Redshift/blueshift in SC

[Zenicetus]

Ah but here's a thought: The space which occupies the warp bubble (the space the bubble is made of) is presumably being formed from the space outside which is occupied by photons...stretched or shrunk into a distorted bubble...so? I dunno - this is all mental - I just wanna add some special effects

Each frame we shift into in SC contains photons, yes, but they're static within the bubble surrounding our ship. So we don't see anything different than we would if we were just floating in space. Again, if you think of it like sequential teleportation it's easier to understand why there are no relativistic effects. Our ships don't move, we just move the Universe around our ship to get where we want to go.

And yes, I know special effects are fun to look at. It just wouldn't make sense in this particular case, given the background on the drive system.

 

[glynie]

given the background on the drive system.

Ah right - but are you sure we don't also require the use of conventional propulsion systems within the bubble itself? Presumably we need to traverse the bubbles in some manner.

 

[Eldrazzi]

Let me refer you to "A Slower Speed of Light", from the MIT game lab.

http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/

 

[Zenicetus]

Ah right - but are you sure we don't also require the use of conventional propulsion systems within the bubble itself? Presumably we need to traverse the bubbles in some manner.

I'm no expert on the Alcubierre-whatsit, but I don't think so.

As I understand it, we don't move through the FSD bubble, instead the bubble is centered on our ship. The bubble is like a moving teleporter that shifts the Universe around us, at a frame-shift rate controlled by the ship's throttle. I've also heard it described as compressing space in front and expanding it to the rear, which is effectively the same thing. I just find it easier to think of as sequential teleportation. Easier to wrap one's head around, maybe.

That's why we don't have to deal with complex orbital mechanics when we dock at a station, which we would otherwise have to do if we were traveling normally. When we exit SC at a space station, we enter the station's rest frame (i.e. we basically teleport there). Both the station and our ship are now orbiting the planet at a very high velocity, but we're motionless relative to the station so we can dock easily. It avoids all that messy trajectory matching that you have to do in Kerbal Space program when you dock with something.

It's all handwavium, but it's a nice way to allow quasi-FTL travel without complications in a space game.

 

[Thomas Jefferson Jones]

It's all handwavium, but it's a nice way to allow quasi-FTL travel without complications in a space game.

Yeah Zenicetus has the right idea, - Frame shift is a way around dealing with lightspeed travel, - we can effectively move at superluminal speeds but technically we aren't moving faster than light.

That's not to say FD couldn't put red and blue shift into SC if they wanted to since its their magical tech and they can make up whatever effects they want, but it's not a perfect fit for the type of technology they've conjured, and would muddy their conceptual waters.