![]() Although it is not possible to travel faster than the speed of light, the effective speed is faster than light. These effects mean that although it's not possible to travel faster than the speed of light, both space and time "warp" to allow travelling the distance of one light year, in less than a year. It is surprising that such a fictitious approach has been taken given that the effects of special relativity also include length contraction and time dilation. However, the concept of space warp has been criticized as "illogical", and has been connected to several other rubber science ideas that do not fit into our current understanding of physics, such as antigravity or negative mass. ![]() Warp drives are one of the science-fiction tropes that serve to circumvent this limitation in fiction to facilitate stories set at galactic scales. 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. ![]() Its initial value is 1 (when v = 0) and as velocity approaches the speed of light ( v → c) γ increases without bound ( γ → ∞).Įinstein'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. Lorentz factor γ as a function of velocity. : 212, 268 Einstein's space warp and real-world physics : 77 Brave New Words gave the earliest example of the term "space-warp drive" as Fredric Brown's Gateway to Darkness (1949), and also cited an unnamed story from Cosmic Stories (May 1941) as using the word "warp" in the context of space travel, although the usage of this term as a "bend or curvature" in space which facilitates travel can be traced to several works at as far back as the mid-1930s, for example Jack Williamson's The Cometeers (1936). Campbell in his 1957 novel Islands of Space. The general concept of warp drive was introduced by John W. In contrast to hyperspace, spacecraft at warp velocity would continue to interact with objects in "normal space". 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. : 142 A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at speeds greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude. : 238–239 A warp drive is a device that distorts the shape of the space-time continuum. It has been often discussed as being conceptually similar to hyperspace. Warp drive, or a drive enabling space warp, is one of several ways of travelling through space found in science fiction. Its closest real-life equivalent is the Alcubierre drive, a theoretical solution of the field equations of general relativity. Campbell in his 1957 novel Islands of Space and was popularized by the Star Trek series. The general concept of "warp drive" was introduced by John W. ![]()
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