h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In addition to the stories mentioned above, please also see Norman Spinrad's "Riding The Torch". Action takes place aboard a Bussard ship of Earth refugees cruising the galaxy looking for another earthlike planet on which to settle. The ship is their world and they obtain all they need by tapping off minute portions of the matter stream their intake scoop acquires. Given their speed and the amount of matter coming through, even just an occasional atom of aluminum, oxygen or whatever is all they need to eventually build up a complete stock of any element they need. It is on a par with "Tau Zero" for detailing the realities of a practical application of the Bussard ramjet. Also, Larry Niven's "Ringworld" makes use of Bussard engines to maintain stability of the ringworld. However they are not ramjets but acquire their fuel as particles scooped up from the solar wind which provides the ram function.