# Enterprise "Impulse" - SPOILERS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218 "2003-10-08T03:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/121 "2003-10-11T05:34:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*Warp n would be: > > C\*n^3 > > What reference is that from? I obviously thought warp n was C^n. \*\* The “Warp n = c \* n^3.33333333… (up to warp 9)” formula of _ST:TNG_ appears, as **Aesiron** points out, in the _Star Trek Encyclopedia_ and the _ST:TNG Tech Manual_ in a tabular, rather than formulaic, form. The “Warp n = c \* n^3” formula of _ST:TOS_ is actually a retcon. It first appeared in the early 1970s among the writings of fans or ST novel authors (I forget which), but has since been considered canon. Note that since both “The Changeling” and the TOS episodes with the Kelvans mention the Enterprise going in excess of Warp 10, we know that TOS _cannot_ be using the same formula as TNG, because the TNG formula declares that Warp 10 is infinitely fast. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/122 "2003-10-11T06:16:25Z")
Of course, in the series finale for TNG, Riker gets to say “warp 13” or somesuch, which blows the TNG formula away. However, like any good grasping-at-straws Trekhead, I have come up with a tidy rationalization. 🙂 It seems clear that in that future timeline shown in _All Good Things_, ludicrous warp velocities can be achieved. In other words, while in ordinary TNG, Georgi starts to sweat when Picard pushes the ship past, say, 9.6, and the bolts start to vibrate at 9.7, we can assume that in the future, 9.9 is not a problem. And since speed increases logarithmically and asymptotically, we can _approach_ warp 10 but never achieve it. However, assuming radical improvements in technological capability, it quickly becomes unwieldy to say, “Helm, warp nine point nine nine two,” or whatever. So a new terminology is invented, in which each number from warp 10 upward is understood as a shorthand means of adding a decimal nine. Warp 10 = 9.9, warp 11 = 9.99, warp 12 = 9.999, and so on. Warp X point Y works the same; 10.5 = 9.95, 13.4 = 9.9994, and so on. So Captain Riker, in the spiffy new Pentium Google warp ship, doesn’t have to say, “Helm, warp nine point nine nine nine nine nine nine two.” He can simply say, “Warp fifteen point two,” and the Academy-trained helmsman (or the computer, more likely) makes the adjustment. However, given that the formula “n=c\*n^3.333…” specifically says “for values of n _up to 9_,” it’s hard to say exactly what those higher warp numbers actually represent. If you use just that formula, you find diminishing returns the closer you get to 10; the difference between warp 13 and warp 14 is a measley six-tenths of c, which hardly seems worth the effort. But the graph in the reference book shows a huge spike after 9, so Lord only knows what warp 9.999 might actually be. It’s possible that 9.999 represents some totally implausible value by which it’s reasonable to get from one _galaxy_ to another. Even so, I thought it was a nifty way to explain something that seems to violate the “rules” and which I’ve never seen accounted for anywhere else. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/123 "2003-10-11T06:42:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > **But the graph in the reference book shows a huge spike after 9, so Lord only knows what warp 9.999 might actually be.** O ye of little faith! From _The Star Trek Encyclopedia_, 1999 edition, page 556: Warp factor 9: 1516 times the speed of light Warp factor 9.9: 3053 times the speed of light Warp factor 9.99: 7912 times the speed of light Warp factor 9.9999: 199516 times the speed of light Oddly, though, there’s no entry for warp 9.999. So I guess you’re right – Lord only knows what warp 9.999 might actually be! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/124 "2003-10-11T09:09:41Z")
The Warp 13 line in _All Good Things…_ is usually rationalized as the Federation using a new warp drive, either transwarp, slipstream, or one of the other hundreds that Voyager seemed to run into every other week. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/125 "2003-10-11T12:46:19Z")
Strangely, even tho having gone to such incredibly high warps, Riker wasn’t a fish. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/126 "2003-10-11T15:56:14Z")
Salamander. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/127 "2003-10-11T16:40:46Z")
… which could easily be reversed by a hypospray administered by the Holographic Doctor. “Gee, we’re 70,000 light-years away from home, and we’ve just discovered a way to travel infinitely fast whose only side effect is a slow and _reversible_ transformation into a lizard. Let’s completely ignore this technology for the rest of the series!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/128 "2003-10-11T17:08:19Z")
That was 'cause they went Warp 10 on the traditional scale, not 'cause they used some new tech, **NCB**. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/129 "2003-10-11T17:20:53Z")
And on a completely unrelated note…this upcoming storyline sounds intriguing: [Spoilers for “Similitude”](http://www.trektoday.com/news/111003_01.shtml) ---
**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:** [October 11, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/130 "2003-10-11T17:22:37Z")
**Aes** : Whoosh! **cplant** : Newt. She turned me into a newt! Well great, man! Let’s put _her_ in charge! (I just love mixing references) see y’all after the party Hook 'em, **Sooners**! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/131 "2003-10-11T17:27:28Z")
That episode does look interesting. I just hope it doesn’t beat us over the head that **CLONING IS AMORAL AT BEST; YOU WILL GET SOME KIND OF FUTURE AIDS TYPE DISEASE _AND_ EVOLVE INTO A MONKEY IF YOU DO IT!!!1!** ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/132 "2003-10-11T22:21:43Z")
Ooo, that does sound like a good episode. I’m guessing Trip will die and replaced with 2 T’Pol clones and a smart cracking clevage alien. Huzzah for shameless ratings boosters! ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/133 "2003-10-11T22:47:49Z")
> [@](#): > > from _tracer_ > “Gee, we’re 70,000 light-years away from home, and we’ve just discovered a way to travel infinitely fast whose only side effect is a slow and reversible transformation into a lizard. Let’s completely ignore this technology for the rest of the series!” Perhaps they cast it aside because Janeway didn’t want to chance mating with Tom Paris again. Or with Harry Kim, which might give him an Oedipal complex. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/134 "2003-10-11T22:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Wearia \* > \*\* cracking clevage_\* **???** ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/135 "2003-10-12T01:28:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aesiron \* > \*\*That episode does look interesting. I just hope it doesn’t beat us over the head that **CLONING IS AMORAL AT BEST; YOU WILL GET SOME KIND OF FUTURE AIDS TYPE DISEASE _AND_ EVOLVE INTO A MONKEY IF YOU DO IT!!!1!** \*\* I figure that Trip Part Two will develop some sort of fatal malfunction, or else they’ll have to give him the “Tuvix treatment.” ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/136 "2003-10-12T01:52:55Z")
**carnivorousplant** : _smart_ cracking cleavage. It’s like wisecracking cleavage, except it put its points into its Intelligence score instead of its Wisdom score. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/137 "2003-10-12T01:55:14Z")
That was a good episode. Could you imagine Enterprise doing it? T’poshi… Triporthos… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/138 "2003-10-12T02:37:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*[ it put its points into its Intelligence score instead of its Wisdom score. \*\* WTF does Intelligence or Wisdom have to do with t-ts? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/139 "2003-10-12T02:41:45Z")
They sap men of all wit and intelligence? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218/140 "2003-10-12T02:52:10Z")
Ah. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-impulse-spoilers/206218.md?page=8)