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Introduction
Warp drive is by far the most widespread method of faster than light travel
used in the alpha quadrant. Invented in 2063 by Zephram Cochrane of Earth
(and later of Alpha Centuri), the first of his warp drives used a fission
reactor to create a low energy plasma stream. This was split into two and
directed through a pair of warp coils to produce a field around the ship
which propelled it - briefly - faster than the speed of light.
Humans subsequently sold warp drive ships to many other cultures, and this
technology has become common within the quadrant with over 2,000 species
using it. The present day state of the art is not fundamentally different
from Cochranes original system; ships today generally use matter / antimatter
reactors rather than fusion ones, and dilithium has allowed more advanced
power systems. The warp coils themselves have also become more numerous
and complex in design.
For the future, many developments are possible. Over a century since it
was first envisaged, transwarp drive remains seemingly just beyond the
reach of Federation science. Other lines of research involve co-axial warp
cores, which allow instantaneous travel over sizable distances, and slipstream
technology, which could theoretically allow travel at hundreds of light
years per second. If this latter technology ever came to pass, it would
make travel on an intergalactic scale easily feasible. On the other hand,
the idea of generating stable artificial wormholes for interstellar travel
is also being researched and if successful this may render warp drive totally
obsolete. |
Matter/Anti
Matter Pods
There are two distinct fuel storage systems on board any starship; the
matter storage is generally a single large fuel tank holding a large amount
of slush Deuterium - in the case of the Galaxy class there is 62,500 m3
of actual Deuterium within 63,200 m3 of tankage space - the rest
being accounted for by internal compartmentalization of the fuel tank.
The ship thus carries 12,500 metric tons of fuel, sufficient for a mission
period of three years assuming normal use of warp and impulse drive, orbiting
of planets, etc.
The antimatter is contained within much smaller pods; the standard starship
antimatter pod is capable of holding 100 m3 of fuel for a total of 3,000
m3 in a Galaxy class Starship. Starfleet is somewhat reticent about revealing
exactly how much antimatter is kept on board its starships, as this would
allow threat forces to make detailed estimates of the total output of a
ships power systems. It is known that the antimatter used in the Galaxy
class is antihydrogen, and that it is kept stored within magnetic fields.
In the event of a systems failure which threatens antimatter containment,
the pods can be thrown clear of the ship by emergency systems of considerable
reliability.
Reactant
Injections
Fuel from the pods is sent to the reactant injectors; these are designed
to condition and feed streams of matter and antimatter into the warp core.
The matter reactant injector is located at the top of the warp core; it
is a conical structure some 5.2 meters in diameter and 6.3 meters high.
The injector is constructed of dispersion strengthened woznium carbmolybdenide.
Shock attenuation cylinders connect it to the deuterium fuel tank and the
skeletal structure of the ship, allowing it to 'float' free within the
structure.
Within Starfleet vessels, the MRI contains redundant sets of crossfed injectors.
Each injector would consists of a twin deuterium manifold, fuel conditioner,
fusion pre-burner, magnetic quench block, transfer duct/gas combiner, nozzle
head, and related control hardware. Other designs are in use by civilian
craft and other species. Although operation varies from class to class,
in general slush deuterium enters the inlet manifolds and is passed to
the conditioners where heat is removed. This brings the deuterium to just
above solid transition point; micropellets are formed and then pre-burned
by a magnetic pinch fusion system. The fuel is them sent on to a gas combiner
where it reaches a temperature in the region of 106 K. Nozzle heads then
focus the gas streams and send them down into the constriction segments.
Starfleet safety protocols require that should any nozzle fail, the combiner
can continue to supply the remaining nozzles which would dilate to accommodate
the increased fuel flow. The present generation of nozzles are constructed
of frumium-copper-yttrium 2343.
The antimatter injector lies at the lower end of the warp core. Its internal
design is distinctly different from that of the matter injector owing to
the dangerous nature of antimatter fuel; every step in manipulating the
antihydrogen must use magnetic to keep the material from physically touching
any part of the structure. In some ways the ARI is a simpler device requiring
fewer moving components. It uses the same basic structural housing and
shock attenuation as the matter system, with adaptations for magnetic suspension
fuel tunnels. The structure contains three pulsed antimatter gas flow separators;
these serve to break up the incoming antihydrogen into small manageable
packets and send them up into the constriction segments. Each flow separator
leads to an injector nozzle and each nozzle cycles open in response to
computer control signals. Nozzle firing can follow highly complicated sequences
resulting from the varying demands of reaction pressures and temperatures
and desired power output, amongst other factors.
