| abstract | - An Antiproton Solenoid Valve is used by the Andromeda Ascendant and almost all other ships in the known universe to regulate the flow of Antiprotons from the Antiproton Storage Tanks to a ship's fusion reactors. A solenoid valve works by running an electrical current through a coil of wire in order to restrict or allow a substance to flow by relaxing or tensing a coil that serves as a valve. They are mentioned several times throughout the entire series, and are a critical point on any ship that uses Antiprotons. Large, extremely well protected vessels such as the Andromeda can be destroyed if a solenoid valve is damaged or disabled, because an unregulated, uncontrolled flow of Antiprotons would immediately start to interact with regular matter. This would cause the engines to overload or explode. When a ship is destroyed by a hit to the solenoid valve, the debris pattern is unique and easily identified, as the Crimson Sunrise was destroyed by an unlucky hit from a meteor.
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