What is Warp: Definition and 99 Discussions

A warp drive is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek, and a subject of ongoing physics research. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at speeds greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude. In contrast to some other fictitious faster-than-light technologies such as a jump drive, the warp drive does not permit instantaneous travel and transfers between two points, but rather involves a measurable passage of time which is pertinent to the concept. In contrast to hyperspace, spacecraft at warp velocity would continue to interact with objects in "normal space". The general concept of "warp drive" was introduced by John W. Campbell in his 1957 novel Islands of Space.Einstein's theory of special relativity states that speed of light travel is impossible for material objects that, unlike photons, have a non-zero rest mass. The problem of a material object exceeding light speed is that an infinite amount of kinetic energy would be required to travel at exactly the speed of light. Warp drives serve to circumvent this limitation in fiction to facilitate stories set at galactic scales.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. G

    Warp drives and event horizons

    Not entirely sure if this is the right section for this question. Hypothetically, you can achieve FTL travel by bending spacetime around a spaceship ... If such a device would be built ... would it be able to go past the event horizon of a black hole and then escape out of it? (I mean...
  2. K

    Could a warp drive work as a time machine?

    I'm sure you've heard of the warp/Alcubierre drive that would work by expanding space behind it and contracting it in front to achieve faster than light travel. I was thinking about this the other day and was wondering if this concept could be applied to time as well to allow time travel. Would...
  3. B

    Alcubierre Warp Drive Physics Research

    Alcubierre Warp Drive With Rings Story Research I'm writing a new section in my science fiction novel and need a little help with the science of it. So, the general idea of the Alcubierre Warp Drive is that with 65 exajoules you can create a warp bubble by expanding spacetime behind you and...
  4. E

    Space expansion, gravity waves, warp

    If gravity waves are supposed to propagate at c, how could the theoretical warp drive wave propagate at greater than c values? I have heard and red and understand that space itself can expand (and warp? ) faster than c and, in fact, that will happen in the future when space in between...
  5. H

    Why do plastic warp when heated

    I have noticed that, in the plastic extruded from 3d printers, plastic fork that i put near the fire during bonfires, whenever plastic is heated they tend to warp(curve up) why is that the case?thank you
  6. S

    Alcubierre Warp Drive: Debate and Discussions

    Alcubierre Warp Drive: Debate and Discussions (Force Fields; Dampners) I would like to first of all apologize if this is not in the correct location or if this thread violates any of the forum's rules. The purpose of this thread is to discuss, debate, and bounce ideas around regarding the...
  7. B

    Do photons warp space like the equivalent energy as mass would?

    I understand that in GR mass is considered a distorting of space-time. If you had a teleporter which transmitted an object's energy perfectly as photons to be reconfigured at a perfect reciever at the destination location, whilst in transit as a (very high energy) light pulse, would the same...
  8. J

    Writing: Input Wanted Warp Drive System: Could Powerful Lasers Reach Warp Speed?

    This is a very blunt guess, but since light can warp space-time a bit better then gravity, and that light is a ripple in hyper space. Could it be possible for 14 powerful lasers that are guided by "mirrors" around the ship to form a circle powerful enough to reach warp speed? The idea of a big...
  9. P

    NASA working on warp drive experiments

    I've been trying to follow these experiments that NASA is doing to try and warp space-time on a microscopic scale. Obviously that won't have us traveling at FTL speeds yet, but it would be proof of concept. From what I read, they are using a laser, and some kind of special ceramic material (I...
  10. T

    Exploring the Possibilities of Faster-Than-Light Warp Drives

    Popular Science has been running an article about Sonny White, a prominent engineer at NASA's JSC. White has been attempting to realize a warp drive as theorized by Miguel Alcubierre of UNAM in Mexico. Warp Factor Faster-Than-Light Drive Negative energy, spacetime bubbles...
  11. Z

    NASA could build a warp drive?

    NASA could build a warp drive?!? I just read in a article that NASA has revisited an older theory and found they can improve on it greatly. here is a link to the journal (i guess that is what it is called) of the scientist who is working in this...
  12. Drakkith

    Jestilla Atilla's Journey Through the Warp: A Warhammer 40k Tale

    Hey guys. Just wanting a bit of feedback on the beginnings of a short story. It's set in the Warhammer 40k universe and is kind of dark, so be warned. And since I'm terrible at choosing names I just used my own for one of the characters for now. * * * *...
  13. G

    Exploring the Relationship Between Mass, Energy, and Spacetime Warping

    I know that mass warps spacetime and that's basically the force of gravity (warped spacetime), but why does mass warp spacetime? Is it because mass implies energy and energy warps spacetime? If so, then why does energy warp spacetime?
  14. S

    Alcubierre warp drive as time machine.

    Hi. I heard it's possible to use an "Alcubierre warp drive" as a time machine, if they existed. But how, precisely, would that work?
  15. X

    Can somebody explain the Warp Theory Equation?

