Energy Reduction Costs

[knightgrace]

How does one reduce the amount of power required for a space warp?

Firstly, understand that a usable space warp field is going to be extremely limited in scope. It is not going to be omnidirectional. But linear in nature. As linear as it is possible to be, preferably monochromatic coherent to be exact.
Fine.
This now makes the warp field equivalent to a laser beam.
However, can energy usage be reduced still further?
Yes.
Stealth technology brings in, a very strong possibility.
After you have, in essence a monochromatic coherent space warp, the total energy can be reduced still further. By minimizing the perpendicular cross section to as close to zero as possible.

Consider the Starship Enterprise.

417 feet in diameter, or having a beam of 417 feet. Height? Twenty-three decks.

Reduced to a Stealth equivalent of zero.

Power, is therefore vastly reduced.

 

[B.J.]

 

[StarCruiser]

No clue where, what, when, why this is...

Was ist dass?

 

[LAFR]

"Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?"

 

[knightgrace]

Okay you guys do know about stealth, right?

Is minimizing one's radar signature, the only thing that stealth can do?

 

[StarCruiser]

What this has to do with energy expenditure of a warp field....that's where the problem is here.

You might want to look at Miguel Alcubierre's Warp Theory, along with the 32 years of research and theory that has come after it...

Miguel Alcubierre - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[StarCruiser]

As to stealth itself - reduced radar return (via angling surfaces - chine - and RAM - Radar Absorbing Material) and reducing the IR signature - does not make an aircraft less visible to the MK1 eyeball.

The point is not production or consumption of energy but, reduction of the aircraft's sensor signature. A fighter the size of a F-22 looks like a small bird on most Radar systems. Harder to detect at range, and harder to target but, not invisible.

Now, if Microwave Radar is used...that's another issue.

 

[knightgrace]

A warp field is energy. And there is a problem. Radar Cross Sections (RCS) reduce the apparent actual size of the aircraft to escape or minimize what the actual RCS should be. A F-117A, is supposed to have a RCS of a small insect, instead of a single place manned aircraft.

The more spread out a starship is, for whatever operational reason can be stealthed to reduce its appearent warp field size. Thus reducing the high levels of warp energy required.

But not to absolute zero energy.

The aforementioned genus, was assuming, metaphorically speaking, a standard old fashioned light bulb.

But by throwing energy all over the place isn't quite efficient. By using the laws of physics to play with the warp field, the energy expenditure can be drastically reduced.

 

[Ithekro]

So basically USS Defiant.

 

[StarCruiser]

Trimming/tuning the hull form to reduce the VOLUME of the warp field would reduce the energy needed to create/maintain that warp field - if that warp field can then be tuned to that new hull form (look at some old Star Trek fan tech stuff from the 1980's. That's called "Warp Dynamics".)

Still had nothing to do with stealth technology...at all.

 

[knightgrace]

Not the Defiant. TAS Bonaventure. All designs have to be tweaked.

Which brings us to the Klingon D-7...

Explanation: weapons primarily, in particular their weapons.