What are the observed different types of Warp Drives?

Discussion in 'Trek Tech' started by KamenRiderBlade, Nov 16, 2018.

  1. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Given what I've read from the Klingon Bird of Prey Manual on how they achieve FTL:
    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91hKYv0zvJL.jpg

    I've noticed that there are many ways of achieving Warp Drive, so here I've listed a few ways with sources taken from Alpha & Beta Cannon that I can trust along with my own deductive inferencing & reasoning based on observation from the source materials:

    Warp Drive Types that I've observed and listed :
    • Type: "Parallel Coils"/"Parallel Nacelles":
      • Examples:
        • The Vast Majority of StarFleet designed vessels with Nacelles mounted on pylons of some form
      • Details:
        • Usually mounted in some form of Nacelle with either Circular, Oval, or specialized Ring shape of some form
        • Opening's in the Coil show where the Warp Field emissions emit out of
      • PRO(s):
        • Better Manueverability at FTL in High Warp Factors compared to Coleopteric Type
        • Highly Stable Warp Fields
        • Balanced FTL characteristics in terms of Power Consumption, Scalability, Complexity, Stability, etc
      • CON(s):
        • Not as efficient as Coleopteric in a Straight Line
        • Needs at least 2x Warp Fields interacting in 3D space for maximum efficiency
        • See (Intrepid Class/USS Voyager) as example that breaks the mold compared to (Constitution Class/Galaxy Class) for simple line of sight rules due to more advanced tech
        • Usually the Nacelles hanging off of Pylons which give the enemy a giant visual signal to "Destroy this" to cripple the vessel from moving at FTL which makes it a VERY easy target

    • Type: "Coleopteric"/"Ring":
      • Examples:
        • 22nd & 23rd century Vulcan Vessels
      • Details:
        • Requires some form of Warp Ring that wraps around the vessel:
      • PRO(s):
        • Highly Efficient for Straight line travel, not very manueverable at high FTL (Warp Factor)
        • Very good straight line efficiency
        • Very energy efficient Power Consumption Curve as it scales up the Warp Factors
      • CON(s):
        • Cannot turn at high FTL (Warp Factor) without significant stress to the vessel, usually must drop out of warp and reorient the vessel to re-engage Warp Drives
        • Large Target that can be nearly attacked at from all sides to cripple

    • Type: "Co-Planar"/"Flat Panel":
      • Examples:
        • See Klingon Bird-of-Prey with wings straight out in cruise mode
      • Details:
        • Parallel Flat Panels distributed on Port/StarBoard sides of a hull
        • Panels are in-line(Co-Planar) with each other usually when making Warp Fields
      • PRO(s):
        • Volumetrically efficient
        • Can assist with STL propulsion
      • CON(s):
        • Requires Cryogenic Cooling Fluids to keep the Panels from self destructing due to the tight spacing of the panels and excessive temperatures from the Electro Plasma
        • Limitation based on Cooling requirements that Warp Coils suffer from far less due to physical space gaps
        • Tight working spaces along with high toughness requirements to keep it working reliably

    • Type: "Parallel Open Frustum"/"Integrated Hull":
      • Examples:
        • The Ferengi D'Kora class Marauder implements this on the aft end at the Ventral Edge with vertical slits that go from White to Orange when engaging Warp
      • Details:
        • A series of open plates aligned in parallel, usually Frustum shaped with Sub-Space Field Emissions out of the open sides of the Parallel Plates
      • PRO(s):
        • 2nd most Compact Surface Area
        • Allows very flexible layout as it can run across the surface of the hull, you don't have to design a vessel around the Warp Engine
        • Highly distributed nature allows some battle redundancy, although not as much as the DPSSFEA
        • Size & Shape of each parallel plate don't have to be perfect and scan be slightly smaller or larger than each other, this allows for various design styles and uses
      • CON(s):
        • Any battle damage may have the Electro-Plasma feed back into the hull
        • Requires sacrifcing some hull volume for the Warp Engine system
        • Maintenance requires opening up some aspects of the hull on the outside and/or inside depending on design
        • This makes it somewhat labor intensive when doing battle field repairs when time is super critical

