# Dumb Star Trek (TOS) question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505 "2014-05-02T14:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/41 "2014-05-04T08:45:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > IIRC they burned out the engines by directing warp power to the tractor beams to try to deflect the asteroid. Yes, but that was only a problem because they’d burnt rubber at warp 9 getting there. There isn’t any good way to reconcile a sustained warp 9 (if we’re given to believe that warp 6 is sufficient for interstellar travel in a reasonable amount of time) with two months of sublight travel - and fairly slow sublight, at that, barely 0.00033_c_, and that’s a liberal estimate. The time it takes you to _say_ “warp nine” should be far more than enough to cover that distance at that speed. > [@](#): > > I hate that episode, btw. Not one of my faves, either. It could have tweaked in a few minor ways to make more sense to the nitpicker (and make Spock seem less like an idiot), but it’s a drama show, not a science show. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/42 "2014-05-04T12:41:53Z")
It does give us a Wrath of Khan - ish scene from Billy Shatner, tho. “I! AM! KIROC!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/43 "2014-05-04T23:57:15Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yes, but that was only a problem because they’d burnt rubber at warp 9 getting there. There isn’t any good way to reconcile a sustained warp 9 (if we’re given to believe that warp 6 is sufficient for interstellar travel in a reasonable amount of time) with two months of sublight travel - and fairly slow sublight, at that, barely 0.00033_c_, and that’s a liberal estimate. The time it takes you to _say_ “warp nine” should be far more than enough to cover that distance at that speed. Don’t remember that, but there was a fuzzy sense of time versus distance under warp. In **Tomorrow is Yesterday** they went forward in time by slingshotting around the sun at high warp, but it took a long time for them to get there. Not to mention the tons of time they had to get John Christopher back in his plane. So it’s true that time to go any distance is directly proportional to the needs of the plot. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/44 "2014-05-05T02:29:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Don’t remember that, but there was a fuzzy sense of time versus distance under warp. In **Tomorrow is Yesterday** they went forward in time by slingshotting around the sun at high warp, but it took a long time for them to get there. Not to mention the tons of time they had to get John Christopher back in his plane. > So it’s true that time to go any distance is directly proportional to t **he needs of the plot**. Or the one ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/45 "2014-05-05T02:46:14Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Pardon the hijack, but here’s something that’s continuously bothered me: > > In _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_, the Enterprise crew slingshots around the sun fast enough to send themselves back in time. However, towards the end of the movie, the exact same procedure sends them _forward_ in time. How on earth does that work?!? It’s a common time travel fallacy: the discovery of time travel automatically includes both forwards and backwards travel, even though the mechanisms must be completely different. E.g., if going 88 mph sends you 50 years into the past, doing it again should send you 100 years into the past. Or, they used the dumbass superman method and just went around the sun in the opposite direction. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/46 "2014-05-05T07:04:47Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Or the one nm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/47 "2014-05-05T07:05:52Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > So it’s true that time to go any distance is directly proportional to the needs of the plot. You’re assuming that they flew toward the Sun in a straight line. They could have been spiraling in. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/48 "2014-05-05T14:47:45Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > IIRC (which is by no means certain), the TOS Technical Manual stated that the warp factor squared equals the multiplier of lightspeed, i.e., warp 1 is lightspeed, warp 2 is 4 times lightspeed (2 squared), warp 3 is 9 times lightspeed, etc.; and the TNG Manual said that in the Enterprise D’s time, the warp factor is cubed instead of squared. Since we are a nitpicky bunch, it was the warp factor cubed, not squared. Either way, the numbers never matched plot. Say you are traveling Warp 6, or 216c. That means you cover a light year in 14 hours. To go to the nearest star would take 2 1/2 days. To go 1000 light years (excuse me. 990.7 light years. I do endeavor to be precise) as in \*That Which Survives \*at Warp 8 (512c) would take nearly 2 years, not the 12ish hours the episode took. Why ANYONE would ever travel at Warp 1 is a mind boggling question. You’d have a better trip if you went .999999c. The trip would take just as long, but you’d benefit from the relativistic effects. It would only seem like a few days-ish. At interstellar distances, your maximum speed would be your only speed. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/49 "2014-05-06T00:35:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > . . . At interstellar distances, your maximum speed would be your only speed. It’s just vaguely possible that there are fuel considerations. Dilithium crystals might wear out; you only have so much antimatter; etc. If it’s just a milk run, and you don’t mind taking an extra month, warp 4 is okay. There are probably junk freighters and robot freighters that can’t go beyond Warp 2, maybe in star clusters where the stars are only a half light year apart. (And who needs freighters if you have replicators anyway…?) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/50 "2014-05-06T00:43:36Z")
Can’t replicate Peeps ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/51 "2014-05-06T00:55:48Z")
Not just fuel, but wear and tear on the components might also be an issue. It’s obviously significant at the upper end-- How many times have we heard that “the engines canna take much more a’ this”? Presumably, even a sedate Warp 6 puts _some_ wear on the engines, and a lower speed would put less. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/52 "2014-05-06T02:42:43Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > … > > (Hey, I got applause for that one at a LosCon!) I LOVED LosCon! (Won the costume contest once, years ago) Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/53 "2014-05-06T03:08:32Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I LOVED LosCon! > > (Won the costume contest once, years ago) > > Good times. Sonofagun! Decent chance we’ve met! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/54 "2014-05-06T14:11:51Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Sonofagun! Decent chance we’ve met! Did you see “Proffessor Fate”? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/55 "2014-05-06T15:24:39Z")
Dude! I WAS Professor Fate! just kidding, I wasn’t ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/56 "2014-05-06T20:21:18Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Did you see “Proffessor Fate”? Aw, darn it, no. Ah, well! Spaceships that pass in the night! ETA: some time, come down to San Diego for ConDor or Conjecture! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/57 "2014-05-06T20:36:54Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Pardon the hijack, but here’s something that’s continuously bothered me: > > In _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_, the Enterprise crew slingshots around the sun fast enough to send themselves back in time. However, towards the end of the movie, the exact same procedure sends them _forward_ in time. How on earth does that work?!? You see, the universe is like an eight-track player . . . > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Nonsense. They reversed the polarity. Ah. My favorite pet peeve. Somehow it isn’t irritating when Doctor Who ups the ante and reverses the polarity of the neutron flow. I guess lampshading it makes it funny. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/58 "2014-05-06T21:37:52Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Or the one The one being the scriptwriter. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/59 "2014-05-06T21:46:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The one being the scriptwriter. Does it in involve parkour? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505/60 "2014-05-07T10:23:05Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Does it in involve parkour? No, just stopping bullets. Anyone can do the parkour. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-star-trek-tos-question/687505.md?page=4)