Editing Technology in Star Trek (section)

== Warp drive ==

''[[Warp drive]]'' is one of the fundamental features of the ''Star Trek'' franchise; in the first pilot episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', "[[The Cage (TOS episode)|The Cage]]", it is referred to as a "hyperdrive", with [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Captain Pike]] stating the speed to reach planet Talos{{nbsp}}IV as "time warp, factor 7". When beginning to explain travel times to the illusion survivors (before being interrupted by the sight of Vina), crew member Jose Tyler stated that "the time barrier's been broken", allowing a group of interstellar travelers to return to Earth far sooner than would have otherwise been possible. Later in the pilot, when [[Spock]] is faced with the only action of escaping, he announces to the crew they have no choice but to leave, stating "Our time warp factor{{nbsp}}..." before the ship's systems start failing. In the second pilot for ''The Original Series'', "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before (TOS episode)|Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", ''time'' was dropped from the speed setting with Kirk ordering speeds in the simple "ahead warp factor one" that became familiar from then on.

=== Working principle ===
[[File:Star Trek Warp Field.svg|250px|thumb|right|A visualization of a warp field&mdash;the ship rests in a bubble of normal space.]]
The basic functional principle of the warp drive in ''Star Trek'' is the same for all spaceships. It was originally conceived of by a strong energy source, usually called a'' warp core ''or sometimes ''intermix chamber'', generates a high-energy [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]. This plasma is transported to ''warp field generators'' via lines that are reminiscent of pipes. These generators are effectively coils in ''warp nacelles'' protruding from the spaceship. The warp nacelles generate a subspace field, the ''warp field'' or a ''warp bubble'', which distort space-time and propels the bubble and spaceship in the bubble forward. That is similar to the [[Alcubierre drive]], but with some exceptions as the maintenance of sub-light velocity and inertia. This means that a spaceship does not come to a complete standstill after the warp flight, but that superluminal and subluminal speeds flow directly into one another. It is also possible to ram another object at warp speed that is outside the warp bubble. This necessitates the existence of fictional deflector shields that protect the spacecraft from damage from collisions with interstellar dust particles and asteroids. The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[By Inferno's Light]]" indicates that flying at warp speed inside a planetary system is not recommended.

The warp core can be designed in various forms. Humans and most of the other fictional races use a moderated reaction of [[antideuterium]] and [[deuterium]] with ''Dilithium''. The Romulans, however, use artificial micro-black holes called ''quantum singularities''.

===Fictional history===

The episode "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek)|Metamorphosis]]", from ''The Original Series'', establishes a backstory for the invention of [[warp drive]] on Earth, in which [[Zefram Cochrane]] discovered the "space warp". Cochrane is repeatedly referred to afterwards, but the exact details of the first warp trials were not shown until the second ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' movie, ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]''. The movie depicts Cochrane as having first operated a warp drive on Earth in 2063. This successful first trial led directly to first contact with the [[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcans]].

It was also established that many other civilizations had warp drive before humans; ''First Contact'' co-writer [[Ronald D. Moore]] suggested Cochrane's drive was in some way superior to forms which existed beforehand, and was gradually adopted by the galaxy at large.<ref name="ron063">{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Ronald D. |title=Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron063.txt |work=Memory Alpha |date=7 October 1997 |url=http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memory_Alpha:AOL_chats/Ronald_D._Moore/ron063.txt |access-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418092529/http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memory_Alpha:AOL_chats/Ronald_D._Moore/ron063.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>

