Brainstorm a new type of engine Trek hasn't had before
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
- Start date
Nice idea, although you may or may not be aware that in the current day, string theory is beginning to be seen as a failure, with research dwindling as it's yielded no real testable predictions. There is more interest these days in theories like loop quantum gravity. I suspect that unless we see some kind of massive breakthrough or revelation, string theory will be long forgotten by the 24th century.
And that is perfect for Star Trek
I had this idea of "Warp Staging" where very early warp ships were robotic craft with multiple warp rings of huge size.
The idea is that each warp ring energizes and pushes the rest of the ship forward and the warp ring drops out of warp immediately. That discarded ring then becomes part of a space-lane---a superimpeller Aridas Sophia called it.
Very high speeds happen very early----but it is a one way trip---no turning.
This would explain why you see primitive warp-ships far out in space found by newer ships like Enterprise that are (on their own) much faster. https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/s-s-valiant-appearance.206275/
These subway tunnels are laid down passing by star systems of interest.
Romulans stumble on one and ride it back close to Earth.
This network let old ships go to the edge of the Galaxy and to its core--explains Tom Paris "Nor right nor left" line in Voyager--and explains away speed-of-plot errors.
Thus warp factors are just used in free space outside space lanes.
Vulcans had their own network of these---that their ringships travel through with great efficiency.
Nacelle ships engage them at Kirk's favorite "Warp Factor One"---but that's just your on-ramp speed.
You have the variable speed of light theory---here is your variable speed of warp.
Had Voyager found one of these Vaadwaur type deals...it gets home in a few years.
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So you want Warp Rings to shoot vessels that are "Warp Coasting" around instead of Vessels powering their own Warp Travel?
That effectively turns it into a Warp Subway?
That sounds more like a solution for civilian space travel since many civilians wouldn't have the license to operate a FTL drive given the engineering know-how needed to maintain it.
I like the idea of a new deadly type of space travel and that is to be able shift over to a alternate universe and then shift back when you get to your destination. Imagine for example if the Klingons wanted to attack a Romulan planet called Roblus. Instead of traveling their in our universe they could shift to a alternate universe were their is no Romulans or other aliens in the area of the Roblus planet so they can travel their and then shift back.
From the Romulans point of View this Klingon ship would have come out of nowhere and be within striking distance before they even have time to raise shields or activate any self defense measures. It would even be superior to cloaking tech because even with cloaked ships you still have a actual ship to deal with and their have been ways of seeing through cloaking devices.
From the Romulans point of View this Klingon ship would have come out of nowhere and be within striking distance before they even have time to raise shields or activate any self defense measures. It would even be superior to cloaking tech because even with cloaked ships you still have a actual ship to deal with and their have been ways of seeing through cloaking devices.
Quantum Slipstream / Transwarp Drive effectively does that.
The Vulcans might have wanted that as part of a Prime Directive deal.
My goal was to imply that these massive, ringlaying ships were ironically the fastest ships ever made—basically a massive nacelle in their own right. As each ring falls away—it gives the remaining ship an extra boost.
This makes the very early warp ships of any size a Saturn Moonshot deal.
Civilian ships move at low speeds relying mostly on the rings…TOS Enterprise enters them at warp and therefore gets a bigger boost.
In a space lane, Earth to Vulcan takes no time at all.
In free space—at the same warp factor mind you—it takes longer to get to Vulcan than getting to the galactic core via a space lane the Slavers or Vegan Tyranny laid down.
Now, in my head canon—this space ripper network is what got Earth noticed…especially the one that went “runaway” with Valiant. It took longer, and the Eugenics Wars not part of a really bad WWIII. TOS classic timeline thus more gradual.
SNW Disco as a result of an earlier breakthrough via timeline incursion (not just Borg) that jumpstarted nacelle use earlier, but the Vulcans had to be closer to notice. Here WWIII was worse. No spaceripper…Discos Prime Timeline with fancier tech…Enterprise goes straight from Anson-Pike to TMP refit…New Jersey from Picard an earlier build.
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Well, thanks to your idea, in my head canon, the "InterStellar ExpressWay System" has two major UFP civilian government run components:
InterStellar HighWay = Warp Rings designed for shorter distances (≤ 31 ly range)
InterStellar FreeWay = Transwarp Conduits designed for longer distances (> 31 ly range)
This allows any civilian with a Shuttle / (AstroMobile|SpaceCar) / Small StarShip to traverse great distances within the UFP, to travel between Planetary Systems and visit friends & families on various planets and do business between planets at very low energy travel costs towards them.
Yep. Here, Ptolemy tug pods came before Ptolemy herself.
What nacelles do is allow you to turn at speed.
I can see nacelle guys and ring guys fighting like SLS vs Falcon guys do today. Ringships boring but efficient…etc.
The spaceripper would look like Rademakers “real” warp ship…but much larger…the first and largest a mile long.
Ice giants rain diamonds, so I would have a massive dilithium crystal found knocked out of the Uranium system—so spaceripper is a one-off. This is what forged a spoke from the negative energy barrier to the galactic core in an accident. Think the warp-equivalent of a great disturbance in the force…combined with with the runaway MIKE nuclear test.
Tiny versions of this would be SFB drones, merculite rockets—and especially Soran’s missile from Generations—which only had a range of 1 AU…barely enough for his purposes. ICBMs on steroids.
Then Vulcan stepped in and we’re more helpful.
What nacelles do is allow you to turn at speed.
