Post by Destecado on Jul 27, 2004 10:53:33 GMT -5
I stand by much of what I said in my orginal post on this subject, but after reading the ideas of other members and further consideration, there are a couple of additions and amendments that need to be made.
Let us go on the basic assumption that the way the Warp Engines work is by creating an artificial singularity in order to pop out of our reality and into the warp. The depression or curvature created by a star's or planet's gravity well may throw off this proceess.
It could be that the curvature of space near a gravity well would skew the calculations or the the warp is thicker due to the depression created by the gravity. Trying to punch through inside a gravity well might overtax the warp engines.
In order to discuss the Warp Zone, we need to first look at how a ship transitions from "real space" into the warp. I think it has something to do with resonance and energy shells. Picture a ship orbiting earth. As energy is added to the equation, the ship is able to climb to a higher orbit, eventually breaking free of the planets gravitation field.
Warp engines instead of breaking free of the gravitational field of a planet break free of the field surrounding our reality. In effect, by adding energy to the equation, they are able to transition to a higher dimensional shell...the warp.
As with the model of the ship orbiting a planet, the closer to the gravitational field a ship is, the greater the amount of energy that is necesaary to move it away from the field. The same would hold true with warp engines. The closer to spatial distortions (such as gravity wells, population densities, etc.) the greater the amount of energy needed to break through.
While it is possible for warp engines to generate the necessary field to jump closer to a system, this could place undo strain on the engines. This will of course lower their operation life (overhauls of the warp engines will need to be done more frequently). The Warp Zone would be the optimal distance that maximizes out system travel time vs operating life of the drive system.
Real World Example:
While it is concevable to drive ones car at 100 miles per hour to lessen the travel time between home and work, the increased speed may decrease the life of the motor. This may cause costly repairs or loss of time while the car is in the shop.
Gravitational fields may also throw off the entrance and exit point from the warp. Such fields curve space and the warp as well. f ne were to jump too close to a system, the ploted jump point may be skewed by the gravitational shear.
Gravity wells are not the only effect that needs to be taken into account. As you have mentioned, population also need to be considered. Since the warp is also psycho reactive, dense populations might cause peaks or other depressions. Perhaps the minimum safe distance from a planet is based of the population figure for the world.
This would mean that ships would be able to jump in closer to worlds that a uninhabited or with sparse population. The distance would grow with the population. Another thing that would fall into the calculation is the mass of the ship.
The smaller the mass of the ship, the smaller the distance it would need to be from the sun or populated world in order to jump. Massive ships or fleets would have to jump into a system further out due to the size of singularity that must be generated to let them pass from real space into the warp or vice versa.
The above only took into account phenomenon or spatial fluctuations in the real world. We also need to consider the effects of warp phenomenon. The ones that come most to mind for this discussion would be Warp Storms, the Sargasso Gulf and the "Stone" at the Heart of the Sector. They must cause a similar problem for ships attempting to transition from the warp into "real space". I'm not sure how we would go about defining safe distances from these phenomenon....I'm not even sure if the Imperium can.
Destecado said:
Let us go on the basic assumption that the way the Warp Engines work is by creating an artificial singularity in order to pop out of our reality and into the warp. The depression or curvature created by a star's or planet's gravity well may throw off this proceess.
It could be that the curvature of space near a gravity well would skew the calculations or the the warp is thicker due to the depression created by the gravity. Trying to punch through inside a gravity well might overtax the warp engines.
In order to discuss the Warp Zone, we need to first look at how a ship transitions from "real space" into the warp. I think it has something to do with resonance and energy shells. Picture a ship orbiting earth. As energy is added to the equation, the ship is able to climb to a higher orbit, eventually breaking free of the planets gravitation field.
Warp engines instead of breaking free of the gravitational field of a planet break free of the field surrounding our reality. In effect, by adding energy to the equation, they are able to transition to a higher dimensional shell...the warp.
As with the model of the ship orbiting a planet, the closer to the gravitational field a ship is, the greater the amount of energy that is necesaary to move it away from the field. The same would hold true with warp engines. The closer to spatial distortions (such as gravity wells, population densities, etc.) the greater the amount of energy needed to break through.
While it is possible for warp engines to generate the necessary field to jump closer to a system, this could place undo strain on the engines. This will of course lower their operation life (overhauls of the warp engines will need to be done more frequently). The Warp Zone would be the optimal distance that maximizes out system travel time vs operating life of the drive system.
Real World Example:
While it is concevable to drive ones car at 100 miles per hour to lessen the travel time between home and work, the increased speed may decrease the life of the motor. This may cause costly repairs or loss of time while the car is in the shop.
Gravitational fields may also throw off the entrance and exit point from the warp. Such fields curve space and the warp as well. f ne were to jump too close to a system, the ploted jump point may be skewed by the gravitational shear.
Destecado said:
Gravity wells are not the only effect that needs to be taken into account. As you have mentioned, population also need to be considered. Since the warp is also psycho reactive, dense populations might cause peaks or other depressions. Perhaps the minimum safe distance from a planet is based of the population figure for the world.
This would mean that ships would be able to jump in closer to worlds that a uninhabited or with sparse population. The distance would grow with the population. Another thing that would fall into the calculation is the mass of the ship.
The smaller the mass of the ship, the smaller the distance it would need to be from the sun or populated world in order to jump. Massive ships or fleets would have to jump into a system further out due to the size of singularity that must be generated to let them pass from real space into the warp or vice versa.
The above only took into account phenomenon or spatial fluctuations in the real world. We also need to consider the effects of warp phenomenon. The ones that come most to mind for this discussion would be Warp Storms, the Sargasso Gulf and the "Stone" at the Heart of the Sector. They must cause a similar problem for ships attempting to transition from the warp into "real space". I'm not sure how we would go about defining safe distances from these phenomenon....I'm not even sure if the Imperium can.