The following table shows the gradual evolution of the warp drive and the warp speeds of humanity and later the United Federation of Planets. For better comparison, the warp factors of the TNG scale, based on the values given in the book ''Star Trek Encyclopedia'', have been converted to cubic warp factors from TOS.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Era<br />(Starship) !! Design speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>NE</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Typically, this speed can be maintained for up to 12 hours before damage to the drive or the starship structural integrity occurs.</ref>!! Normal cruising speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>BE</sub> or V<sub>BR</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Usual flight speeds with optimized fuel consumption and mechanical wear.</ref>!! Maximum cruising speed<br />(equivalent to the aircraft V<sub>NO</sub> [[V speeds|V-speed]])<ref>Maximum speed that can be sustained unlimited amount of time without damaging the engine or the structural integrity of the starship. However, the fuel consumption is disproportionately higher than usual and limited the time of using this speed.</ref>!! Speed records<ref>Maximum speed that the drive can achieve under its own power in emergency situations without external forces. This usually requires modifications to the drive and other components and causes damage to engine and structural integrity of the starship.</ref>
|-
| 2063<br />(Starship ''Phoenix'') || Warp 1 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || spacecraft propulsion with flight time limitation of the engine || 
|-
| 2140<br />(NX-Alpha) || Warp 2 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || Warp 2.2 (ENT episode ''First Flight'')
|-
| 2143<br />(NX-Beta) || Warp 2.5 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || 
|-
| 2145<br />(NX-Delta) || Warp 3 || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine || experimental spacecraft with flight time limitation of the engine  || 
|-
| 2145<br />(Starship ''Franklin'') || Warp 4 || Warp 3.5 || Warp 4 ||
|-
| 2151<br />(Starship ''Enterprise'' NX-01) || Warp 5.2 || Warp 4.5 || Warp 5 || Warp 6.9 (ENT episode ''E²'')
|-
| 2161<br />(USS ''Essex'' NCC-173) || Warp 7 || Warp 5 || Warp 6
|-
| 2245<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701) || Warp 8<ref name="auto1">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 9</ref> || Warp 5 || Warp 6<ref name="auto1"/> || Warp 9.5 (TOS episode ''Is There In Truth No Beauty?'')<br />Warp 10 (TOS episode ''Let That Be Your Last Battlefield'')<br />Warp 11 (TOS episode ''By Any Other Name'' and ''The Changeling'')<br />Warp 14.1 (TOS Episode ''That Which Survives'')
|-
| 2285<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-A) || Warp 12<ref name="auto2">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 17</ref> || Warp 6 || Warp 8<ref name="auto2"/> || 
|-
| 2293<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-B) || Warp 12 (9.2 TNG<ref name="auto4">Star Trek Fact Files</ref>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG) || Warp 10 (8 TNG) ||
|-
| 2332<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-C) || Warp 12 (9.3 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG) || Warp 11 (8.6 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) ||
|-
| 2363<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-D) || Warp 12.5 (9.6 TNG<ref name="auto3">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 25, 29</ref>)<br />Warp 14.5 (Upgrade to 9.9 TNG<ref>Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, Page</ref>) || Warp 7 (6 TNG<ref name="auto3"/>) || Warp 12 (9.2 TNG<ref>Star Trek Technical Manual, Page</ref>) || Warp 14 (9.8 TNG) (TNG episode ''Encounter at Farpoint'')
|-
| 2371<br />(USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1710-E<br />USS ''Voyager'' NCC-74656<br />USS ''Defiant'' NX-74205) || Warp 17 (USS ''Enterprise'' 9.95 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>)<br />Warp 18.5 (USS ''Voyager'' 9.975 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 57</ref><br />Warp 19 (USS ''Defiant'' 9.982 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 45</ref>) || Warp 10 (8 TNG) || Warp 12.5 (USS ''Defiant'' 9.5 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>)<br />Warp 13 (USS ''Enterprise'' 9.7 TNG<ref>Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 53</ref>)<br />Warp 13.5 (USS ''Voyager'' 9.75 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) || Warp 20 (9.99 TNG) (VOY episode ''Threshold'')
|-
| 2374<br />(USS ''Prometheus'' NX-74913) || Warp 20 (9.99 TNG<ref name="auto">Star Trek Starship Spotter, Page 69</ref>) || Warp 11.5 (9 TNG<ref name="auto"/>) || Warp 14.5 (9.9 TNG<ref name="auto4"/>) ||
|}

=== Warp speeds ===
====Original warp scale (''The Original Series'', ''The Animated Series'', ''Enterprise'', and ''Discovery'')====

{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 258
 | image1 = StarfieldSimulation004.gif
 | caption1 = Warp effect as depicted in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''
 | image2 = WarpTrails001.gif
 | caption2 = Warp effect as depicted in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''
}}

The warp drive velocity in ''Star Trek'' is generally expressed in "warp factor" units, which—according to ''[[Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual]]''—corresponds to the magnitude of the warp field. Achieving warp factor{{nbsp}}1 is equal to breaking the light barrier, while the actual velocity corresponding to higher factors is determined using an ambiguous formula. 
According to the ''Star Trek'' episode writer's guide for ''The Original Series'', warp factors are converted to multiples of the speed of light by [[multiplication]] with the [[cubic function]] of the warp factor itself. Accordingly, "warp 1" is equivalent to the speed of light, "warp 2" is eight times the speed of light, "warp 3" is 27 times the speed of light, etc. Several episodes of ''The Original Series'' placed the ''Enterprise'' in peril by having it travel at high warp factors. However, the velocity (in present dimensional units) of any given warp factor is rarely the subject of explicit expression, and travel times for specific interstellar distances are not consistent through the various series. In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'' it was written that the real warp speed depends on external factors such as particle density or electromagnetic fields and only roughly corresponds with the calculated speed of current warp factor. The reference work ''[[Star Trek Maps]]'' established the theory of subspace (or warp) highways. In certain regions, a spaceship can fly at a multiple of the speed that corresponds to the current warp factor.