    • Type: Nozzle Type Sub-Space Field Emitter:
      • Examples:
        • Cardassian Galor Class and most Cardassian Vessel designs
        • UFP StarFleet Defiant Class
      • Details:
        • Warp Field Emission is out of a Nozzle of some form
      • PRO(s):
        • A large chunk of the Warp Engine can be buried within the hull and hidden underneath armor
        • Much shorter routing paths for Electro Plasma and Data Wiring to the Warp Core
      • CON(s):
        • You must design the vessel around the Warp Engines, layout dictates where the Warp Field Alignment for Warp Field Syncrohnoization meets
        • Repairs can potentially require full or partial dissasembly of the vessel structure depending on how you designed said vessel
        • Battlefield repairs might be more complicated due to the nature of integration of the Warp Coils or Warp Instruments
        • Any leakage of Electro Plasma will likely happen within the vessel

    • Type: DPSSFEA (Distributed Phased Sub-Space Field Emitter Array):
      • Examples:
        • Almost all Borg Vessels use this form of Warp Drive
      • Details:
        • Numerous small Sub-Space Field Emitters that create Sub-Space Fields in a single direction work in tandem with others in a distributed array to create a precisely controlled fields for advanced FTL flight
        • The arrays are usually spread evenly across the hull and allows for simple redundancy by adding in more units and adjusting software to control them
        • Usually small distributed Sensors need to be placed nearby each Sub-Space Field Emitters to work in parallel
      • PRO(s):
        • Highly Energy Efficient when it comes to power consumption
        • High Redundancy in case several units are taken off-line for whatever reason
        • Creates near optimal warp fields easily regardless of the shape of the vessel
        • Allows for High Speed Omni-Directional FTL Manueverability at all Warp Factors with very high turning / vectoring speeds at FTL
        • Very flexible & precise control over the Sub-Space Field: Shape, Intensity, & distortion strength along with distortion vector
        • You do not have to design the vessel around the shape of the Warp Engines, the Warp Engine can conform to the shape of the vessel as needed
        • Hard to tell where your Warp Field Emitters are given the tiny nature of their apertures (especially when integrated with all the other tech on the surface of the hull)
      • CON(s):
        • Incredibly Computationally Intensive compared to other FTL Warp Field based systems, requires lots of Parallelized Computers to work together across a vast distributed network on the vessel
        • Nano-Second level Syncrohnoization becomes important for Computational and Field control
        • Physical connections for Power & Data become a management nightmare due to sheer volume compared to other FTL Warp Field based systems
        • Software needed to manage becomes incredibly complex and difficult to debug should problems arise before final roll out
        • Software needs to be incredibly robust to handle taking Warp Field Emitters online and offline in real time while the Warp Drive is in use
        • Maintenance Load becomes larger due to the volume of small problems you may encounter, although the scale of the problem is usually much lower and is a simple drop in replacement of parts

    Any other forms of Warp Drive from alien races or StarFleet ships that I might not have noticed?
    The only one I can think off the top of my head is the Voth City Ship.
     
  2. Mytran

    Mytran Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This is great follow up to that discussion in the other thread. Now that you've included the presence of the cooling fins, I'm slowly warming to the notion of flat panel FTL systems.

    Heh, I made a funny ;)
     
  3. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    There's also the interestingly prevalent drive where distinct nacelles can be seen, but they are of an exotic shape, curved this way or that, triangular, what-have-you - and basically the very opposite of parallel.

    As for "nozzle" type, basically all the Starfleet ships have nozzles to their sets of warp coils. Some have them in front or aft, some to the sides, some to the top, some to the top and sides. Sometimes the side nozzles go all the way around the nacelle stern, sometimes not. Tucking the coils in and having extra hull plating around them doesn't IMHO yet distinguish them from the "nacelle" type qualitatively.

    Warp engines without a "nozzle" in evidence are relatively rare. Kirk's old ship sometimes counts; some incarnations have blue glow associated, though.

    On the other hand, "wings" are surprisingly prevalent in alien ships, including wings that couldn't possibly have aerodynamic merit. The Talarian stock of ships, also serving many other nationalities, is the foremost example. But partial "wings" or "fins" crop up in the most unlikely places. Are they a key element in a warp propulsion system, or a nice-to-have extra, or something unrelated to propulsion altogether? Even UE Starfleet's old Intrepid has those. Do Starfleet pylons, the broader ones, in fact double in the role, too?