Magnetic
Constrictors
The magnetic constrictors make up the bulk of the warp core. They provide
physical support to the reaction chamber, pressure containment for the
whole core and, most importantly, guide and align the fuel flow onto the
desired location within the reaction chamber.
The matter constrictor is typically longer than the antimatter constrictor,
as antimatter is easier to focus and so requires a shorter distance for
the same accuracy. Typically, the magnetic constrictors are divided into
segments; each segment will contain several sets of tension frame members,
a toroidal pressure vessel wall, several sets of magnetic constrictor coils
and related power and control hardware. Constrictor coils will have dozens
of active elements, and on more advanced designs these will be configures
to contain the magnetic field almost wholly within the constrictor, with
minimum spillage into the exterior environment. Starfleet warp cores usually
have the outermost layers of the constrictors constructed of a semi-transparent
layer which allows harmless secondary photons to escape from the inner
layers, creating a glow effect. This gives an immediate visual cue to the
current activity rates within the warp core. |
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As the fuel is released from the injector nozzles, the constrictors compress
it and increase the velocity considerably. This ensures the proper collision
energy and alignment within the reaction chamber.
Reaction
Chambers
|
This
is in many ways the "heart" of the ship. The principle function of any
reaction chamber is to allow the matter and antimatter streams to come
together and direct the resultant energy flow into the power transfer conduits.
This apparently simple task is rendered highly complex by the need to allow
the various sensor and other monitoring and control equipment to function
within the chamber. The addition of dilithium to regulate and control the
reaction, while allowing far higher efficiency and so increasing the power
output, has also lead to ever more complex designs - most especially in
more recent starships which are designed to allow continual recompositing
of the dilithium whilst in use. Nevertheless, reaction chambers of today
perform fundamentally the same task as those of a century ago or more. |
Dilithium
Crystals
Dilithium is a key factor in the design of any efficient matter / antimatter
reactor, and has been incorporated into Federation Starship designs since
it replaced lithium crystals in 2265.
The key to the success of dilithium lies in the remarkable properties of
this material. When subjected to a high frequency electromagnetic field
in the megawatt range, dilithium - or 2<5>6 dilithium 2<:> diallosilicate
1:9:1 heptoferranide to give it the full scientific name - becomes completely
porous to antimatter. The field dynamo effect created by the iron atoms
within the crystalline structure allows antimatter atoms to pass through
without actually touching it; it is thus the only known substance which
does not react to the antimatter fuel commonly used in Starships. Dilithium
can thus be used to mediate the reaction, boosting efficiency. |
|
Early reactor designs used naturally occurring dilithium, and considerable
time and effort was spent in locating sources of dilithium ore. This led
to confrontations between major powers seeking to secure new sources, most
especially between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. The Federation
was largely successful in these efforts, and the Klingon Empire was forced
to expand its mining operations on the few sources it did have access to.
Such over mining was a major contributory factor in the catastrophic explosion
on Praxis in 2293, which ultimately led to peace between the two powers.
Eventually reliance on natural dilithium was reduced after breakthroughs
in nuclear epitaxy and antieutectics made it possible to synthesize dilithium
for Starship use through theta-matrix compositing techniques utilizing
gamma radiation bombardment. However, refining dilithium ore is a procedure
which is still viable for Starships which are unable to obtain synthetic
dilithium from a Starbase or other manufacturing facility. This is not
generally a problem within known space, but USS Voyager has resorted to
collecting dilithium ore to aid her in the long journey back to the Federation. |
Power
Transfer Conduits
The power transfer conduits are similar in nature to the magnetic constrictors
of the warp core, in that they are ducts designed to use high energy magnetic
fields to carry energetic plasma from one point to another. But where the
magnetic constrictors operate only across relatively short distances and
require a very high degree of precision with a comparatively low energy
plasma, the PTC's must carry very energetic plasma across large distances
with - relatively speaking - far less finesse.
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Federation starships are equipped with a separate PTC line for each nacelle,
a measure which increases resistance to battle damage or other failures.
Since most Starships have twin nacelles, two PTC's will typically be arranged
to be symmetrical about the ships centerline. These will proceed through
the bulk of the engineering hull and along the connecting struts, if any,
to the nacelles themselves.
Smaller versions of these heavy duty systems are also used to carry power
to components such as the phasers, shields, and high energy scientific
laboratories. |
Plasma
Injectors
At the terminus of the Power Transfer Conduits are the plasma injectors.
