Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine: Difference between revisions

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The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine functions by creating ruptures, referred to in some sources as wormholes, between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace (also known as slipstream space and Shaw-Fujikawa space<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 141''</ref>). The nonstandard physics of slipspace allow it to be used as a shortcut realm, facilitating interstellar travel between distant regions in reasonable time. As [[astrogation]], the coordination of slipspace jumps, cannot be successfully done by a human, the calculations involved in a jump are done by a [[navigation computer]] or an [[Artificial intelligence|AI]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 96''</ref>
The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine functions by creating ruptures, referred to in some sources as wormholes, between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace (also known as slipstream space and Shaw-Fujikawa space<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 141''</ref>). The nonstandard physics of slipspace allow it to be used as a shortcut realm, facilitating interstellar travel between distant regions in reasonable time. As [[astrogation]], the coordination of slipspace jumps, cannot be successfully done by a human, the calculations involved in a jump are done by a [[navigation computer]] or an [[Artificial intelligence|AI]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 96''</ref>


The engine creates ruptures by using high-power cyclic particle accelerators to generate microscopic black holes. Because of their low mass, [[Hawking radiation]] gives them a lifetime of around a nanosecond (or potentially a little longer than a whole second)<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483477,00.html?=done '''FoxNews''': ''Scientists Not So Sure 'Doomsday Machine' Won't Destroy World'']</ref> before they evaporate into useless thermal energy. In that nanosecond, the engine manipulates them into forming a coherent rupture between normal space and the slipstream.<ref name="Ghost">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 53'' ([[Fred-104]]: ''"They had to repair the [drive] on the ''Magellan''. It was a risky op. Those things aren’t meant to be taken apart once they go active."'')</ref> It should be noted that in real-world physics, black holes have been identified as a possible vector for constructing traversable wormholes, specifically through the use of the [[Wikipedia:Kerr metric|Kerr metric]].  
The engine creates ruptures by using high-power cyclic particle accelerators to generate microscopic black holes. Because of their low mass, [[Hawking radiation]] gives them a lifetime of around a nanosecond (or potentially a little longer than a whole second)<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483477,00.html?=done '''FoxNews''': ''Scientists Not So Sure 'Doomsday Machine' Won't Destroy World'']</ref> before they evaporate into useless thermal energy. In that nanosecond, the engine manipulates them into forming a coherent rupture between normal space and the slipstream.<ref name="Ghost">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 53'' ([[Fred-104]]: ''"They had to repair the [drive] on the ''Magellan''. It was a risky op. Those things aren’t meant to be taken apart once they go active."'')</ref> It should be noted that in real-world physics, black holes have been identified as a possible vector for constructing traversable wormholes, specifically through the use of the [[Wikipedia:Kerr metric|Kerr metric]].


A slipspace drive does not actually "accelerate" a spacecraft through slipstream space; this is performed by the ship's conventional reaction thrusters. Thus, ships with more powerful conventional engines are also faster within the slipstream.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 23''</ref> When active, a Shaw-Fujikawa engine emits alpha (helium nuclei) and beta (fast electrons) particles.<ref name="Ghosts">'''Halo: Ghost of Onyx''', ''pages 145-146''</ref>
A slipspace drive does not actually "accelerate" a spacecraft through slipstream space; this is performed by the ship's conventional reaction thrusters. Thus, ships with more powerful conventional engines are also faster within the slipstream.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 23''</ref> When active, a Shaw-Fujikawa engine emits alpha (helium nuclei) and beta (fast electrons) particles.<ref name="Ghosts">'''Halo: Ghost of Onyx''', ''pages 145-146''</ref>


human slipspace drives were considered black boxes<ref name="Ghost"/> which were very difficult to repair or maintain after they went hot for the first time. [[Spartan-051]] considered slipspace drives dangerous<ref name="Ghost"/>, noting the aforementioned radiation and that spacetime was said to distort around an active device. [[Dr. Halsey]] also observed that in the past, several technicians had simply vanished while manually adjusting a drive.<ref name="Ghosts"/> A ruptured slipspace drive can create slipspace "splinters" in normal space, eventually consuming the drive and the entire ship which the drive was placed on.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''page ??''</ref> Mechanical failures like [[Slip Termination, Preventable]], or STP, can also occur with Slipspace drives, usually resulting from poor maintenance.<ref name="Contact"/> An improperly mounted Slipspace drive can also result in catastrophic accidents. This was the case with a colony ship en route to the [[Cygnus system]] around [[2550]]: as a result of a maintenance failure, the drive transported half the ship into oblivion.<ref name="reach">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', campaign level ''[[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]''</ref>
Human slipspace drives were considered black boxes<ref name="Ghost"/> which were very difficult to repair or maintain after they went hot for the first time. [[Spartan-051]] considered slipspace drives dangerous<ref name="Ghost"/>, noting the aforementioned radiation and that spacetime was said to distort around an active device. [[Dr. Halsey]] also observed that in the past, several technicians had simply vanished while manually adjusting a drive.<ref name="Ghosts"/> A ruptured slipspace drive can create slipspace "splinters" in normal space, eventually consuming the drive and the entire ship which the drive was placed on.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' - ''The Mona Lisa'', ''page ??''</ref> Mechanical failures like [[Slip Termination, Preventable]], or STP, can also occur with Slipspace drives, usually resulting from poor maintenance.<ref name="Contact"/> An improperly mounted Slipspace drive can also result in catastrophic accidents. This was the case with a colony ship en route to the [[Cygnus system]] around [[2550]]: as a result of a maintenance failure, the drive transported half the ship into oblivion.<ref name="reach">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', campaign level ''[[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]''</ref>


Although two human ships utilizing the Shaw-Fujikawa engine are suspected of having successfully executed an in-atmosphere slipspace transition, this has not been irrefutably confirmed.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 474''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''pages 484-485''</ref>
Although two human ships utilizing the Shaw-Fujikawa engine are suspected of having successfully executed an in-atmosphere slipspace transition, this has not been irrefutably confirmed.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''page 474''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', ''pages 484-485''</ref>