Scientist William Edelstein has said that warp speed, as seen in the popular sci-fi series "Star Trek," would prove fatal in reality because of the hydrogen atoms that are present in space. These atoms are fine as long as ships are traveling slowly.
However, traveling at near-light speed and colliding with the atoms -- of which there are two for every cubic centimeter of space -- would transform them into deadly space mines. Edelstein came up with his formula twenty years ago.
It was sparked when his son asked if there was friction in space. His now-adult son helped to calculate that a ship traveling at 99% of the speed of light would get a hydrogen dose of 61 sieverts per second. 6.1 sieverts is enough to kill a human.
His vision of "warp" speed might not allow it. But the current way warp speed is being studied does not involve any movement from the ship. Thus you cannot collide.
The current system being studied involves a way to "thin" subspace ahead of the craft and "thicken" behind, thus pushing subspace where the craft is into the thiner subspace. No movement, no friction, no collison.
And the "speed" achieved, would be, flabergasting everyone alive. Oh and it would prevent that tiny problem of distortion of time when you reach closer to the speed of light, since your not moving.
Ps.: To our perspective of time, this method would mean instant translation of the craft into space.
This is why the ships in starflect have the deflector dish. Its there specifically to shield the ship from space particles and atoms while moving at fast impulse speeds. Its also obvious this individual doesn´t understand warp speed.
A "Warp" bubble around the ship is what is moving, not the ship, the space pocket inside the bubble is not moving at all so to speak. The Enterprise is essentially not moving, when it is going warp speed, and its actually wrapping the space in front of it around it, not passing through it. Materials outside the bubble, do not physically pass through the bubble to exist in the same space as the ship.
Now theres other flaws with Star Trek´s warp speed that are impossible from a scientific point of view. Like warp speed combat, as as soon as your weapons hit the bubble it would most likely explode or reflect back at the origin of the beam depending on the type of weapon. If there was somehow technology to penitrate the bubble, it would still fall out of warp after exiting the bubble, and be left in the dust. Momentum doesn´t apply as it was never actually moving.
More unscientific Star Trek BS is when the crew seems to notice turbulance etc in high warp. They wouldn´t feel a thing in the middle of a warp bubble. For all intents and purposes, they´re in their own little contained quantum universe inside the bubble.
Warp bubbles are a very real technology, they have been created. It takes the output of a whole nuclear reactor just to create a microscopic one that lasts less then a milisecond. There is some scientist in Mexico I believe that is the worlds leading authority. He said you´d need a power source comparable to the energy output of the entire sun to encompass and sustain a bubble big enough to move a ship the size of Enterprise D. So basically, someone has to invent a warp core capable of sustaining that kind of energy, and systems to handle it. By the way, real dilithium is just a rock, and in no way can support it.
every scientist that have played with "Star Trek´s" warp speeds have concluded the same things.. Need to get the stray items (Hydrogen, rocks, other ships) out of the way. Niven used Ram Scoops (10K of gossamer thin wire designed to catch and use the stray Hydrogen atoms as additional fuel). Forward uses a kilometer long boom with a huge electromagnet with a metallic foam catcher to catch anything coming straight.
This is basically some guy going.. Hey look at this Wheel I invented.. It´s blue and not red.
Space is moving around you, like you on a treadmill except the world is connected to that treadmill and you are standing still. Besides if we do get to travel at that speed at light speed we turn into pure energy, we wouldn´t need ships just a way to entangle our particles for reassembly.
What a dumbass, he does not know that you are in an elevator and you push a button, it is not you who goes to a floor, it is the floor that makes it to you.
The elevator buttons are more like a menu, you use it to pick which floor will climb up or down to you.
About the warp speed fight maybe they have some impulse beam around their lazer beam or w/e weapon using to the same frequency that would extend the bubble out & attack momentarily to the other bubble? Warp Bubble Weapons.
All the previous speculation is based off of scientific Jesus...
Theories that are only theories because they can neither be proven nor disproven.
Like wormholes... There is no evidence to suggest they exist or that they are possible, yet they are held in most minds as an undiscovered reality because they provide hope of interstellar travel in ones life time as apposed to many generations coming and going over the course of a travel.
@Pyronius The problem is that it´s proven, you can achieve warp speed, it requires you to warp subspace. Now to "move" you need to warp it behind and ahead of your craft to create different densities in it fabric. The said frabric will seek to stabilize, thus trading to each other in order go be more "neutral". This will create a push and move the subspace were you stand and all of it´s content.
We just cant achieve it for human usage since of the energy requirements.
Btw.: Light can have different speeds, it can go slower depending on some factors. It can actually be stoped and distorted.
@Tetsuru Uzuki By the way, dilithium should be a VERY efficient source of fuel since lithium itself can provide a huge amount of energy when in contact with... water. ;)
HellllOOOOO! The warp field is intended to protect the ship from spacial elements. I´m quite sure that includes elements as common as hydrogen...
I just love when people put together "theories" they can not test and then get tons of publicity for trying to make a "science fiction" show look bad.
Perhaps this guy should take into consideration that by the time we have the ability to travel faster than the speed of light, we will also have the technology to protect our vessels from the hydrogen he insists will make "FTL" travel impossible. (OK, ... so I had to throw a little "BattleStar Galactica" lingo in there...)
"Spin up the FTL drive and get us the h*ll outta here!"
"Enterprise" Season 4 - Capt. Archer talks with T´Pal (While hunting for the dark matter nebula) about the Warp 5 Trials in the NX-Beta. The first of two prototypes was destroyed when it´s warp field collapsed and the ship was torn to shreds. Based on Edelsteins "theory," this would make sense.
Sorry to be such a geek, but I´m a bit aggrivated at the moment. :-P
