is reached. Once the pressure is reached and the fuel integration process is complete, we move to the next step of the ZEF Drive.
The Thruster
The thruster starts with a small opening in the fuel chamber that expands and contracts as the pilot controls the speed of the craft. This opening, which is a governor mechanism, allows amounts of pressure to be released from the fuel chamber and into the opening behind the spacecraft. As the energy flows through the governor mechanism, it is brought into the thruster chamber, which is located at the very end of the ZEF Drive. Once the energy is in the thruster chamber, it is sparked again with a single, high powered electrode, which causes the energy to quickly expand and produce energy again. This allows for thrust to be generated and the spacecraft to begin moving.
Functionality
That is the basics of each part of the standard ZEF Drive. As a whole process, the electrical engine powers a magnetic field, which manipulates the fuel source in a way that builds pressure and energy in the fuel chamber, which, when let out towards the back of the ship, creates thrust after being again electrically charged, propelling the craft at high speeds through space. Now, the fuel chamber must be kept at constant pressure through this entire process, which is done by continuously running the electric engine, which constantly generates more pressure and energy from the gem. To allow for faster travel, such as zero space transit, the direction of the magnet is switched to being perpendicular to the thruster, which generates large amounts of energy at the front of the chamber, causing pressure to build more quickly, allowing for larger amount or energy to be released from the thruster whilst maintaining higher pressure. This allows for the ship to be propelled much faster, which, in turn, allows for FTL travel, and Zerospace is entered. Zerospace is a space in which mass is reduced to zero. This is unnoticeable to the pilot and crew members, but very noticeable to any other ships that watch them enter Zerospace. When a craft is in Zerospace, they are no longer considered to be in the standard plane of existence until they are pulled out of Zerospace and mass is returned to normal. If a ship is inside of an object larger than the craft itself, such as a planet or large asteroid, when it pulls out of Zerospace, a large gravitational anomaly and explosion occur, similar to a black hole colliding with a white hole, but only in a small area around the craft involved, and it only lasts for approximately two seconds. This is why navigational computers are highly recommended, and are standard with any modern ZEF Drive system, as these keep the craft from exiting Zerospace while inside an object.
Alternative ZEF Drives
There are many types of FTL drives in the known systems, but ZEF drives and their counterparts (ZEHF and ZEDF) are the fastest and most efficient. ZEHF Drives (Zero Element Hyper Focus) are popular for custom builders, as they have high output, high efficiency, but also high fuel needs, as they use three gems in a single fuel chamber. They also use three electric engines to power three separate magnets, which allows for much higher amounts of pressure to be built, allowing for more energy to be released, allowing for much higher speeds. These are much harder to fuel, as magnetically locking the gems takes more care and proper placement for them to be locked correctly and efficiently within the magnetic fields. ZEDF Drives (Zero Element Dual Focus) use two separate electric motors and fuel chambers, rather than one, to generate more thrust in a singular thruster. These are much harder to maintain, as they must be maintained and placed perfectly evenly in order for energy distribution to stay even. If this fails, the engines could create too much pressure on one side of the ship and completely tear the thruster apart. Even more rare are Dual ZEHF Drives, which contain two separate fuel chambers with three gems each, taking ideas from both the ZEHF and ZEDF Drives, which, if done correctly, generates an insane amount of pressure extremely quickly, allowing for high speeds to be reached almost instantly. Maintenance of these drives is near impossible, and only the bold and rich should even attempt this configuration, as chances of the drive tearing itself to pieces is extremely likely. In any ship utilizing an FTL drive of any kind, an AI copilot is to be used in conjunction with navigational computers and a standard pilot. This allows for the safest navigation and control of the spacecraft, regardless of the type of drive used.