posted
I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I'm gonna have to put forward a hypothesis that'll piss off a lot of people.
That hypothesis is that the warp speed table in the encyclopedia/TNG TM is wrong and warp speeds are actually faster.
The biggest reason for this is of course "the plot device drive". If the Federation is 8000 ly across and ships can still go from corner to corner in a year or so they've gotta be going a certain speed. We have to either factor that in or have Bajor 60 ly or so from Earth, hardly "Deep Space".
The other discrepancy is of course the Voyager issue. We've established that Voyager had an average speed of 1000c when travelling through the Delta Quadrant. However, advanced engines or not, there's no way that Voyager would be capable of going that speed constantly (actually even faster when one factors in stoppage time) with engine technology as presented in the TNG TM. Voyager is probably not gonna go any faster than Warp 7 between stops, and that's just not fast enough to cover the distances she's covered using plain old engines.
If we were to just double all the speeds or so, a lot more things would fit-- Voyager's speed, how one can go from DS9 to Earth, Qo'noS, Romulus and Ferenginar within a few weeks, if not days, etc.
*notices several people stacking wood at the bottom of the forum stake*
Thoughts?
------------------ "......" �������������-The Breen at Internment Camp 371
posted
Possibly. I think that warp speed is too fast. The stars move too fast at warp. At Warp 9.6, it takes 23 hours to travel 5 light years. Even at Warp 9.99, it takes 6 hours. At Warp 9.9999, it stilltakes 13 minuites. Given that stars are usually at least 5 light years apart, we see that the stars are moving way too fast.
------------------ What bloke invented signatures?
posted
I don't think the "stars" seen moving at warp speed are actually stars. Increasing the speed values for warp factors may explain a lot. Still, the shuttles would have to be A LOT faster than only Warp 2, otherwise they would be completely useless for interstellar travel.
Jim Phelps
watches Voyager AFTER 51030
Member # 102
posted
I would not necessarily say that the TM chart is wrong given the pile of evidence in its support (see the Warp Velocities FAQ for more info); however, it is certainly possible that one can get more speed out of a given warp factor over shorter distances. Remember, the TNG TM values are stated to vary with environmental factors, but the chart should hold on the average IMHO.
As far as the 8000 ly distance is concerned, Ryan McReynolds has theorized that this is the distance when certain outer colonies are included, with most of the Federation being located within a couple of hundred light-years or so. And if Voyager can do Warp 9.975 for 12 hours according to Rick Sternbach, I see no problem with a Warp 8 traveling average.
posted
Actually, Bajor is supposed to be 50ly from Earth. (Or, technically, I think it says "core Federation worlds", or some such.) And I believe that Romulus is rather close to the Federation, since the Romulans probably didn't go terribly far when they left Vulcan. I also believe that Ferenginar is probably only 50-some light-years from Earth, though not in the direction the DS9TM shows...
------------------ "I see you've found your Nausicaan friend. You seem unimpaled so far..." -Q to Picard, "Tapestry"
posted
*blink@Shipmaster* Erm... What lights are those again?
Tom: We know the Ferengi were encountered at least once (Maxia Zeta) before anyone knew who they were. They probably just stayed out of the Federation's way and only had brief contact every once in a while.
------------------ "I see you've found your Nausicaan friend. You seem unimpaled so far..." -Q to Picard, "Tapestry"
posted
Could the lights be photons caught and magnified in the folds of subspace?
Of course, whenever the ship leaves warp they turn into stars.
------------------ "Some people call me the Space Cowboy. Yeah! Some call me the Gangster of Love. Some people call me Maurice. Whoo hoo! 'Cause I speak of the Pompatus of Love!" - Steve Miller Band's The Joker
posted
Well, some of the books suggest that they are photons getting caught in the warp field. Personally, I think they're some sort of exotic subspace particle. As someone mentioned recantly (I think it was in another thread), we saw the lights streak by just like any other time in FC, but the Phoenix obvioiusly wasn't passing any stars.
And, when they drop out of warp, most of those lights simply fade out; they don't turn into stars.
------------------ "I see you've found your Nausicaan friend. You seem unimpaled so far..." -Q to Picard, "Tapestry"
Printer-friendly view of this topic