In ''The Original Series'', warp factor{{nbsp}}6 was established as the common speed of the USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701. In some cases, the starship traveled at warp{{nbsp}}7 or above, but with risk of damaging the ship or the engines. Warp{{nbsp}}8 in ''The Original Series'' was the "never exceed" speed for the hulls and engines of ''Constitution-''class starships. Warp{{nbsp}}6 was the maximum ''safe'' cruising speed for that vessel class.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Whitfield, Stephen E.|title=The making of Star trek|others=Roddenberry, Gene|isbn=0-345-02697-7|edition=First|location=New York|oclc=23859|year=1968}}</ref>

Later on, a prequel series titled ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' describes the warp engine technology as a "Gravimetric Field Displacement Manifold" ([[Trip Tucker|Commander Tucker]]'s tour, "[[Cold Front (Star Trek: Enterprise)|Cold Front]]") and describes the device as being powered by a matter/anti-matter reaction which powers the two separate nacelles (one on each side of the ship) to create a displacement field. ''Enterprise'', set in 2151 and onward, follows the voyages of the [[Enterprise (NX-01)|first human ship]] capable of traveling at warp factor 5.2, which under the old warp table formula (the cube of the warp factor times the speed of light), is about 140 times the speed of light (i.e., 5.2 cubed). In the series pilot episode "[[Broken Bow (Star Trek: Enterprise)|Broken Bow]]", [[Jonathan Archer|Capt. Archer]] equates warp 4.5 to "[[Neptune]] and back [from Earth] in six minutes" (which would correspond to a distance of 547 light-minutes or 66 [[astronomical unit|au]], consistent with Neptune's being a minimum of 29 au distant from Earth).

====Modified warp scale (''The Next Generation'', ''Deep Space Nine'', ''Voyager'', and ''Picard'')====

For ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and the subsequent series, ''Star Trek'' artist [[Michael Okuda]] drew up a new warp scale and devised a formula based on the original one but with an important difference: In the [[half-open interval]] from 9{{nbsp}}to 10, the exponent{{nbsp}}''w'' increases toward infinity. Thus, in the Okuda scale, warp velocities approach warp 10 [[asymptotically]]. According to the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'' there is no exact formula for this interval because the quoted velocities are based on a hand-drawn curve; what can be said is that at velocities greater than warp 9, the form of the warp function changes because of an increase in the exponent of the warp factor{{nbsp}}''w''. Due to the resultant increase in the [[derivative]], even minor changes in the warp factor eventually correspond to a greater than exponential change in velocity. Warp factor 10 was set as an unattainable maximum of a theoretical infinite speed, at which an object would occupy all points in the universe simultaneously (according to the new scale, reaching or exceeding warp 10 required an infinite amount of energy). This is described in ''[[List of Star Trek technical manuals|Star Trek Technical Manuals]]'' as "Eugene's limit", in homage to creator/producer [[Gene Roddenberry]].

As stated in the collection ''Star Trek Fact Files'', no ship, including highly developed ships like the Borg cube, may exceed warp factor 9.99 with their normal warp drive. To achieve higher speeds, the use of [[transwarp]] technology is required.

