Warp Question

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Burt

Yes I know that the idea of having the whole human body along with all the DNA and everything else turned in to digital format would take...just a huge amount of computer space. But they seem to be able to do it.

Such are the advantages of not really existing. Like Nate, I highly recommend Krauss's The Physics of Star Trek. It's a great read, and it devotes a chapter to the problems with transporters, making so many points that his case ends up being utterly devastating. (The problem you mention, storage capacity, is actually the only one Krauss concedes could be solved.) He's also done a sequel, Beyond Star Trek, which addresses science issues in other franchises. The first chapter, "Choose Your Poison," is a hoot and a half -- he comes up with several ways the massive alien ships in Independence Day would have killed everyone without needing any laser beams.

[Burt]

Yeah, I did read the second one. I was doing physics at the time I saw that Independence day, and remember thinking at the time, 'something 1/5 the size of the Earth? Closer than the moon? Not too sure about that!'
I did also like the the end of one of that books chapters too. Explaining why in Star Wars/Trek their ships bank when turning, even though they do not need to - there's no air in space, Aircraft must bank when turning to stay afloat, spaceships do not - and saying the answer is the same as another question he's asked a lot: "Why does the Voyager lift it's warp nacelles up before jumping to warp?"
Simple: It looks good.

[Nate the Great]

Yes, I've read and enjoyed not only The Physics of Star Trek and Beyond Star Trek, but also The Metaphysics of Star Trek, the Ethics of Star Trek, and several other nonfiction treatments of Treknology.

Krauss raises several important points regarding most of the major pieces of equipment in the Trek universe. He loves to point out that although he loves Trek, we won't see technology like that without MAJOR breakthroughs regarding our current understanding of science.

Yes, the use of a "matter stream" seems more ethically consistent. I admit I'd rather not have my brain transmitted over thousands of miles to be essentailly inserted into a clone body.

[Chancellor Valium]

Question: How can you fold space and time anyway, without being outside it, in which case, what is the point?

[e of pi]

By using an energized plasma stream to activate the space-warping properties of electrically densified vertium cortenide wrapped around a toriodal casting of densified tungsten-cobalt for structural stiffening. Due to the mass, the coplete coils account for almost 25% of a starship's mass, on average.

[Nate the Great]

"Now, sad to say, I understood that. Where did all those Saturday nights go?"
--Doctor Rodney McKay, from Stargate: Atlantis.

[Burt]

By using an energized plasma stream to activate the space-warping properties of electrically densified vertium cortenide wrapped around a toriodal casting of densified tungsten-cobalt for structural stiffening. Due to the mass, the coplete coils account for almost 25% of a starship's mass, on average.

One extra thing. You need a Negative Plasma Burst to make sure the Vertium Cortenide doesn't interphase because of the increased degradation of the ionization effects of the plasma stream. Simple stuff really. Just thought I'd point it out.

[Hejira]

So with these coplete coils...what do I do if the hamster dies?

[Burt]

I recommend a Rat.

[Chancellor Valium]

What about a mindless automaton?

[PointyHairedJedi]

You mean a Civil Servant?

[Lostoyannaya]

Originally Posted by PointyHairedJedi

You mean a Civil Servant?

Hey! My mum is a sub-Civil Servant (I have no idea, trust me) and she certainly isn't mindless! Although I agree with the Automaton part...

~~Macci

[PointyHairedJedi]

I made no mention of sub-Civil Servants.

[Nate the Great]

No one's said whether they hate or love McKay. He'd have a field day with this discussion, wouldn't he?

By the way, the mass of the warp coils really wouldn't matter, would it? There's no up or down, weight or scales in space, are there? Of course, if that sort of calculation was accurate, Voyager would either point up when it lands, has a really kickbutt intertial dampening system, or there are really powerful thrusters at work to keep it level. Then again, a rearheavy Voyager would make it easier to land and balance on those toothpick legs.

Why would you have to be outside the time and space that's being folded? I suppose you think that jumpgates are a more consistent idea than warp engines. Then again, maybe we should just have the Enterprise go to Ludicrous Speed to avoid the whole problem, huh?

[Chancellor Valium]

Space/Time Warp Field Harmonics is such a dull subject. It's much easier to use the Vortex, but there ya go.

[mark726]

Originally Posted by Infinite Improbability

No one's said whether they hate or love McKay. He'd have a field day with this discussion, wouldn't he?

By the way, the mass of the warp coils really wouldn't matter, would it? There's no up or down, weight or scales in space, are there? Of course, if that sort of calculation was accurate, Voyager would either point up when it lands, has a really kickbutt intertial dampening system, or there are really powerful thrusters at work to keep it level. Then again, a rearheavy Voyager would make it easier to land and balance on those toothpick legs.

Why would you have to be outside the time and space that's being folded? I suppose you think that jumpgates are a more consistent idea than warp engines. Then again, maybe we should just have the Enterprise go to Ludicrous Speed to avoid the whole problem, huh?

The mass still matters, it's a unit of how much 'stuff' there is, even if there's no outside gravitational field to interact with it (yeah, I used to be an engineering major ), so the mass of the warp coils has to be taken into account when figuring out thrust and what not.

[Nate the Great]

You got me fair and square. I do, in fact, have an engineering degree. I could prattle on about mass vs. weight until the cows come home. (Feel free to e-mail for my tirade about the absurdity of the concepts of lb-mass and slug!) but if you correct "mass" to "weight" my argument still stands.

To rephrase:

In space the distrubution of mass doesn't matter at all. That is, it doesn't matter in our 4D space-time continuum. But what about subspace? Maybe within warp fields the laws of "gravitation" are altered such that distribution of energy matters more than distribution of mass.