Music & Movies

I don't have a favorite between the two. I like them both.

Star Wars is Science Fantasy.

Exactly! That's why comparing them directly doesn't make much sense. (Though Star Wars does win out scientifically on FTL travel: Hyperspace = scientific possibility, Warp Speed = absolute fantasy)

Ummm, FTL = faster-than-light for people less geeky than I.

Doesn't warp speed put you in hyper space?

I think warp speed is based on the warping of the space time continum so that instead of traveling from point a to point b over a distance you just appear at point b because the space between point a and b was folded in half. Ummmm...yeah.

and hyper space?

...and isn't that like a wormhole?

Lol, this is getting complicated. As far as I can see, hyperspace is a big zoomy thing where all the stars go blurry and you go really fast and it makes a wooshing noise. Deep, eh? I really should be a rocket scientist.

I think it is more of a zipping noise.

OK, since we're on the topic of Science Fantasy, any Terry Pratchett fans in the building?

*dives for cover as Leonard's latest attempt at a coffee machine explodes*

Anyway... Warp speed treats the speed of light just like any other speed barrier, something that can be overcome with the proper acceleration. According to the theory of relativity, to accelerate anything with mass up to light speed in our universe would require an infinite amount of energy.

The idea of hyperspace is that you jump outside our universe (or into an extra dimension of our universe, depending on the formulation), travel for a while, and relative to this universe it LOOKS like you've traveled faster than light. Okay, enough physics talk.


So let's pretend our world is a big Disc, supported by four huge white elephants, standing on a gigantic turtle that swims through space.

That works for me!