====Warp velocities====

<!--Section title used as anchor at [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)]]: please amend there if altering-->
In the book ''[[Star Trek Encyclopedia]]'' and the compilation ''[[Star Trek Fact Files]]'', some warp velocities are given directly. For comparison, the following table shows these values and also the calculated speeds of the original warp scale, the calculated speeds of a simplified Okuda scale and some reference values for warp speeds from onscreen sources.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Warp<br>factor !! Warp scale from ''Encyclopedia''<br />directly given values<br />(Michael Okuda)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Okuda, Michael.|title=The Star trek encyclopedia : a reference guide to the future|date=1999|publisher=Pocket Books|others=Okuda, Denise., Drexler, Doug.|isbn=978-1-4516-4688-7|edition=Updated and expanded|location=New York|oclc=682113602}}</ref>!! Cubic warp scale<br/>{{nowrap|''v'' {{=}} ''w''<sup>3</sup>''c''}}<br />(Franz Joseph)<ref>''Star Trek Maps'', ''Star Trek Technical Manual''</ref>!! Revised warp scale<br />{{nowrap|''v'' {{=}} ''w''<sup>10/3</sup>''c''}}<br />(Michael Okuda)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Okuda, Mike.|title="Star trek: the next generation" technical manual|date=1991|publisher=Boxtree|isbn=1-85283-340-8|oclc=24749685}}</ref>!! rowspan="2" | Onscreen Reference
|-
!colspan=3|(Multiple of speed of light)
|-
| 1 || 1× || 1× || 1× ||
|-
| 2 || 10× || 8× || 10× || In the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' episode "[[Dead Stop]]", it is said that ''Enterprise'' would take about a decade (10 years) to travel 130 light years at warp{{nbsp}}2. Thus warp{{nbsp}}2 corresponds to about 13 times the speed of light.
|-
| 3 || 39× || 27× || 39× || In ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' - "[[The Most Toys]]" (S3:E22, at 35:38) the crew of ''Enterprise''-D discovers that the android [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]] may have been stolen while on board another ship - the ''Jovis''. At this point the ''Jovis'', which has a maximum warp factor of 3, has had a 23-hour head start, which Ensign Crusher's calculation puts her anywhere within a 0.102 light year radius of her last known position. Thus, warp{{nbsp}}3 is 38.875 times the speed of light.
|-
| 4 || 102× || 64× || 102× || In the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode "Resolutions", it is said that a ''Voyager'' shuttle would need about 700 years of flight time for a 70,000 light-year journey back to Earth. It follows that warp{{nbsp}}4, the stated maximum speed of the shuttle, is about 100 times the speed of light. In the movie ''[[Star Trek Beyond]]'' it is stated that the USS ''Franklin'' (NX-326) was the first Earth ship who was capable of warp 4. Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg): "This is the USS ''Franklin'', sir, can you believe it? First Earth ship capable of warp 4." It is unclear when the ''Franklin'' was first launched but it is speculated to be between 2145 and 2151.
|-
| 4.5 || 150× || 91× || 150× || In the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' pilot "[[Broken Bow (Star Trek: Enterprise)|Broken Bow]]", Commander Tucker states "warp 4.5 next Thursday", to which Captain Archer responds "Neptune and back in six minutes". The distance from Earth to Neptune varies all the time as both planets orbit the Sun, however the average distance between the two is around 30.63 au (4.58 billion km) and 29.76 au (4.45 billion km) average 4.52 billion km. Therefore, a round trip of 9.04 billion km in six minutes would imply that warp 4.5 is about 84 times the speed of light.
|-
| 5 || 213× || 125× || 213× || In the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' episode "[[The Expanse (Star Trek: Enterprise episode)|The Expanse]]", Captain Archer says the flight to the Delphic Expanse is equivalent to a three-month trip. Upon arrival of the ''Enterprise'', the distance to Earth is given as 50 light years. Thus, warp{{nbsp}}5, the maximum speed of the ''Enterprise'', corresponds to about 200 times the speed of light.
|-
| 6 || 392× || 216× || 392× ||
|-
| 7 || 656× || 343× || 656×|| In the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' episode "[[E²]]", the ''Enterprise'' will fly through an 11.6 light year long subspace corridor for a meeting with Degra. However, the ''Enterprise'' is thrown 117 years into the past. As the older ''Enterprise'' encounters their younger counterpart (to warn them), Captain Lorian suggests modifying the warp drive so that the younger ''Enterprise'' can briefly reach warp factor 6.9 and cover this distance in about two days without using the corridor. Thus, warp 6.9 corresponds to about 2117 times the speed of light. In the ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'' episode "[[New Eden (Star Trek: Discovery episode)|New Eden]]" (S2:E2), Commander Michael Burnham says a signal "is in the Beta Quadrant, 51,450 light years away," to which Captain Christopher Pike replies, "at top speed that would take us 150 years to get that far," indicating the maximum speed of the ''Discovery'' is 343 times the speed of light (51,450 light years / 150 years). That corresponds to warp{{nbsp}}7 of the original warp scale.
|-
| 8 || 1024× || 512× || 1024× ||
|-
| 9 || 1516× || 729× || 1516×|| In the episode ''Bloodlines'' from the series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Riker claims that the ''Enterprise'' would need around 20 minutes for a 300 billion kilometer flight at warp{{nbsp}}9. Thus warp{{nbsp}}9 corresponds to a speed of 900 billion kilometers per hour (= 250 million kilometers per second) or about 830 times the speed of light.
|-
| 9.9 || 21,400x || 970× || 2083×|| In the episode "[[The 37's]]" from the ''Star Trek: Voyager'' series warp 9.9 is directly mentioned in a dialog with four billion miles per second (6.4 billion kilometers per second), which is around 21,400 times faster than the speed of light.
|-
| 10 || ''Infinite<br>velocity''|| 1000×|| 2154×||In the episode "[[Threshold (Star Trek: Voyager)|Threshold]]", Tom Paris breaks the warp 10 threshold, but travel beyond the threshold is later discovered to be unacceptably hazardous to biological life.

