Skip to main content

How does Star Trek faster than light communication work?


In TNG 'Where No One Has Gone Before', the Enterprise is sent hurtling through space past countless galaxies, when the Traveller “upgrades” the ships propulsion. Though the ship is thousands of light years travel away (at warp 9.9), they mention any communication would take 51 years to reach Starfleet.


That means they have communication faster than their maximum warp speed.


How much faster is this communication? I thought warp 9.9 was the Star Trek speed limit?



Answer




Faster-than-light subspace communication is explained in detail in the official Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, by Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach, who were the principal production designers for TNG.



From Section 8.5 on the "Subspace Communications Network" (click to enlarge):


enter image description here


enter image description here


In particular, under ideal circumstances, subspace communications travel at Warp 9.9997, which is



"...about sixty times faster than the fastest starship..."



according to the Manual.



With that part out of the way...




According to the Manual, Warp 9.9 (Enterprise D's top speed) is 3053 times the speed of light. If subspace communications achieve roughly 60 times this speed, that means that these transmissions travel at approximately 183,180 times the speed of light. Hence, a subspace communication will cover a distance of roughly 183,000 light years in a year.


On the other hand, in the episode we hear:



PICARD: Data, what distance have we travelled?


DATA: 2,700,000 light years.



But 2,700,000 divided by 183,000 is only about 14.75. In other words, it should only take about 15 years for the communication to reach Starfleet, rather than 51!


Of course, the Manual says that Warp 9.9997 is achieved under "ideal galactic conditions". In could be that Data factored in some non-ideal conditions, such as the lack of subspace relay points outside of the galaxy and the Galactic Barrier.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more