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  4. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I know they are there on alien ships, but it's been a while, can you name a few examples?

    I'm not talking about Warp Nacelle placement or direction of Warp Grilles specifically. And most StarFleet Warp Nacelles have the Warp Fields emit out laterally over 2 sets of grilles or one wide set of grilles.

    But you do understand how I distinguish one large Nozzle for Warp Field Grille / Emission pathway vs the usual lateral array of tiny holes in parallel to each other.

    Especially the distinguishing factor of the Nacelles being buried within the hull of the vessel.

    That's why I pointed out the Cardassian Galor Class & the Defiant.

    It could very well be, Co-Planar Warp Drives might be more common than we think in the universe, we just haven't observed them as much.

    I can see merit to it's design given what it does.
     
  5. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm looking at the Defiant and don't really see any nozzles related to her warp engines. What nozzle are you referring to?
     
  6. Ithekro

    Ithekro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think its the grill pattern at the back of the nacelle being referred to here on Defiant. Though on the Galor, are we thinking he glowing bit at the back of the wings is part of the warp engines, rather than the impulse units, or are we calling the forward glowing bit a nozzle?
     
  7. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  8. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    http://fasaststcs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/warship_galor.jpg
    Those nozzle like bits on the saucer head that points aftwards.
    They glow yellow
     
  9. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Ahh. Do you think they are functionally different than the blue grills on the Galaxy and Ambassador-class ships that are also visible to the rear. Plus the other ships who have blue grills on the sides of the nacelles - would they also function differently and if so, why the common blue glow?
     
  10. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I would have to say yes!

    Imagine that the Warp Fields are like water flow, but in Zero G. Warp Nacelles are analagous to garden hose nozzle attachments, what you attach controls how the water flows out and in what direction. With traditional Warp Nacelles that StarFleet uses, the flows out of the sides and/or back are lots of tiny fields.

    While the Cardassian Ships / Defiant have two big concentrated nozzles facing aftwards.

    Those are two very specific ways of dealing with the emission of the Warp Fields.

    Then you look at how the Klingon Bird of Prey is described when it makes a Warp Field.

    The two halves of the Co-Planar Panels control the turning while it also controls forward Warp Propulsion.

    There's not right or wrong way of creating a Warp/Field. Just the trade offs in how you want to get there.
     
  11. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Wait a sec, I thought that TNG (especially Enterprise) explained the emission of warp fields came from the warp coil(s)?
    If I understand your explanation, rather than the coils in the nacelles generating the warp field to expand out in all directions instead you are suggesting that they use nozzles to jet the field backwards and then steer them so it loops forward to wrap around the ship?
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2018
  12. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    True, the Warp Fields come from the Warp Coil

    No, I think you're misunderstanding my analogy. The major gaps in the warp coil and the Blue Warp Field Grille for StarFleet ships indicate which direction the Warp Fields are emitting out of before they form the Warp Bubble.

    The entire Nozzle and water hose is just an Analogy for you to try to understand it easier.

     
  13. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I still don't get it (but that's alright :) ). Wouldn't it be simpler to just think of the warp field as being able to expand in a sphere/bubble and pass through everything to encompass the ship?
     
  14. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't see that as how it would work, otherwise why would they need Warp Field Grilles? Wouldn't they just bury this inside the ship then?
     
  15. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    We occasionally see ships venting or flushing plasma from those grills so it just stood to reason that functionally they are for flushing out plasma rapidly in an emergency. As to the glowing blue energy, that seems to be warp energy but strangely in "Imaginary Friends" they had to run their warp field generators through the shields to radiate a high energy warp field outside the ship. This would imply that the warp field is skin tight or inside the ship. Which is different than in Enterprise where we see a warp bubble...
     
  16. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Or that the bubble / shields aren't all that big to begin with, just big enough to wrap around the vessel. in a ovular shaped bubble.
     
  17. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    As far as the plasma venting, there are specific Plasma dump ports on the Warp Nacelles, the Enterprise D literally had them on top and it's in the technical manual.
     
  18. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Can you point out where these plasma dump/vent ports are in the TNG:TM? I have that book and am familiar enough with it where I don't recall seeing any diagram of it. Or are you referring to a different TM?
     
  19. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  20. blssdwlf

    blssdwlf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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