In astronautics, a powered flyby, or Oberth maneuver, is a maneuver in which a spacecraft falls into a gravity well and then uses its engines to further accelerate as it is falling, thereby achieving additional speed. The resulting maneuver is a more efficient way to gain kinetic energy than applying the same impulse outside of a gravity well. The gain in efficiency is explained by the Oberth effect, wherein the use of a reaction engine at higher speeds generates a greater change in mechanical energy than its use at lower speeds. In practical terms, this means that the most energy-efficient method for a spacecraft to burn its fuel is at the lowest possible orbital periapsis, when its orbital velocity is greatest. In some cases, it is even worth spending fuel on slowing the spacecraft into a gravity well to take advantage of the efficiencies of the Oberth effect. The maneuver and effect are named after Hermann Oberth, an Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and a founder of modern rocketry, who first described them in 1927.
rpg-actor in space
Fire your rpg.actor through gravity wells, ride orbits up to escape velocity, and smash the ships.
Leshem (Legend) Choshen 🤖🤗 @ACL @ICML on Twitter / X
I agree, what I say is that you talk about how much you lose of the gradient you compute, and I say, but if you just compute less, the result would lose less and still be equivalent or worse probably?More steps=more information that's true, but a bit of a separate battle right?— Leshem (Legend) Choshen 🤖🤗 @ACL @ICML (@LChoshen) August 17, 2026
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design
1. Engineering is done with numbers. Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.
Maximum power principle
The maximum power principle or Lotka's principle has been proposed as the fourth principle of energetics in open system thermodynamics, where an example of an open system is a biological cell. According to Howard T. Odum, "The maximum power principle can be stated: During self-organization, system designs develop and prevail that maximize power intake, energy transformation, and those uses that reinforce production and efficiency."
The physics behind spring animations - The Blog of Maxime Heckel
A deep dive into the inner workings of spring animations in Framer Motion.
A Human on a Bicycle Is among the Most Efficient Forms of Travel in the Animal Kingdom
A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom
Quote Origin: The Optimist Invents the Airplane and the Pessimist the Parachute – Quote Investigator®
George Bernard Shaw? Gladys Bronwyn Stern? W. H. H. MacKellar? Gil Stern? Mack McGinnis?
The Optimization Trap: Why Too Much Efficiency Makes Us Fragile with Olivier Hamant
Accelerator Program Details — TinySeed
TinySeed is not just another venture fund: Our year-long remote accelerator program is designed to help founders with a revenue-generating SaaS optimize product-market fit and grow faster.
Wirth's law
Wirth's law is Niklaus Wirth's variant of the Jevons paradox: Software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware is getting faster.
A Review of Aerospike Nozzles: Current Trends in Aerospace Applications
The aerospike nozzle has emerged as a revolutionary technology in rocket propulsion, overcoming the limitations of conventional nozzles by dynamically adjusting the expansion of exhaust gases according to ambient pressure. This results in greater efficiency and fuel savings. Thanks to advancements in materials, computational simulations, and additive manufacturing, aerospike nozzle design has surpassed historical barriers, not only enhancing the performance of multi-stage engines but also enabling the development of new space vehicles such as single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) systems. These promise a simpler, reusable, and more cost-effective launch architecture. In summary, aerospike technology inspires a new era in space exploration, transforming propulsion efficiency and paving the way for more accessible and sustainable future space transportation systems.
SPACESHIPS
Inverted Asteroids: you are not the ship. Place gravity wells and sling the rocks.
(PDF) Maximum Power: The Ideas and Applications of H. T. Odum.
PDF | "Maximum Power" is a synthesis of the creative genius of Howard Thomas Odum as seen through his own words and those of his students, many of whom... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
Against optimization
One of the most inescapable edicts when leading a team is the order to optimize the system towards the organization’s goals.
Jevons paradox
In economics, the Jevons paradox, or Jevons effect, is said to occur when technological improvements that increase the efficiency of a resource's use lead to a rise, rather than a fall, in total consumption of that resource. Greater efficiency reduces the amount of the resource needed per application, lowering its effective cost; if demand is sufficiently price elastic, this induces demand, frequently resulting in a net increase of total resource consumption.
