WARP DRIVE SYSTEMS

Fedearation vessels use a matter, antimatter rector to create a controlled reaction to power their starships. Because large amounts of energy are required for warp travel this mighty power source must first be understood before the WARP SYSTEMS can be explained and fully understood.

Starfleet Primary Power Syestem The Matter Antimatter Reactior (Warp Core).

The main components concerned with the warp core are the MATTER INJECTOR, the ANTIMATTER INJECTOR, the MAGNETIC CONSTRICTION SEGMENTS, and the MATTER ANTIMATTER REACTION CHAMBER. Basic laws of physics state the when two opposites react energy is released, and the two are destroyed in an annihilation reaction. In the case of the warp engine, Star Fleet engineers react matter and antimatter, tapping the subsequent energy release to power not just the warp drive but all of a starships systems.

The Reactant Injectors.

The injectors are the first stage of the warp core, they feed controlled streams of matter or antimatter into the reaction chamber. The matter injector is situated at the top of the warp column (the large column seen in engineering) and the antimatter injectors are situated directly opposite at the bottom of the column. Reactants are injected into the reaction chamber via the warp column held suspended from the column by magnetic constriction fields generated by the magnetic constriction segments.

The Magnetic Constrictors. The magnetic constrictor segments are small electromagnetic field generators that control the flow and pressure of incoming reactants injected by the reactant injectors. The segments also suspend reactants within the column preventing reactant contact with the column sides. If for example antimatter were to come in contact with the matter from which the column is constructed a catastrophic explosion would occur as the two would react. There are many magnetic constrictors in the warp column, which act in sequence feeding the reactants down the column. As the constrictors fire they emit photons which are the characteristic blue pulse within the column which can be seen from engineering.

The reaction chamber is in the centre of the warp column and is where the annihilation reaction takes place. The chamber houses the Dilthium crystal which is the only known substance to man that whilst under a strong magnetic field allows antimatter to pass through it without reaction. This crystal is shaped and tuned very precisely to control the reaction between the matter and the antimatter when it takes place. When the two reactants strike the crystal the antimatter stream passes up through the crystal to meet the matter stream at the correct time, phase and angle. Finally when the two meet the crystal finely tunes the subsequent reaction into a highly focused stream of plasma, which is directed into the primary power converter and down the power couplings. It is this Electro plasma that powers the ships systems and importantly is what is used to activate the field coils which are the basis of warp flight.

The Faster Than Light Theory

Starfleet scientists realised that the key to the creation of a non-Newtonian methods, I.E. propulsion that does not rely on exhausting reaction products, lay in the concept of nesting many layers of warp field energy, each layer exerting a controlled amount of force on its next outer most layer. The cumulative effect of the force applied drives the vehicle forward and is known as asymmetrical peristaltic field manipulation (APFM). Warp field coils in the engine nacelles are energised in sequential order fore to aft. The firing frequency determines the number of field layers, a greater number of layers per unit of time being required at higher warp factors. Each new field layer expands outwards from the nacelles, experiences a rapid force coupling and de-coupling at variable distances from the nacelles, simultaneously transferring energy and separating from the previous layer at velocities between 0.5c (c scientific symbol for speed of light), and 0.9c . This is within the bounds of traditional physics. During force coupling the radiated energy makes the necessary transition into subspace, applying an apparent mass reduction effect in the spacecraft. This facilitates the slippage of the spacecraft through the sequencing layers of warp field energy.

The propulsive effect is achieved by a number of factors working together. The first is field manipulation, it is controllable in a fore to aft direction. The plasma injectors fire in sequence, and the field layers build up and press upon each other as previously discussed. The cumulative field layer forces reduce the apparent mass of the vehicle and in part the required velocities. The critical transition point is reached when field energy reaches 1000 milicochranes and the ship appears to be driven across the c boundary...

The Warp Field Generator Coils. On a Galaxy Class starship like the Enterprise-D there are an optimum 2 nacelles each containing 18 coils. When the coils receive a pulse of plasma from the plasma injectors they generate a warp field. It is the layering and manipulation of these fields that propel a starship at speeds beyond c.

The plasma injectors are a series of 18 valved injectors that are connected to the warp engine controllers. These valves sequentially fire plasma into the warp field coils, which are the primary drive of the spacecraft as these generate the warp fields as, discussed above. It is the warp fields that are responsible for faster than light speeds.