1/1 Fuel/Payload to hit 40% C is why it's going to be a trope forever.
In Count to a Trillion, a small group found a way to siphon antimatter off a natural source and effectively ruled the world forever due to the near limitless energy and fast interstellar travel.
I think the issue is more the cost of the anti-matter than the fuel to payload ratio. Chemical rocket people can only dream of 1:1 fuel to payload. Look how much Saturn V + fuel to took to get a tiny payload to the moon and back.
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1/1 Fuel/Payload to hit 40% C is why it's going to be a trope forever.
In Count to a Trillion, a small group found a way to siphon antimatter off a natural source and effectively ruled the world forever due to the near limitless energy and fast interstellar travel.
I think the issue is more the cost of the anti-matter than the fuel to payload ratio. Chemical rocket people can only dream of 1:1 fuel to payload. Look how much Saturn V + fuel to took to get a tiny payload to the moon and back.
The issue is the cost. But the trope is "Well if we could manage the cost, 1/1 will actually get us places."
As opposed to more conventional solutions, which require 1e5 / 1, or more, or more magical ones, that make no sense.
Ok, I misunderstood what you were saying. I think we agree. ;0)
Perfectly understandable, now that I re-read it.