One of these devices is fitted in each nacelle, and has the task of sending
a precisely aimed plasma flow through the center of the warp coils.
Because of the relatively low accuracy with which the plasma flow is usually
controlled by a PTC, the plasma injector system must often be designed
to re-condition the fuel flow in order to dampen down turbulence and so
ensure a smooth flow through the warp coils. In many Starfleet designs,
most especially those systems with the highest raw power output, the plasma
flow from the PTC is split into two parts and sent through swirl dampers
before being recombined during the injection process. Long experience has
found that this method reduces the size of the required hardware to a reasonable
minimum. |
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Warp
Coils
|
After its long journey from the fuel systems, the flow is finally directed
down the warp coils. These devices are large split toroids which take up
the bulk of the nacelle. In order to increase efficiency they are usually
made from multiple layers of various materials; this complicates the manufacturing
processes greatly and has - so far - kept the replication of warp coils
beyond Federation science.
The warp coils generate a multi-layered set of fields around the craft,
creating the propulsive forces that enable a Starship to travel beyond
light speed. Manipulation of the shape and size of the field determines
the velocity, acceleration and direction of the vessel. |
WARP
SPEED CHART
Link
to Applet: Travel Times Calculator
The
original "Cochrane Scale" was devised by the great man himself for his
first test flight aboard the USS Phoenix. It was a relatively straightforward
scale which followed the formula:
V/c
= WF3
The
Terrance-Neltorr Graduated Scale was first suggested in 2298 by two civilian
warp field specialists of those names. On the current scale the warp factor
is indicative of the subspace stress levels which the vessel must both
create and endure, rather than the actual velocity of the vessel itself.
The actual speed denoted by any given warp factor would depend upon the
precise conditions prevalent at the time. So a Captain using the current
scale would be able to order Warp 7 while in space, a solar system, or
an Ion storm and be assured that he would not be over stressing his engines.
The new scale was also tweaked to accommodate a number of technical advances
made over the last century and in development at the time. Starfleet conducted
a quick assessment of several possible new warp scales between 2310 and
2311 before formally adopting the current scale, with the changeover made
in 2312.
For
ideal conditions, such as are found in interstellar space, the speeds of
warp factors are calculated using either of two formulae :
Up
to Warp 9 :
V/c
= WF(10/3)
Which
is very similar to the Cochrane Scale. Beyond Warp 9 the formula becomes
somewhat more complex. It is best approximated by :
V/c
= WF[{(10/3)+a*(-Ln(10-WF))^n}+f1*((WF-9)^5)+f2*((WF-9)^11)]
Where
a is the subspace field density, n is the electromagnetic flux, and f1
and f2 are the Cochrane refraction and reflection indexes respectively.
Under ideal conditions values of a = 0.00264320, n = 2.87926700, f1 = 0.06274120
and f2 = 0.32574600 can be expected within a "normal" area of deep interstellar
space. The values for TNG warp speeds under these conditions are shown
below, along with travel times across typical distances.
|
|
|
Earth
to Moon
|
Across
Solar System
|
To
Nearby Star
|
Across
One Sector
|
Across
Federation
|
To
Nearby Galaxy
|
|
Speed |
km/h |
X's
speed of light |
400,000
km |
12
million km |
5
light years |
20
light years |
10,000
light years |
2,000,000
light years |
Notes: |
Standard
Orbit |
9600 |
less
than 0.00001 |
42
hours |
142
years |
558,335
years |
2
million years |
1.12
billion years |
223.33
billion years |
Synchronous
orbit around
Earth-sized
planet |
Full
Impulse |
270
million |
0.25
sublight |
5.38
sec. |
44
hrs. |
20
years |
80
years |
40,000
years |
8,000,000
years |
Maximum
impulse speed |
Warp
1 |
1078
million |
1 |
1.34
sec. |
11
hrs. |
5
years |
20
years |
10,000
years |
2,000,000
years |
Warp
1 = Speed of Light |
Warp
2 |
11
billion |
10 |
0.13
sec. |
1
hr. |
6
months |
3
years |
992
years |
198,425
years |
N/A |
Warp
3 |
42
billion |
39 |
0.03
sec. |
17
mins. |
2
months |
1
year |
257
years |
51,360
years |
N/A |
Warp
4 |
109
billion |
102 |
0.013237
sec. |
7
mins. |
18
days |
2
months |
98
years |
19,686
years |
N/A |
Warp
5 |
230
billion |
214 |
0.006291
sec. |
3
mins. |
9
days |
1
month |
47
years |
9,357
years |
New
cruising speed |
Warp
6 |
423
billion |
392 |
0.003426
sec. |
2
mins. |
5
days |
19
days |
25
years |
5,096
years |
Old
normal cruising speed |
Warp
7 |
707
billion |
656 |
0.002049
sec. |
1
min. |
3
days |
11
days |
15
years |
3,048
years |
N/A |
Warp
8 |
1103
trillion |
1,024 |
0.001313
sec. |
39
sec. |
2
days |
7
days |
10
years |
1,953
years |
N/A |
Warp
9 |
1.63
trillion |
1,516 |
0.000886
sec. |
26
sec. |
1
day |
5
days |
7
years |
1,319
years |
N/A |
Warp
9.2 |
1.78
trillion |
1,649 |
0.000815
sec. |
24
sec. |
1
day |
4
days |
6
years |
1,213
years |
Old
normal maximum speed |
Warp
9.6 |
2.06
trillion |
1,909 |
0.000704
sec. |
21
sec. |
23
hours |
4
days |
5
years |
1,048
years |
Max.
