Question for Star treks "theoretical" Warp Drive

[Whiskey]

As we all know, according Einsteins Theory of Relativity...nothing can move faster than the speed of light due to some cosmic limit.



If the enterprise were to travel in such distances:

According to this Star Trek graph..traveling to 20 lightyears (such as gliese 581) at warp 9 would take 5 days on board a starship...but on earth time of 80 years.

At the end of the journey through warp from system to system, wouldnt that mean every planet they went to would have aged considerably including earth especially at warp 9? Does the Warp field somehow protect starships from the event horizon of space time reaching light speed?

 

[micdavis]

It's a TV show.

You can not figure it out because it's not real.

It doesn't have to adhere to rules (or laws of physics) each week.

 

[micdavis]

double post

 

[Whiskey]

I understand its just a show.

As I stated its a "Star Trek" question for the Star Trek universe.

 

[darthgordon]

The ship does not actually travel those speeds. It uses a super luminal loophole by warping space so that the distance is shorter.

You'll notice that full impulse is limited to 0.25c. That's to minimize time dialation.

 

[mobius303]

In the pilot they did mention that warp speed also breaks the time barrior.
The warp field theory of star trek is a warping of space and time.
mobius

 

[ItsThatGuy]

In the Gary Seven episode they actually went back into time (on purpose). Would it even matter if they didn't warp space?

 

[Jamanticus]

The ship does not actually travel those speeds. It uses a super luminal loophole by warping space so that the distance is shorter.

You'll notice that full impulse is limited to 0.25c. That's to minimize time dialation.

Perfectly said.

 

[darthgordon]

In the Gary Seven episode they actually went back into time (on purpose). Would it even matter if they didn't warp space?

Actually with that they use the gravitational pull of the sun to increase their speed. We know that they had to use the warp drive because traveling at the speed of light in normal space requires infinite power and would cause the their mass to become infinite. If you are for some reason able to achieve a speed greater than light you'd end up traveling back in time. Tachyons actually go faster than light. They also travel backwards through time.

So, I guess you could say it makes a little sense... but not really.

As already stated, it's just a TV show. It's called dramatic license.

 

[SSgt Burton]

It uses a super luminal loophole by warping space so that the distance is shorter.

This is how I've understood it as well- that the engines literaly "warp space" as if it was made of rubber.

I think this is the whole premise behind the Ent-D "rubber band" effect when the ship goes into warp in the opening credits.

I think this was also touched upon in a roundabout way in the TNG episode where scientists are trying to prove to Starfleet that warp drive is destroying the fabric of space.

Kevin

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

The way I understood it was that the warp bubble literally created a bubble apart from space/time around the ship. So they are travelling at warp outside regular time/space so that you don't have that time gap.

 

[darthgordon]

It's also amusing when looking at that chart. It still takes 22 hours to cross one sector at warp 9.99. Yet the Enterprise-A gets to the center of the galaxy in less than a day. The Enterprise-E gets from the neutral zone to Earth in no time at all to intercept the Borg.

In the pilot they did mention that warp speed also breaks the time barrior.
The warp field theory of star trek is a warping of space and time.
mobius

The dialog about the time barrier being broken really makes no sense. Obviously warp drive would have had to be in use in the first place for S.S. Columbia to reach Talos. We later discover that it was invented more than a century before the events of "The Cage."

It was a little blurb that wasn't all that well thought out. It was like Spock smiling at the shaking plant or yelling all the time.

 

[SSgt Burton]

It's also amusing when looking at that chart. It still takes 22 hours to cross one sector at warp 9.99. Yet the Enterprise-A gets to the center of the galaxy in less than a day. The Enterprise-E gets from the neutral zone to Earth in no time at all to intercept the Borg.

And on the flipside-

When the Enterprise exits Spacedock in STIII- Kirk orders full impulse. The next shot shows the Enterprise taking several seconds to travel around and underneath Spacedock's main ring. But full impulse is 1/4 the speed of light right?

1/4 the speed of light is listed as 270 million kilometres per hour or 75 000 kilometres per second! Yet it takes several seconds for the Enterprise to fly past Spacedock during its escape... Spacedock is big... but not THAT big. :wacko

Kevin

 

[Whiskey]

Awesome! They sound like reasonable hypothetical possibilities.

I have a quick 8-10 APA paper to write on "Positive television shows that influence the past, present, and hypothetical future."

Past- ???
Present - CSI influence
Future - Star Trek and Manned Space travel

 

[darthgordon]

Well... technically I don't think a TV show can influence the past... unless you mean TV shows that existed in the past and had an influence at the time. Technically, Trek was on the air in 1966 and has had a profound influence on our past, present and future. Take a look at the technology it's influenced. The people that it's inspired to go into scientific and technological fields. In fact I can't think of any other TV show that has been so influental.

 

[Whiskey]

Well... technically I don't think a TV show can influence the past... unless you mean TV shows that existed in the past and had an influence at the time. Technically, Trek was on the air in 1966 and has had a profound influence on our past, present and future. Take a look at the technology it's influenced. The people that it's inspired to go into scientific and technological fields. In fact I can't think of any other TV show that has been so influental.

That was my assumption. When I spoke to the instructor, she meant pick a show like in the 70s or 80s and their influence of that time. I chose ST:TNG for the future possibilities for the sake of arguement.

 

[darthgordon]

Hmmm... well there were shows like The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy that were big shows... but I don't know about influental. What about Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson or SNL... all shows that launched many successful careers.

 

[Whiskey]

I was toying with Knight Rider and hi-tech vehicles. GPS, rear view cameras, and cars that parallel park themselves

 

[CessnaDriver]

Well... technically I don't think a TV show can influence the past... unless you mean TV shows that existed in the past and had an influence at the time. Technically, Trek was on the air in 1966 and has had a profound influence on our past, present and future. Take a look at the technology it's influenced. The people that it's inspired to go into scientific and technological fields. In fact I can't think of any other TV show that has been so influental.

Agreed.
Werner von Braun was heavily inspired by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

The cycle continues with Trek.

"The visions we offer our children shape the future.
It matters what those visions are.
Often they become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Dreams are maps."
-Carl Sagan

 

[0neiros]

double post

No, it was a secondary reality caused by an instability in your warp field Matrix. I'd run an inverse tachyon beam through the main deflector array via the secondary plasma conduits, that should return things to normal.