What is Hyperspace?

[NIIIC]

I know from the movies, that hyperspace is an other dimension where you can move much faster. But I learned from the books that before "jumping" into hyperspace, they check that there are no planets on the way, but you would think that if they are in an other dimension, planets wouldn’t affect them. Same for the Interdictors, why do they affect them if they aren't in the same dimension...? And last problem, if they are afraid of colliding a planet, why aren't they arrayed of colliding a star ship?

[Mad78]

The reason planets affect hyperspace is because they slow the ships. Hyperspace is linked to this dimension.

[NIIIC]

Yes but in the because, it looks like they CAN'T go in hyperspace when they are planets obstructing the way.

[Mad78]

Because if there is a planet in front the ship when it is in Hyperspace the ship will collide with it.

[bobandrubert]

the gravity still affects them is that realem so it pulls them out and deystroys them

[Stellar_Magic]

The reason is that gravity affects all dimensions, time, space, and hyperspace. It is the gravity well that causes so much problems in hyperspace.

[BadSamaritan]

The whole problem i have with hyperspace, is that while some say it is a different dimension, you would think that you would be able to fly around in it feely. But only a few ships can alter course while in hypserspace.

 

But ships can get lost in hyperspace., which also confuses me. You would think that they could just drop out of hyperspace at any time, lost or not.

[kaja]

I thought Hyperspace was just going at "Faster than Light" or Lightspeed.

 

I din't know it was another demension.

[Guest JediIgor]

The whole problem i have with hyperspace, is that while some say it is a different dimension, you would think that you would be able to fly around in it feely. But only a few ships can alter course while in hypserspace.

 

But ships can get lost in hyperspace., which also confuses me. You would think that they could just drop out of hyperspace at any time, lost or not.

 

It also takes a lot of energy to enter/leave hyperspace, so if you run out of energy while you are in hyperspace, you're screwed! Also if your hyperspace drive breaks, you're screwed!

[Jahled]

Hyperspace is a conveniant way for SF authors to escape the concrete fact matter can't travel faster than the speed of light. The energy requirements red-shift into infinite, the radiation leakage would be unhealthy at the very best, and it would create a 'disturbance in the laws of physics' once you get to where ever you were going. You would be existing in two points of space at the same time, given if you looked over your sholder you would still be at your point of origin.

 

However, given that the laws of physics break down utterly at the singularity within a black hole, where anything and everything may happen, i'm going to stick to beer and remember to be polite to any 'wierd looking types' I may stumble across travelling home from the bar.

[kaja]

Well It dosen't have to be real/possible. That is one of the things that makes Star Wars Cool, there is alot of the things aren't real, like the Force for Instance. Or the Death Stars Superlaser, That would require A HUGE amout of energy, blowing up a ship I can understand, but a whole planet, would require too much energy. Another one is Tatooines two suns, its just not possible, but thats what makes Starwars cool, is all the stuff that you can't do in real life.

 

Opps, I made that post a little longer than I thought.

Edited January 15, 2005 by kaja

[Trejiuvanat]

I may stumble across travelling home from the bar.

 

As long as you don't travel at lightspeed from bar to your home, nothing wierd should happen.

[Mad78]

I am sure Jahled can reach for a bottle of Lager faster than the speed of light

 

If i understand well you need an entery impulse to enter Hyperspace and an exit impulse if you do not have such a thing you are stuck there. A bit like the leader of the Yevetha found out when the imperials put him in an escape pod and left him to vogue through Hyperspace for ever.

[Jahled]

Well It dosen't have to be real/possible. That is one of the things that makes Star Wars Cool, there is alot of the things aren't real, like the Force for Instance. Or the Death Stars Superlaser, That would require A HUGE amout of energy, blowing up a ship I can understand, but a whole planet, would require too much energy. Another one is Tatooines two suns, its just not possible, but thats what makes Starwars cool, is all the stuff that you can't do in real life.

 

Opps, I made that post a little longer than I thought.

 

Which kinda begs the question why did the Empire build a Death Star in the first place. To destroy a planet all they would have to do is neatly line up a mile long Star Destroyer, do some nifty finger work, and evacute all staff....

 

A mile long object impacting on a planetary surface should incinerate all life.... circa our T-Rex's sudden departure...

 

I am sure Jahled can reach for a bottle of Lager faster than the speed of light

 

You just missed it dude!

 

As long as you don't travel at lightspeed from bar to your home, nothing wierd should happen.

 

Not enough space for take off dude!

[Mad78]

Which kinda begs the question why did the Empire build a Death Star in the first place. To destroy a planet all they would have to do is neatly line up a mile long Star Destroyer, do some nifty finger work, and evacute all staff....

 

A mile long object impacting on a planetary surface should incinerate all life.... circa our T-Rex's sudden departure...

 

But a Star Destroyer doesn't look half as cool as a death star.

