Subspace properties and operations

The following is an attempt to make some order out of the ample technobabble related to "subspace" in StarTrek.

Let us start be listing some of the more common effects obtained by the use of subspace fields

Inertial reduction (impulse drive)
Artificial gravity, tractor beams
Alter speed of light, C (tech manual, computer operations)
transporters
replicators
warp drive
shields

Of these, I have found altering light speed to be promising as a fundimental effect from which others may be derived. Some of the consequences of this type of field are as follows:

Aparent passage of time is altered in proportion to the local light speed(refer to relitivistic light clock). This would provide an effective stasis field.
A gradient or edge in the field would have a refractive effect away from the faster C. Properly shaped this would produce artificial gravity, tractor beams, and deflector shields.
The permitivity or permiability constants must change. I'll leave this one to a Physics major.
The mass-energy relation would be altered. As C went up, mass would have to decrease in relation to energy.

Operations

Using the above properties, I have layed out several possable devices.

Hyper Impulse.

An inertial reduction effect allows a ship to achieve signifigant sublight velocities expending managable energy levels. By itself, this would leave time dialation as a serious limiting factor. Calibrating the C multiplier to match gamma, ship time can be made to aproximate home time. In addition, the combined effect allows to ship to travel a greater speed than light outside the subspace field.

One very nice side effect is that the outer fringes of the field act as a strong deflector shield, protecting the ship from dust abrasion.

Fusion Reactor.

A well of slow C would have an increadable gravitational field, and would serve well to contain fusion plasma. So well that I wouldn't bother with duterium fuel.

Pulse collection phasor

If a phasor (or most any projected energy weapon) is fired through a field of ultra slow C, The beam will take aditional time to pass through. By suddenly removing the subspace field, whatever length of beam that has been accumulated will be released as a high power burst.

Hyper Impulse plasma discharge

If a ship at H.I. releases a slug of matter outward, the boundry region of the subspace field will accelerate and heat the slug, producing a plasma capable of infliction severe dammage.

index