    Could somebody please explain the following equation for me? ds^2 = −c^2 dt^2 + [dx − vs (t)f(rs)dt]^2 + dy^2 + dz^2 where f(rs)=(tanh(σ(rs + R)) − tanh(σ(rs − R)))/(2tanh(σR). I've wrestled with it for a while, but quite frankly do not get it. I'm only up through Calc II, but I'm more than...
  16. S

    White-Juday Warp Field Interferometer Experiment

    White-Juday "Warp Field Interferometer" Experiment Here is a presentation by Harold White on what he's calling the White-Juday Warp Interferometer Experiment, which is part of their investigation into the theoretical Alcubierre Warp concept...
  17. G

    FTL warp experiments: Media hype or significant?

    FTL "warp" experiments: Media hype or significant? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/17/warp-drive-star-trek-feasible_n_1890679.html This is just one article, but they're are plenty more to be found. There is one thing that confuses me though. Alcubierre's warp drive idea seemed to...
  18. A

    Travel 10x the Speed of Light: Warp Drive Explained

    I was reading this article today: http://news.yahoo.com/warp-drive-may-more-feasible-thought-scientists-161301109.html and in it it states this: How did they come to the figure of 10*C? Is it a matter of energy input to speed output?
  19. S

    Calculating a Character's Warp Speed in a Book

    Not sure where to post this or if this can be solved, but I couldn't figure it out because math and physics are clearly not my strength :) I am writing a book where one of the characters has the ability to speed her travel through time. Basically, she is in a type of warp bubble, for lack of...
  20. J

    Does a Space Warp Bubble Move Through Space or Does Space Move Around It?

    If you were able to create a bubble that was separate from this universe space/time, would that bubble if standing still allow space/time to move around it thus making it appear as if you actually moved through space, even though space/time moved around you. Since we are moving thru space at 2.7...
  21. R

    Warp Drive & Bubble Theory: Can You See & Touch It?

    I'm sure a lot of you have heard of the warp drive theory. I can't seem to find much on the bubble part, though. In theory, will the bubble be something you can actually see and touch?
  22. M

    Magnetic Warp Drive - What Do You Think?

    Hello. What do you think about Warp drive? And what do you think about it, if the warp bubble is created with a magnetic field? Thank you.
  23. D

    What happens if an Alcubierre warp drive fails?

    If the warp drive is shut down either by its destruction or just plain turning it off, what happens? Does the vessel stop? Continue coasting forward? If so how would the time dilation factor at speeds several thousand times the speed of light?
  24. T

    Is Your Thumb a Miniature Gravitational Lens?

    Simple Experiment. Find a bookshelf full of books in a well lit area (such as a library or bookstore.) Find a seat about 10 feet away facing the bookshelf. Hold out your right hand in a fist with your thumb pointing out little less than a foot from your face just outside your peripheral vision...
  25. Q

    Is Warp Drive Possible and What Power Would It Require?

    How would a warp drive work, and it is also that it would need tremondous power to operate, how much power, and what kind of power?
  26. D

    Is It Better to Cram Courses or Take Them Over Multiple Years?

    Hello Everyone, It has been awhile since I have been on the forums. I just finished my third year which was my transition from biology to physics. So far, I have completed first year courses on Mechanics and Electrodynamics as well as one course on introductory quantum mechanics. Now I am...
  27. Q

    Warp Space Travel: Is the Light Always Ahead?

    ok last dumb question for tonight i promise... i have read that you can theoretically warp space (on paper not in a lab). let's say we built a warp drive however... if you were traveling through warped space say on the enterprise and shined a flashlight off the front of the ship would it still...
  28. F

    Learn About the Alcubierre Warp Drive: A High Schooler's Guide

    I am interested in learning more about the Alcubierre warp drive. Although I've read every qualitative description imaginable plus Lillian Lieber's The Einstein Theory of Relativity, which gives a BRIEF introduction to the math behind GR, I am totally lost when it comes to the math. Although I...
  29. K

    What would we need for a warp drive?

    Just a question that randomly occurred to me, why is it or is it not possible? What is necessary to make warp drives possible? :smile:
  30. S

    Does matter warp space time in the form of minimal surfaces?

    Hello guys. Is this even a valid question? Just curious. Thanks,
  31. G

    Does space warp reduce the space volume?

    Take as example a neutron star. Its mass warps the space(time) which the neutron star itself occupies (the space inside its perimeter). Does this effect make the neutron star smaller? If we could put a neutron star in unwarped space, would it occupy a bigger volume? I mean, does it look...
  32. T

    Exploring Warp Drive Possibilities with EM Waves

    I love Star trek and I was thinking, how to create a warp drive. I have read a discusion about EM waves on this forum, there was written that they do not need any medium for propagation and : “In a simplified sense the oscillating E field sustains the oscillating B field which sustains the...
  33. 8

    How does a large mass warp space?