rated speed. Can be maintained for 12 hrs. |
Warp
9.9 |
3.29
trillion |
3,053 |
0.000440
sec. |
13
sec. |
14
hours |
2
days |
3
years |
655
years |
Auto-shutdown
of engines after 10 min. |
Warp
9.99 |
8.53
trillion |
7,912 |
0.000169
sec. |
5
sec. |
6
hours |
22
hours |
1
year |
253
years |
Nearly
Infinite power required |
Warp
9.9999 |
215
trillion |
199,516 |
0.000006
sec. |
0.2
sec. |
13
min. |
53
min. |
18
days |
10
years |
Maximum
subspace radio speed (with booster relays) |
Warp
10 |
<infinite> |
<infinite> |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Warp
10 cannot be reached. Theoretically, at Warp 10 (Infinite Velocity)
a vessel and it's occupants would be at all points in the universe simultaneously. |
WARP
POWER USAGE
WARP
ANOMALIES
Warp
Highways
Although the above values hold true for ideal conditions, there are regions
of space where a Starship can travel at speeds significantly higher than
normal. These regions have been nicknamed "warp highways" after an ancient
each transportation system. They can consist of broad areas encompassing
a number of whole star systems, or narrow corridors which can extend for
many thousands of light years.
The effect of a warp highway is to change the speed associated with any
given warp factor according a multiplier known as Cochranes Value, which
is highly variable from region to region. Shortly after Zephram Cochrane
made his first warp flight the SS Valiant was able to use a warp highway,
reaching the edge of the galaxy, a distance of some several thousand light
years which otherwise would have taken the vessel many years to accomplish
at modest warp factors. The most dramatic example of a warp highway is
the one which existed between Nimbus III and the galactic core. In 2287
the Enterprise-A traveled this highway at Warp 7, covering the 22,000 light
year distance to the core in just 6.8 hours - an average of 3,235 light
years per hour. These phenomena are known to exist for a finite period
of time; the one between Nimbus III and the Galactic core no longer exists,
which is why the USS Voyager is unable to make use of it in her attempts
to return from the other side of the galaxy.
Amongst their other properties, highways are notoriously difficult to detect
and map - Starfleet has always put considerable effort into locating these
regions, carrying out many mapping missions. Voyager has been partially
able to overcome this difficulty with the use of advanced Astrometric sensors,
which allowed the vessel to detect regions where the Cochrane Value would
be slightly higher from many thousands of light years away, enabling the
crew to cut five years off their journey time.
Since their discovery, the warp highways have been a crucial factor in
the expansion of the Federation and other powers. They allow the journey
time across known space to be cut from years or even decades down to a
matter of days.
Warp
Shallows
Whilst some regions of space have a speed multiplier in the tens of thousands,
there are also regions where the value is less than unity. For example,
in the region around the Xendi Sabu system warp speeds are reduced by almost
one half - a Cochrane Value of 0.55. These regions, which are commonly
nicknamed 'Warp Shallows', are generally more common than warp highways
and tend to cover a larger area. Warp shallows can be caused by a variety
of phenomena - the Hekaras corridor is a region of relatively normal space
which passes through a large warp shallow caused by unusually intense tetryon
fields. The Briar Patch is a warp shallow caused by the unusual metaphasic
radiation common to the region.
Warp
Sandbars
Subspace Sandbars are a phenomenon which prevents a vessel using warp drive
at all within a given region - essentially, a region with a Cochrane factor
of zero. These regions are, fortunately, very rare. |