[bobandrubert]

The whole problem i have with hyperspace, is that while some say it is a different dimension, you would think that you would be able to fly around in it feely. But only a few ships can alter course while in hypserspace.

 

But ships can get lost in hyperspace., which also confuses me. You would think that they could just drop out of hyperspace at any time, lost or not.

 

It also takes a lot of energy to enter/leave hyperspace, so if you run out of energy while you are in hyperspace, you're screwed! Also if your hyperspace drive breaks, you're screwed!

 

Acctuly it takes less eneryergy then normal drive

[Evaders99]

I'm thinking that the hyperspace jump requires a large amount of energy to initiate, but very few to actually maintain while traveling in hyperspace.

[Guest Scathane]

The general theory on hyperspace has it that it is not another dimension as such but rather another universe. This universe is so small that one can travel "faster" in it than in our own. Read a bit more about it here. Edited March 3, 2006 by Scathane

[Mad78]

Interessting. So if this is correct it would mean that Hyperdrives are theoreticaly possible.

[NIIIC]

The general theory on hyperspace has it that it is not another domension as such but rather another universe. This universe is so small that one can travel "faster" in it than in our own. Read a bit more about it here.

 

So why do they all stay in one galaxy? Why didn’t the Empire invade an other one?

[Jahled]

Interessting. So if this is correct it would mean that Hyperdrives are theoreticaly possible.

 

Which begs the question; where are all the aliens? Surely if your going to make contact with an alien civilization (ours) surely a farmer in midwest North America wouldn't be the choice target for an advanced intersella civilization.

 

Also we would have detected traces of alien civilizations, through radio waves, signals, their equivelant of popular media. I don't go for an international conspiracy either hushing everything up because someone somewhere would have blown the whistle by now, human nature being what it is.

 

Given the age of the universe and our relative late emergance/development, even considering our little Tattooine like planet, our own galaxy at the very least should be teeming with advanced civilizations, with the hyperspace/faster than light capability, if such a thing is possible. Which leads me to assume it isn't.

[Mad78]

maybe they do exist but haven't yet found us

 

Anyway propulsion methods are advancing. The first Ion drive was tested some time go and worked fine.

[AdmiralFishface]

Ion drives are all nice, but breaking the magical speed limit of c is not a question of more advanced engines, but of fundamental laws of physics. As far as we know, even considering certain "loopholes" in physics, no information, and thus nothing, can travel faster than light. Never. Not at all. Traveling through alternate dimensions might be a workaround, but no usable dimensions were found yet.

 

But back to hyperspace: That's a new fact for me, that kind of "hyper-inertia" that traps you in HS if you don't have the power to jump to normal space.

I always thought that if your hyperdrive fails, you immediately jump back to NS. (like the jump being a field effect that has to be sustained through constant energy input, but maybe I was thinking too much of warp drives here)

 

So that means you actually use NO energy AT ALL traveling through hyperspace.

You accelerate to a certain velocity in NS, then kick in the hyperdrives, which use some energy to propel you into HS, where your relative velocity is conserved, and, because of the spatial properties of HS (distances being smaller than their NS equivalents) scaled up to an equivalent of several c.

Then you send energy through the jump engine again, and revert to normal space, again keeping your velocity. So you use up only as much fuel as it takes for the generator to power the two jumps.

 

Interesting. That would make the SW hyperspace very similar to the B5 one.

 

EDIT: Wait, something not right about that theory, though: If your hyperspeed depends only on your initial normal speed, then why do some ships have faster hyperdrives than others? It should be enough to accelerate to a certain speed before kicking in the hyperdrives. Any ship can do that.

But it seems there is some difference between hyperdrives. Hmm...

[Mad78]

The Hyperdrive must also help propulse through Hyperspace.

The shape of the ship can also have an effect. i read that Solo modified the Falcon so thast it streamlined itself in Hyperspace.

 

I guess that all ships have security systems that if the Hyperdrive fails kick right back into Normal space.

[Guest JediIgor]

Which kinda begs the question why did the Empire build a Death Star in the first place. To destroy a planet all they would have to do is neatly line up a mile long Star Destroyer, do some nifty finger work, and evacute all staff....

 

A mile long object impacting on a planetary surface should incinerate all life.... circa our T-Rex's sudden departure...

 

I can't believe nobody has said it yet.. because that would only destroy all life on the planet, not turn the planet itself into a few rocks!

 

Also the planetary shields would probably slow that ISD down enough.. you have to remember planets aren't as defenseless as Earth is .

 

Acctuly it takes less eneryergy then normal drive

 

That's an interesting hypothesis, I don't suppose you can back it up with evidence from a book?

 

The general theory on hyperspace has it that it is not another dimension as such but rather another universe. This universe is so small that one can travel "faster" then in our own. read a bit more about it here.

 

That's actually, the "real science* hyperspace isn't it? How closely does it resemble the one we observe in Star Wars?