Warp speed how much it's faster then light?
- Thread starter Xenoween
- Start date
The scale is exponential.
Warp 1 is ~ the speed of light.
Warp 9 approaches close to 1000x SoL.
Warp 1 is ~ the speed of light.
Warp 9 approaches close to 1000x SoL.
It varies depending on the setting, since warp speed tables were modified between TOS and TNG, and I don't know what rules the JJverse follows.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Warp
For a thorough technical discussion, you should probably consult the Trek Tech forum
http://www.trekbbs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Warp
For a thorough technical discussion, you should probably consult the Trek Tech forum
http://www.trekbbs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14
Warp 1=1x the speed of light
Anything beyond that depends on the individual story being told.
Anything beyond that depends on the individual story being told.
In order to make all the stories work, warps 9+ in TNG scale ought to be several thousands of times the speed of light; apart from that, there's no major plot reason to settle for any particular figures, or disagree with them, beyond indeed saying "it's roughly exponential". Any "inconsistencies" can always be handwaved away because the material is so incomplete. So the charts quoted above might be just fine, as long as we accept that the top end is quite a bit faster than that.
However, it's probably appropriate to point out that onscreen material never really establishes warp 1 to actually equate lightspeed. It's a reasonable assumption, but not something stated outright. The closest we ever get is in the illusory world of TNG "Future Imperfect" where Riker dreams that a fake Data would find it easy to calculate travel times using warp 1, but difficult using any other warp factor...
Timo Saloniemi
However, it's probably appropriate to point out that onscreen material never really establishes warp 1 to actually equate lightspeed. It's a reasonable assumption, but not something stated outright. The closest we ever get is in the illusory world of TNG "Future Imperfect" where Riker dreams that a fake Data would find it easy to calculate travel times using warp 1, but difficult using any other warp factor...
Timo Saloniemi
It can be explained well that the quantification of warp speed has changed from the original to TNG throw out 70 years of technology development
but voyager was almost at the same time of TNG
I think those who made voyager were very rash and made that kind of contradiction
but voyager was almost at the same time of TNG
I think those who made voyager were very rash and made that kind of contradiction
Well isn't it generally accepted that the Warp speeds were recalibrated at some point between TOS and TNG as in the TNG-VOY era Warp 10 is the limit, whilst in TOS we had speeds in excess of Warp 10?
But even allowing for that for example we are given a jorney time in TMP of 4 days to Vulcan some 16 light years from Earth which equates to 4ly per day. At those speeds it would take VOY some 50 years to get back to Earth not the 70 as stated. Or what about the fact that it would take the ENT at most 399 years to travel 2.7m light years (Data said over 300 years if it was over 400 surely he would have said 400). So that would be what some 12 years or so for VOY trip.
So speeds are highly inconsistant.
But even allowing for that for example we are given a jorney time in TMP of 4 days to Vulcan some 16 light years from Earth which equates to 4ly per day. At those speeds it would take VOY some 50 years to get back to Earth not the 70 as stated. Or what about the fact that it would take the ENT at most 399 years to travel 2.7m light years (Data said over 300 years if it was over 400 surely he would have said 400). So that would be what some 12 years or so for VOY trip.
So speeds are highly inconsistant.
Well no offense to the producers i think they didn't have all the time to check on every old episode they made
i can't say i blame them at that time.
But in these days they can start working with the fans because some of them have a very good memories like you guys have
i can't say i blame them at that time.
But in these days they can start working with the fans because some of them have a very good memories like you guys have
I much prefer Shar's take on arbitrary warp factors:
http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=10033696&postcount=10
http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=10033696&postcount=10
TNG/DS9/Voy era I think it was something like 3.3^n up to warp 9 then approaching infinity as warp approaches 10.
This. The difference is literally that of crossing the galaxy in a day to it being a lifelong journey, depending on the writers.
Even if you ignore TOS, the modern TNG speeds never made sense.
On one hand you have to have a ship fast enough to move between star systems quickly enough for a sense of urgency within the plot.
On the other hand, said speeds would mean that the entire galaxy should have been pretty well explored in Kirk's era.
By the time of latter DS9 and most of Voyager, it was pretty well established that it would take about 24hrs or so at around warp 8-9 to travel to a neighbouring star system (approx 5 light years). But this later consistency did not fit with any TNG episodes, or indeed early DS9.
On one hand you have to have a ship fast enough to move between star systems quickly enough for a sense of urgency within the plot.
On the other hand, said speeds would mean that the entire galaxy should have been pretty well explored in Kirk's era.
By the time of latter DS9 and most of Voyager, it was pretty well established that it would take about 24hrs or so at around warp 8-9 to travel to a neighbouring star system (approx 5 light years). But this later consistency did not fit with any TNG episodes, or indeed early DS9.
Most Trek shows are written without the use of calculators. And when writers do establish travel times in various episodes or films, most are just pulling numbers out of thin air, IMO.
I doubt that. Let's assume starfleet had made a tremendeous breakthrough 50 years before Kirk, developing a drive that could instantaneously transport a starfleet vessel to anywhere in the galaxy. But being able to reach any point in the galaxy in literally no time still doesn't change the fact that the galaxy is huge -- there would be anywhere between one hundred billion and four hundred billion star systems to explore. (not to mention possible interesting things in all the space between).
Allowing 50 years for that by the time Kirk comes by still wouldn't have resulted, I think, in much more than a very rough picture of global states of affairs in the galaxy -- e.g. picking up the larger "empires" (certainly those dominion- and borg-sized, but perhaps not even klingon empire sized ones) and rough outlines of their territories and assessments of their threat levels, but probably not much more beyond that.
Unless they 'd start to work with von Neumann probes -- but I've never seen any evidence for that.
Similar threads