    Space (outer space) itself is the absence of everything, or what's left after all the dust, various types of radiation, photons, neutrons, etc. etc. are removed. That is, space will still be there when all else is gone. So exactlyhow does a large mass, like our sun, warp something (space)...
  34. S

    New Electronics Promise Wireless at Warp Speed

    Wireless networking technology will one day deliver high-definition video content and other large data files via the airwaves far faster than that information can be now be delivered over wired systems. But it will take major advances in the electronics that drive computer and radio-frequency...
  35. P

    Lambda Warp Drive: Locally Manipulating for Alcubierre Warp Bubble

    Lambda Warp Drive... Here's an interesting paper, http://arxiv.org/abs/0712.1649 It's about "locally manipulating lamdba" to get something similar to the Alcubierre warp "bubble". I love wild stuff like this...
  36. R

    New Warp Drive Paper: Read the Co-Authored Journal Article

    Hey folks. If anyones interested in warp drives I've co-written a new paper. http://xxx.lanl.gov/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0712/0712.1649v2.pdf Its being published inthe Journal of the British Interplanetary Society early 08. Anyone else interested in warp drives/ wormholes etc?
  37. H

    What Happens to Time When Traveling Near the Speed of Light?

    I wanted to ask that if a person returned home after a journey at the speed of light for a little while ; what will be the time at his home. I mean would all his relatives be dead by that time or would just a second have passed.
  38. Whitestar

    Is it possible for warp nacelles to warp space without the use of a warp bubble?

    In 1994 physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a method in the Journal of Classical and Quantum Gravity for a means of traveling faster than light with the creation of a warp bubble. The front part of the bubble compresses the space in front of the ship, while the back end of the bubble expands...
  39. A

    The Possibilities of a 2-Year Time Warp Mailbox

    I went to see the Davinci Code yesterday and saw a preview for a movie called the Lakehouse (or something similar). The 'catch' for the movie is apparently a mailbox that let's the two people, who live in the house 2 years apart, send letters to each other (the woman puts a letter in, and it...
  40. vincentm

    Planets cause a warp in the fabric of space time

    According to General Relativity the stars and planets cause a warp in the fabric of space time, right? Now, if planets' orbits are governed by the warping of the fabric of space time, then how are the gas clouds in Nebulas affecting that fabric? Also how do galaxies affect that fabric? Do they...
  41. D

    Understanding Space and Time Warping with Velocity: A Quantum Perspective

    I’m trying to think of an easier way to describe how space and time will warp with velocity. This is only an analogy and since I’m not a physicist or mathematician I don’t have the ability to compare the resulting equations to Einstein’s theory. I am not trying to disprove or refute anyone’s...
  42. Whitestar

    Is Warp Drive Really Possible with the Help of Negative Energy?

    Einstein predicted that all matter distorts spacetime, the greater the size in matter, the greater the distortion. In the science fictional world of Star Trek, the starship Enterprise can travel vast distances by warping space with its warp nacelles. Dr. Michio Kaku's excellent book...
  43. A

    Warp drive, then where are we?

    Hey guys; Say that yesterday someone invented a warp drive, that would allow you to shoot across our galaxy in an instant. Say we went up in space today and used it. When you appeared at what you would think would be the other side of the galaxy, how would you know where you are? My...
  44. P

    I want to learn about warp drive

    Any links/ organizations you know of? I'm already familiar with the now defunct "warp drive today" site, the axed NASA BPP project, and the Alcubierre/Van Broeck papers. There really should be an organization of some sort that gathers all the latest science into one place.
  45. S

    Can string/brane theory generate spacetime warps with gravitons?

    In this new paper, http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0406083 , Lobo & Visser apply linearized gravity to the famous warp drive solutions of Einstein's equations. They are able for the first time to consider an extended (not pointlike) spaceship of finite mass. They find, no surprise, that the warp...
  46. A

    Startrek Warp Core: Exploring Matter-Antimatter Collision

    "Startrek" warp core Hello, The "Startrek" warp core works on the real physical phenomenon of matter collides with antimatter and energy is created. But as I was taught, a collision between an electron and a positron will produce two, very energetic, gamma-photons. how can anyone use...
  47. Ivan Seeking

    Beam you up? Warp speed? Don't bet on it

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/15/BUG8L5K0M31.DTL&type=business
  48. R

    Will I See Warp Speed in My Lifetime?

    Does any think or feel that we will be able to achive warp speed in my life time? I'm 30 years old.
  49. Whitestar

    Warp Drive: Is it Possible to Travel Faster Than the Speed of Light?

    The warp drive concept is a fascinating idea as a means to get from point A to point B in a much shorter time as opposed to traveling through normal space, which would undoubtedly take many years to centuries. Still, there is something fishy about warp drive. While many difficult issues have...
Back
Top