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Slipstream space: Difference between revisions
Making this more vague as Contact Harvest doesn't strictly say that reaction drives contribute to the velocity in slipspace - since velocity or acceleration are supposed to be meaningless there.
NightHammer (talk | contribs) |
(Making this more vague as Contact Harvest doesn't strictly say that reaction drives contribute to the velocity in slipspace - since velocity or acceleration are supposed to be meaningless there.) |
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===Drive operation=== | ===Drive operation=== | ||
[[File:PoA_exit_sequence.png|thumb|250px|A sequence of stills of the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} exiting slipspace near [[Installation 04]].]] | [[File:PoA_exit_sequence.png|thumb|250px|A sequence of stills of the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} exiting slipspace near [[Installation 04]].]] | ||
The [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] generates a resonance field, which when coupled with the unusual physics of the slipstream, allows for dramatically shorter transit times between stars. UNSC slipspace drives use particle accelerators to rip apart normal space-time by generating micro black holes. These holes are evaporated via [[Hawking radiation]] in nanoseconds. The real quantum mechanical marvel of the drive lies in how it manipulates these holes in space-time, squeezing vessels weighing thousands of tons into slipspace.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 53''</ref> | The [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] generates a resonance field, which when coupled with the unusual physics of the slipstream, allows for dramatically shorter transit times between stars. UNSC slipspace drives use particle accelerators to rip apart normal space-time by generating micro black holes. These holes are evaporated via [[Hawking radiation]] in nanoseconds. The real quantum mechanical marvel of the drive lies in how it manipulates these holes in space-time, squeezing vessels weighing thousands of tons into slipspace.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 53''</ref> The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine itself provides no motive power, and ships equipped with such a device still require [[Fusion drive|conventional engines]] in order to move.<ref name="engines">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''Chapter 1'', page 23''</ref> | ||
Starships and their occupants are not directly exposed to the eleven-dimensional spacetime while moving through slipspace; instead, the ship is enveloped in a quantum field generated by the drive. The field acts as a medium between the ship and the higher dimensions, translating its presence as a normal-space object to the arcane physics of slipspace and enabling it to "squeeze through" the higher dimensions.<ref name="quantumfield">'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''', ''December 25, 2534''</ref> This field requires an enormous amount of constant calculations to maintain, with the number of needed calculations increasing with the size of the ship. For example, the slipspace translations for a {{class|Phoenix|colony ship}} require 4.3 quadrillion calculations of the quantum field per second.<ref>'''Halo Wars: Genesis'''</ref> The vessel's mass is a noted consideration in the generation of this "buffer" as well as the energy expenditure of the drive in general.<ref name="Catalog17"/> | Starships and their occupants are not directly exposed to the eleven-dimensional spacetime while moving through slipspace; instead, the ship is enveloped in a quantum field generated by the drive. The field acts as a medium between the ship and the higher dimensions, translating its presence as a normal-space object to the arcane physics of slipspace and enabling it to "squeeze through" the higher dimensions.<ref name="quantumfield">'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''', ''December 25, 2534''</ref> This field requires an enormous amount of constant calculations to maintain, with the number of needed calculations increasing with the size of the ship. For example, the slipspace translations for a {{class|Phoenix|colony ship}} require 4.3 quadrillion calculations of the quantum field per second.<ref>'''Halo Wars: Genesis'''</ref> The vessel's mass is a noted consideration in the generation of this "buffer" as well as the energy expenditure of the drive in general.<ref name="Catalog17"/> | ||
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==Velocities== | ==Velocities== | ||
[[File:Ark portal open.jpg|250px|thumb|A Forerunner [[slipspace portal]].]] | [[File:Ark portal open.jpg|250px|thumb|A Forerunner [[slipspace portal]].]] | ||
The mechanics of the slipspace drive and the way it manipulates the slipspace field have an effect on the time it takes for a ship to cross distances, with more sophisticated drive technology allowing for various methods of crossing distances more efficiently.<ref name="fs86"/><ref name="tug"/> The size of a ship's engines correlates with the velocity at which it traverses slipspace; ships with larger engines will move faster within the Slipstream.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 187''</ref> Frequent traffic, especially when moving objects of considerable mass, will also slow slipspace traffic down on a galactic scale, although this is only known to have occurred when the Forerunners moved the Halo installations across the galaxy.<ref name="cryp266"/> | |||
However fast it may appear, human faster-than-light travel is by no means instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more for the crew. Certain UNSC ships are known to be able to travel at a speed of 2.625 light years per day,<ref group="note">In ''Halo: First Strike'', Lieutenant [[Wagner]]'s [[prowler]] traveled from [[Reach]] to [[Earth]]—a distance of 10.5 light years—in four days. Velocity=Distance/time (V=10.5 light years/4 days=2.625 l/d)</ref> while Covenant ships can reach 912 light years per day.<ref group="note">In ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', the Covenant destroyer ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' travels from Earth to [[Onyx]] within a single day. The distance from [[Sol system|Sol]] to [[Zeta Doradus]] is 38 light years. Velocity=Distance/time (V=38 light years/1 hour=38 l/h or 912 l/d)</ref> After the end of the Human-Covenant War, the discovery and reverse-engineering of Forerunner technologies allowed humanity to achieve significantly greater velocities. By early [[2553]], the {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}} and {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} had been equipped with upgraded drives which enabled them to cross interstellar distances in mere hours.<ref>''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 68''</ref><ref name="ttw247"/> | However fast it may appear, human faster-than-light travel is by no means instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more for the crew. Certain UNSC ships are known to be able to travel at a speed of 2.625 light years per day,<ref group="note">In ''Halo: First Strike'', Lieutenant [[Wagner]]'s [[prowler]] traveled from [[Reach]] to [[Earth]]—a distance of 10.5 light years—in four days. Velocity=Distance/time (V=10.5 light years/4 days=2.625 l/d)</ref> while Covenant ships can reach 912 light years per day.<ref group="note">In ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', the Covenant destroyer ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' travels from Earth to [[Onyx]] within a single day. The distance from [[Sol system|Sol]] to [[Zeta Doradus]] is 38 light years. Velocity=Distance/time (V=38 light years/1 hour=38 l/h or 912 l/d)</ref> After the end of the Human-Covenant War, the discovery and reverse-engineering of Forerunner technologies allowed humanity to achieve significantly greater velocities. By early [[2553]], the {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}} and {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} had been equipped with upgraded drives which enabled them to cross interstellar distances in mere hours.<ref>''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 68''</ref><ref name="ttw247"/> | ||