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Speed chart for impulse drive
Star Trek's Impulse Drive Explained
by William Stone, III
FidoNet 1:115/439.4
The following is a layman's explanation of the Impulse Drive used in Star
Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is compiled from the Star Trek:
The Next Generation Writer's Technical Manual (the guide used by the Star
Trek staff in producing the series) and from the Star Trek: The Next
Generation Technical Manual (Pocket Books, 1991). Both works are by veteran
TNG staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach.
Impulse Drive is a fusion engine that powers subspace field coils. It's not
the thrust of the plasma that drives the ship (that's little more than a
waste by-product - and a couple of neat red lights on a model) but the
warping of space the same as warp drive. The difference is that Impulse
subspace generators aren't required to crack lightspeed, thus the power
requirements aren't so tremendous.
% Full Impulse Number Times c Miles/Second Notes
=============================================================================
.00358 8.947*10^(-6) 1.667 Standard Orbit
25 .0625 11642.625
33.333 .0833 15523.5
39.69 .0992 18481.515 Warp .5 (TNG)
50 .125 23285.25 Warp .5 (TOS)
75 .1875 34927.875
100 .25 46570.5 *Full Impulse*
200 .5 93141 Maximum speed of Shuttlepod
300 .75 139711.5
399.6 .999 186095.718 Rated Top Speed of E-D's
impulse engines
400 1 186282 Speed of Light
You'll note that "full impulse power" is actually only .25 C. While greater
speeds are possible on impulse, it's considered more efficient to go to warp
drive beyond this point. The impulse engines' efficiency begins to drop
above .25c, and time dilation effects become noticeable.
The rated top speed of the Enterprise-D's Impulse Drive is about .999 C.
The shuttlepod (which the tech staff describes as "about the size of a
Hyundai") is only good for interplanetary travel, as it's maximum speed is
only .5c. Top speed of the standard 6-passenger shuttles seen in TNG varies
between warp 1.2 and warp 2 depending on the drive type installed.
-----
Copyright (C) 1991 William Stone, III. Permission to freely distribute the
full text of this article is hereby granted, provided the author's name and
this copyright notice are retained.X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-X
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