In the episode "[[Where No One Has Gone Before]]" the Traveler's modifications to the ''Enterprise''-D's propulsion system allowed the Enterprise to travel 2.7 million light years from the Milky Way Galaxy to [[Messier 33|M 33]], effectively blowing past several smaller galaxies, in a few minutes, which according to La Forge, was off the charts, surpassing Warp 10 of the known scale. According to the Technical Manual the authors estimated the speed of this episode at warp factor 9.9999999996.

Upon further modification, the ''Enterprise''-D was thrown over a billion light years into an uncharted place in the universe in a matter of seconds with a warp factor that is, according to Data, no greater than 1.5.

|-
| 11 || rowspan="6"|''Beyond<br>scale'' || 1331×|| 2960×|| In episode "[[The Changeling (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Changeling]]" the ''Enterprise'' briefly reached warp factor 11, as a result of Nomad's "correction of inefficiencies" in the antimatter control system. In the episode "[[By Any Other Name]]" the Kelvans modified the ''Enterprise''{{'s}} engines for greater sustained speed of warp factor 11 to travel from the Milky Way Galaxy to the Andromeda Galaxy.
|-
| 12 || 1728×|| 3956×||
|-
| 13 || 2197×|| 5166×|| In the alternative future depicted in "[[All Good Things... (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|All Good Things{{nbsp}}...]]", the series finale of ''The Next Generation'', the "future" ''Enterprise''-D travels at warp 13, perhaps as a result of another reconfiguration of the warp scale.
|-
| 14 || 2744×|| 6613× || At one point in "[[That Which Survives]]" the ''Enterprise'' traveled at a warp factor of 14.1.
|-
| 15 || 3375×|| 8323× ||
|-
| ''18.56'' || 6395× || 16928× || According to Gene Roddenberry's first concept script ''Star Trek is{{nbsp}}...'', the original ''Enterprise'' had a maximum speed of 0.73 light years per hour, which is about 6395 times the speed of light. This corresponds with warp factor 18.56 of the cubic scale.
|}

===Transwarp===
[[Transwarp]] generally refers to speeds and technologies that are beyond conventional warp drives. The warp drive has a natural physical or economical limit beyond which higher speeds are no longer possible. The reference work ''Star Trek Fact Files'' indicates this limit at warp factor 9.99. This is the highest conventional warp speed mentioned for a spaceship (Borg cube). Also in the episode ''Threshold'' (''Star Trek Voyager'') the warp factor 9.99 is suggested as the limit. This is the last warp factor mentioned before the leap takes place in the transwarp state.

In the book ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'' the authors describe the idea of transwarp: <blockquote>Finally, we had to provide some loophole for various powerful aliens like Q, who have a knack for tossing the ship million of light years in the time of a commercial break. .. This lets Q and his friends have fun in the 9.9999+ range, but also lets our ship travel slowly enough to keep the galaxy a big place, and meets the other criteria.</blockquote>

The transwarp concept itself is not tied to any particular technology or speed limit. Variants of transwarp are:

; [[Space folding (science fiction)|Space folding]]
** [[coaxial warp drive]] 
** Rutian Inverter
** Sikarian [[spatial trajector]] 
; [[Hyperspace]]
** [[quantum slipstream]]
** Vaadwaur [[subspace corridors]] ([[underspace]])
** Xindi [[subspace vortex]]
** Borg [[transwarp conduits]]
; [[Wormhole]]s
** [[geodesic fold]]
** [[intermittent cyclical vortex]]
** [[interspatial fissure]]
** [[interspatial flexure]]
** [[spatial flexure]]
** [[spatial vortex]]