Warp Drive

If any of you have been in contact with me over the past few days, you know that I freaked out over the fact that the fiction universe's warp equation actually doesn't work. Have no fear, though! With Wormy's approval, I have devised a new one! First, let me answer a few questions:



FAQ

What is warp drive?
Warp drive, also known as the Alcubierre drive in real life, is a basic type of starship propulsion that allows a craft to travel at higher speeds than the supposed cosmic speed limit (the speed of light, also referred to as c). The way it does this is it creates a "bubble" (typically called a "warp field") around the spacecraft which forces the space in front of the spacecraft to contract while extending the space behind it. That's the gist of it.


Warp factor what?
Warp speed is monitored in stages, called factors. Speed increases exponentially as one graduates up the ladder. Warp 1 is ALWAYS the speed of light. There is a speed limit to how fast one can travel at warp, though. Warp 10, also called the warp barrier, cannot be reached at all. The closest one can theoretically come to it is warp 9.9999999999(etc).


What warp factor is my civilization capable of?
Well, that's a more difficult question to answer. All civilizations (unless they acquired warp drive designs from a more advanced source) will start in the warp 0 - warp 1 range. That is, they'll naturally develop their own drive and experimental starship designs capable of housing it, and slowly perfect it so it can accelerate to higher speeds without burning itself out or falling apart under the strain.

From there, warp designs are likely to get more and more efficient with time as the drive design is made more efficient and resistant. Where your empire is on the scale is mostly a matter of how long they've had to experiment. Most Delcathian civilizations are probably within the warp 6 - low warp 9 range.

Holding a high warp factor for your civilization might be difficult and hazardous.
Ex: The Enterprise NX-01 was theoretically a Warp 5-capable ship, but it could only hold warp 5 for brief periods of time for fear of burning out its engines.


What's the difference between warp and hyperspace?
There's a HUGE difference. Hyperspace runs on a completely different concept. I won't go into it right now, though I would be happy to explain it to people individually. The main difference is that hyperspace is thousands of times faster, requires a lot more energy and know-how, and does not have a speed limit.



The Dreaded Table

Thanks to Tek for making this!