I can see nacelle guys and ring guys fighting like SLS vs Falcon guys do today. Ringships boring but efficient…etc.
The spaceripper would look like Rademakers “real” warp ship…but much larger…the first and largest a mile long.
Ice giants rain diamonds, so I would have a massive dilithium crystal found knocked out of the Uranium system—so spaceripper is a one-off. This is what forged a spoke from the negative energy barrier to the galactic core in an accident. Think the warp-equivalent of a great disturbance in the force…combined with with the runaway MIKE nuclear test.
Tiny versions of this would be SFB drones, merculite rockets—and especially Soran’s missile from Generations—which only had a range of 1 AU…barely enough for his purposes. ICBMs on steroids.
Then Vulcan stepped in and we’re more helpful.
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In my head canon, "Warp Rings" won for civilian usage.
That 17% more extra energy efficiency compared to parallel Warp Nacelles and lack of need for 'severe turn capabilities' was just fine for "Warp Rings" to win out for civilian purposes =D.
Most Civilian Commercial vessels that aren't combat oriented or need enhanced combat capabilities use "Warp Rings".
The UFP Space Trucking industry is primarily run on Warp Rings.
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I like this idea of a ship with 5 nacells. Instead of the ship having saucer separation ability the 5 nacells can break off and become individual fighter/planetary exploration crafts. The ship can then rotate outward 2 more traditional nacells to replace them with allowing the ship still being able to go to warp. Only warp 5 but better than impulse. When the battle is over you can bring in the replacement nacells as the 5 nacell ships reattach to the drive section and become the ships primary nacells again.
Krasnikov tubes. the downside is they double as time machines.. though in trek that might not apply.
Something like that for space lanes.
I figure that thetug pods exit at close to light speed---so the time dilation spent there before slowing down to sub-relativistic speeds even things out.
Even traveling at half light speed---if many are spaced out over many light years, you could have a tug pod of bulk goods every six months...important goods even faster---and meds towed by warp ships through the tubes at the highest speeds.
This is why it was such a big deal to have TOS Enterprise as a STARSHIP class---it didn't need the tubes (always) so when one of these puts in at at old port--it is a big deal.
I figure that thetug pods exit at close to light speed---so the time dilation spent there before slowing down to sub-relativistic speeds even things out.
Even traveling at half light speed---if many are spaced out over many light years, you could have a tug pod of bulk goods every six months...important goods even faster---and meds towed by warp ships through the tubes at the highest speeds.
This is why it was such a big deal to have TOS Enterprise as a STARSHIP class---it didn't need the tubes (always) so when one of these puts in at at old port--it is a big deal.
Don't forget solar sails
http://toughsf.blogspot.com/2023/05/riding-sunbeams-with-solar-sails.html
Lasers are getting more powerful:
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-photonic-crystal-surface-emitting-laser-built-bright.html
The researchers plan to continue scaling up their laser, hoping to bring the diameter to 10mm, which would allow for producing a 1-kilowatt beam.
So Breakthrough Starshot is getting closer
Being in front of a fast moving object perhaps?
https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0505099.pdf
The Schwarzschild solution is used to find the exact relativistic motion of a payload in the gravitational field of a mass moving with constant velocity. At radial approach or recession speeds faster than 1/ 2 3 ! times the speed of light, even a small mass gravitationally repels a payload. At relativistic speeds, a suitable mass can quickly propel a heavy payload from rest nearly to the speed of light with negligible stresses on the payload.
More:
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2023/06/13/building-the-gravitational-machine/
The Starflight Handbook had this star coming near us in a million years or so (DM 61 + 366):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_832_c
But Gliese 710 will be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_710
--just put something in its path for a Felber drive??
http://toughsf.blogspot.com/2023/05/riding-sunbeams-with-solar-sails.html
Lasers are getting more powerful:
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-photonic-crystal-surface-emitting-laser-built-bright.html
The researchers plan to continue scaling up their laser, hoping to bring the diameter to 10mm, which would allow for producing a 1-kilowatt beam.
So Breakthrough Starshot is getting closer
Being in front of a fast moving object perhaps?
https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0505099.pdf
The Schwarzschild solution is used to find the exact relativistic motion of a payload in the gravitational field of a mass moving with constant velocity. At radial approach or recession speeds faster than 1/ 2 3 ! times the speed of light, even a small mass gravitationally repels a payload. At relativistic speeds, a suitable mass can quickly propel a heavy payload from rest nearly to the speed of light with negligible stresses on the payload.
More:
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2023/06/13/building-the-gravitational-machine/
The Starflight Handbook had this star coming near us in a million years or so (DM 61 + 366):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_832_c
But Gliese 710 will be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_710
--just put something in its path for a Felber drive??
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Bajoran Lightship, from DS9 S3E22 "Explorers", also makes an appearance as S4E17 "Accession" and a few background scenes in later seasons. the use of solar sails to ride Tachyon currents for FTL is mentioned by Booker in DIS S3E1 "the Hope that is You part 1" (where he says it is too slow for the schedule he is on, thus why he needs to replace the Dilithium in his warp drive)
a solar sail vessel also showed up in SNW S1E5 "Spock Amok", as the ceremonial flagship of the R'ongovian Protectorate. (though that one does not seem to have used the sails for FTL travel. either it had a small warp drive hidden in the hull, or got carried by a larger ship from system to system)
I'd assume the LightShip is the equivalent of a civilian Sail boat in the future.
Plenty of civilians will have leisure time to put around the Star System in their Light Ship.
