Why just warp?

Dark Primus · Post by **Dark Primus** » 2004-02-27 10:37am

The civilizations that just discovers FTL drives in Trek universe, why does it has to be warp drives, why not hyperdrives, or transwarp drives, quantum slipstream or something similar to B5 jumpgate technology? But why just the slow warp drive?

Embracer Of Darkness · Post by **Embracer Of Darkness** » 2004-02-27 10:41am

The laws of physics, I guess.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-02-27 10:46am

Dark Primus wrote:The civilizations that just discovers FTL drives in Trek universe, why does it has to be warp drives, why not hyperdrives, or transwarp drives, quantum slipstream or something similar to B5 jumpgate technology? But why just the slow warp drive?

What other FTL is there in Star Trek? I know the Borg have Transwarp, but I'm guessing that required warp drive to evolve from. What else? Maybe warp drive is developed first because they're the only FTL drive available.

buzz_knox · Post by **buzz_knox** » 2004-02-27 01:17pm

Quantum slipstream drives are shown in operation by other species in Voyager.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-02-27 01:21pm

in the delta quadrant. i don't think we've ever actually seen a race with quantum slipstream tech in the alpha quadrant.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2004-02-27 03:50pm

Perhaps it is the most basic form of FTL in the Trek universe, the easiest for emergent civilisations to configure.

Embracer Of Darkness · Post by **Embracer Of Darkness** » 2004-02-27 04:19pm

As I said, the laws of physics. FTL travel in the ST universe seems to be limited to regular subspace warp drives until your race develops higher level tech.

Techno_Union · Post by **Techno_Union** » 2004-02-27 05:20pm

In the AQ it might just be that the 3 major powers discovered warp first and spread it to the other people. And even those major powers might have been influenced by someone else. The DQ is cut off from thos powers so they can discover the different kinds of FTL such as quantum slipstream and transwarp.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2004-02-27 05:51pm

Interestingly enough in a TOS episode the Enterprise encounters a ship with "Ion drive" which the crew is amazed how advanced it is, etc.

Then (I can't remember what sorry) some other Trek episode they encounter a species with Ion propulsion and they practically laugh at how primitive it is.

So is Ion drive advanced or not?

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2004-02-27 06:25pm

Well considering that an Impulse Engine is basically a Ion Drive I can't see why

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2004-02-27 06:27pm

Kurgan wrote:Interestingly enough in a TOS episode the Enterprise encounters a ship with "Ion drive" which the crew is amazed how advanced it is, etc.

Then (I can't remember what sorry) some other Trek episode they encounter a species with Ion propulsion and they practically laugh at how primitive it is.

So is Ion drive advanced or not?

The Ion drive in the TOS episode was advanced not because it was an ion drive, but because the ship could pull out FTL performance from an Ion drive (in defiance of the laws of physics, even the ST laws, but who's counting?). Pretty much all other ion drives are just basic ion drives, and thus only slightly more advanced then chemical thrusters.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-02-27 07:20pm

Zefram Cochrane could build a warp drive on an abandoned missle base with whatever parts were available after a nuclear war. The entire Federation couldn't build a transwarp drive after 100 years of trying. So I imagine basic warp is the easiest to develop.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-02-27 07:38pm

How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2004-02-27 07:41pm

Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.

I guess he used a fusion reactor to supply the power. That would fit in with the warp-capable Romulans w/ only impulse power fro TOS.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2004-02-27 08:17pm

Dark Primus wrote:The civilizations that just discovers FTL drives in Trek universe, why does it has to be warp drives, why not hyperdrives, or transwarp drives, quantum slipstream or something similar to B5 jumpgate technology? But why just the slow warp drive?

An analogy that I think would be accurate would be to ask why Mediterranean civilizations like the Phoenecians, Greeks, and Romans only used ships propelled by Sails and oars instead of steam and nuclear wessels.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-02-28 04:46am

Warp drive seems to be the simplest and easiest form of FTL propulsion in Star Trek. So all new species develop warp drive first.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-02-28 04:48am

Yeah, several people have already said that.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-02-28 04:53am

Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.

He had a "warp core" according to Geordi ... with "plasma conduits" made of copper tubing. Yes, I'm serious.

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2004-02-28 05:26am

Darth Wong wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.
He had a "warp core" according to Geordi ... with "plasma conduits" made of copper tubing. Yes, I'm serious.

Well that answers the question of if its highly energetic plasma. With the answer being its not.

mh · Post by mh » 2004-02-28 06:48am

ggs wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.
He had a "warp core" according to Geordi ... with "plasma conduits" made of copper tubing. Yes, I'm serious.
Well that answers the question of if its highly energetic plasma. With the answer being its not.

I agree ... I know "warp core" often is referred to as matter/antimatter-reactor but basically it’s just the part of the warp drive, that provides the plasma needed for the warp field to be established by the warp nacelles ... so any kind of reactor providing high energy plasma would therefore be a “warp core”

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-02-28 07:18am

That would certainly explain Romulan warp cores which are singularity based.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2004-02-28 07:24am

Darth Wong wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.
He had a "warp core" according to Geordi ... with "plasma conduits" made of copper tubing. Yes, I'm serious.

I was gonna point that out. I don't think it matters what the warp core was, just a power generator of some kind, the plasma conduits, i hope, were a reference to the phoenix's equivalent circuitry to the plasma conduits on federation ships.

Major Diarrhia · Post by **Major Diarrhia** » 2004-02-28 01:52pm

I think there have been something like 17 different FTL modes of transportation depending on how you look at certain drives. Warp, Quantum Slipstream, Borg Transwarp, Borg Transwarp Conduits, Borg Transwarp Hub, Voth Transwarp, Subspace Corridors(semi-natural, had to be maintaned), Co-axial Warp Drive (space fold drive), Graviton Catapult, Soliton Waves (warp without warp drive, can destroy planets), Iconian Gateways, artificial worm holes, Xindi subspace tunneling(sp), Cartaker Array wave, Sikarian spacefold transporter (40,000 ly), Bajoran Solar Sail craft (could go FTL by catching tachyon winds or something

), Cytherian graviton mediated subspace folding, Temporal Transporter (may or may not be spatial as well). Then there are natural phenomina and omnipotent induced FTL.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2004-02-28 02:00pm

Rogue 9 wrote:How did Cochrane power his ship, anyway? Its not like he had an antimatter refinement plant.

No Idea it never tells us. All we know is they got the required beam of hot plasma from somewhere. Also the Phenox appears to only use the plasme for the drive itself. I could be using a Nuclear Reactor, A laser, or a Fusion Reactor.

Who knows!

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