[omegaman]

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...dan-enterprise

[Captain Tom Coughlin]

That is just silly.

[Commodore]

Only a Trekkie would come up with this idea.

Of all the Enterprises, the one design that I think has the most realistic potential of being built within the next 200 years is something similar to NX-01 because of how simplistic it is--just a saucer-shaped primary section with aft-mounted engines--and even then, I don't expect it to be exactly the same (much less capable of warp drive). It's even possible that a saucer may not even be the ideal shape, although it could make for a smaller cross-section along the ship's flight path than a sphere or a cube would.

[Saquist]

If Warp FTL through field propulsion is possible then the saucer is the correct shape for a stable field.

[Commodore]

Assuming that such a proposed FTL drive has the same kind of physics that Trek's warp drive has (the generation of layered subspace fields that conforms to the aerodynamic shape of the ship).

[Captain Tom Coughlin]

nobody alive today has any idea what would or would not work for FTL type travel. It's like asking a caveman his thoughts on how to split the atom.

[martok2112]

I resent that! Do your research, pal!

[Saquist]

Originally Posted by Captain Tom Coughlin

nobody alive today has any idea what would or would not work for FTL type travel. It's like asking a caveman his thoughts on how to split the atom.

Not exactly Tom.
A Caveman wouldn't know the concept of air flow to generate lift.
However we do know the concept of space warping as a function to generate motion. The difference is the ability to do...the means to do so which we don't have, but I understand what you're saying.

Originally Posted by Commodore

Assuming that such a proposed FTL drive has the same kind of physics that Trek's warp drive has (the generation of layered subspace fields that conforms to the aerodynamic shape of the ship).

In Trek it's not exactly aerodynamics. Apparently it's Temporal-dynamics which makes some sense as we're dealing with the contraction and expansion of space time and a ship's movement through it. But ultimately a field is a field. We've never encountered another type of energy but that generated by the electromagnetic Force. Trek has illustrated ships as magnetic dipoles which is the reason they really need two nacelles.

Ultimately, yes, the shape of the ship shapes the field which interns decideds how easily the ship passes through space time....makes sense but the true unknown is what if any stresses space time would put on a FTL ship.

[Captain Tom Coughlin]

No, we don't know the concept of warping space to generate motion, we have highly theoretical models.

[Saquist]

Ironically Theory and Concept are entirely interchangeable as terms.
But the concept is as simple as using Gas Giants to effect course changes and acceleration and as complex as a beam of light falling into a black hole. That light beam, thanks to curved space, is traveling much faster than light out side the event Horizon and yet technically not violating the light speed limit of General Relativity. And that is exactly how the Mathematical concept of Warp Drive works.

So we know this would work.
The problem isn't the concept it's the effective use. Is there some sort of exatic dark matter alternative with negative energy that could used as a short cut to carrying around black holes with your ship. How much energy would it take. Would there be a causality problem that would prevent you from deactivating the drive. etc....etc