this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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TenForward: Where Every Vulcan Knows Your Name
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At anything approaching relativistic speeds, the name for what would happen when those random atoms of mostly hydrogen impacted the spacecraft's hull would not be friction, but more likely, fusion, the formation of a high energy plasma and a bit of radiation that used to be that bit of hull. Can't imagine that ending well.
However, since the hypothetical warp drive doesn't actually push the ship through space, but bend space around the ship, there should be no contact between the ship and "space air" in the path of travel.
Preventing that sort of thing is the primary function of the deflector dish, and not just whatever they're jiggered it to do in order to solve the Negative Space Wedgie problem of the week this time.
And somehow they snork up hydrogen via the Bussard ram scoops, as well. I don't think anyone's ever adequately explained just how the hell that's supposed to work at warp speed, only that it does.