110 "What is subspace?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
Description
This article is from the Star Trek Tech FAQ, by Joshua Bell inexorabletash@hotmail.com with numerous contributions by others.
110 "What is subspace?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
According to the Encyclopedia, it is a continuum with different laws
than our own. That doesn't help much, considering you can makes fields
of it in our universe.
The best explanation I can come up with is that subspace is the
"substrate" within which our universe exists. A subspace field is
either a forced or natural intrusion of this domain into our own
space, altering the behavior of things within our space-time. The
"subspace barrier" is the albeit flimsy dividing line between the two
continuums.
Many things support this: in "Schisms" [TNG] creatures exist within a
tertiary subspace manifold, a manifold being a term used to describe
the form our own universe takes when viewed from a higher
(theoretical) dimension. This is also called a deeper level of
subspace; another universe which is connected to ours by subspace. In
"Remember Me" [TNG] an entirely new universe was "spawned off" by a
static warp bubble, and it was only accessible through subspace. The
proto-universe in "Playing God" [DS9] was an intense subspace
manifestation as well.
Protrusions of subspace, such as in "Force of Nature" [TNG], "Vortex"
[DS9], or the shockwave in ST6 do nasty things to our space-time. But
subspace is also everywhere: sensors can detect subspace distortions
caused by normal objects ("Descent" [TNG] ), communications work
through subspace, and you can create subspace fields.
Whenever our space-time is distorted or torn, or large amounts of
energy released (explosions) there are subspace effects; wormholes and
Transwarp Conduits are good examples where subspace plays a part in
the effect, and the presumably material-based explosion of Praxis in
Star Trek VI generated the subspace shockwave. Also, in "Caretaker"
[VOY] Captain Janeway mentioned that the warp core of a starship would
leave behind a resonance trace signature even if the ship was
destroyed - this indicates that the constant matter/antimatter
reaction in a starship's warp core generates subspace fields as well.
Subspace fields (the kind that move starships around) are intentional
manifestations of subspace in our space-time, caused by the controlled
release of energy in a warp field coil. These fields have many
effects, often depending on the intensity.
* They leave subspace distortions behind ("Interface" [TNG], "The
Maquis" [DS9]) even when they're gone.
* An object placed in a subspace field has a reduced inertial mass
relative to things outside the field. ( "Deja Q" [TNG])
* A symmetrical field (a.k.a. "Warp bubble") with enough power can
create an entirely new universe, but it may not be stable. (
"Remember Me" [TNG])
* An asymmetrical field can propel the generating ship at the speed
of light; nested fields propel the ship at the speed of light
relative to the field beyond. (TM)
* A subspace Soliton wave can carry a ship at the propagation speed
of the wave. ( "New Ground" [TNG])
* A field can be embedded in an object ("Phantasms" [TNG])
* Overlapping static warp shells can create an artificial subspace
barrier in a localized region of space-time ("All Good Things..."
[TNG])
You can think of subspace as being the "medium" in which our
space-time exists. The nearest parts (nearest being measured by the
energy it takes to access them) are tightly coupled to our own
universe, and can be thought of as being mapped to our space-time.
This is what sensors generally read, and what the subspace fields of
warp drive are interacting with. Slightly deeper parts can connect
points in our universe to others. Wormholes and Transwarp Conduits are
this sort of thing. Deeper still are the "untamed wilds" seen in
"Force of Nature" [TNG]. And even further down are entirely separate
universes, all held together by subspace.
Subspace is not in an alternate reality, or "place", or space-time
where things go - or at least, they don't go in the world of Star
Trek. It is not entered by a starship at warp. A ship creates a
subspace field which acts like another universe very tightly coupled
to our own. If I was inside such a field and you were outside, we
could conduct a conversation, shake hands, etc. But when the field is
powerful enough (1000 millicochranes or more) and asymmetric, it is
propulsive. Nested, decoupling fields magnify the effect considerably.
But the ship still interacts with everything in our universe, and vice
versa, as the level of subspace in which the field exists is so
tightly coupled to our own that it appears no "fancier" than, say, a
magnetic field, if you're looking closely at it.
The weakest subspace fields do appear very similar to traditional
fields, like magnetic fields. They have associated particles (see
below), can be bound to objects ("Phantasms" [TNG]), can be used for
transmissions (subspace radio), and generally unremarkable on their
own other than as residue from more powerful effects.
To keep Jason Hinson and Special Relativity happy, subspace doesn't
need to follow the rules of relativity. Subspace might have a unique
reference frame, and everything enclosed in a subspace field has the
reference frame of subspace.
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