Hyperspace

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Hyperspace travel is sometimes depicted as a starfield that streaks toward the viewer. A visual effect like this was first used in the 1974 film Dark Star, and it became a popular cinematic depiction, with a similar effect being used in the Star Wars franchise. WarpTrails001.gif
Hyperspace travel is sometimes depicted as a starfield that streaks toward the viewer. A visual effect like this was first used in the 1974 film Dark Star , and it became a popular cinematic depiction, with a similar effect being used in the Star Wars franchise.

In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. Its use in science fiction originated in the magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 and within several decades it became one of the most popular tropes of science fiction, popularized by its use in the works of authors such as Isaac Asimov and E. C. Tubb, and media franchises such as Star Wars .

One of the main reasons for the concept's popularity is the impossibility of faster-than-light travel in ordinary space, which hyperspace allows writers to bypass. In most works, hyperspace is described as a higher dimension through which the shape of our three-dimensional space can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other, similar to the concept of a wormhole; or a shortcut-enabling parallel universe that can be travelled through. Usually it can be traversed – the process often known as "jumping" – through a gadget known as a "hyperdrive"; rubber science is sometimes used to explain it. Many works rely on hyperspace as a convenient background tool enabling FTL travel necessary for the plot, with a small minority making it a central element in their storytelling. While most often used in the context of interstellar travel, a minority of works focus on other plot points, such as the inhabitants of hyperspace, hyperspace as an energy source, or even hyperspace as the afterlife.

The term occasionally appears in scientific works in related contexts.

Concept

A piece of paper crumpled into a ball, representing a two-dimensional object distorted in the third dimension, making points that are far apart on its surface come close to each other or even touch Wrinkled paper.jpg
A piece of paper crumpled into a ball, representing a two-dimensional object distorted in the third dimension, making points that are far apart on its surface come close to each other or even touch

The basic premise of hyperspace is that vast distances through space can be traversed quickly by taking a kind of shortcut. There are two common models used to explain this shortcut: folding and mapping. In the folding model, hyperspace is a place of higher dimension through which the shape of our three-dimensional space can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other; a common analogy popularized by Robert A. Heinlein's Starman Jones (1953) is that of crumpling two-dimensional paper or cloth in the third dimension, thus bringing points on its surface into contact. In the mapping model, hyperspace is a parallel universe much smaller than ours (but not necessarily the same shape), which can be entered at a point corresponding to one location in ordinary space and exited at a different point corresponding to another location after travelling a much shorter distance than would be necessary in ordinary space. The Science in Science Fiction compares it to being able to step onto a world map at one's current location, walking across the map to a different continent, and then stepping off the map to find oneself at the new location—noting that the hyperspace "map" could have a significantly more complicated shape, as in Bob Shaw's Night Walk (1967). [1] [2] :72–73 [3] :175 [4] :404

Hyperspace is generally seen as a fictional concept, incompatible with our present-day understanding of the universe (in particular, the theory of relativity [lower-alpha 1] ). [1] [2] :72–73 Some science fiction writers attempted quasi-scientific rubber science explanations of this concept. For others, however, it is just a convenient MacGuffin enabling faster-than-light travel necessary for their story without violating the prohibitions against FTL travel in ordinary space imposed by known laws of physics. [5] :74–76 [1] [2] :72–73 [4] :404 [6]

Terminology

The term "hyperspace" originated in 19th-century mathematical texts in the context of higher-dimensional space, [4] :404 [7] [8] :94 and it is still occasionally used in academic works in that context, popularized among others by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku's popular science book Hyperspace (1994). [1] [9] :238–239 [10] The means of accessing hyperspace is often called a "hyperdrive", [11] [12] [8] :94 and navigating hyperspace is typically referred to as "jumping" (as in "the ship will now jump through hyperspace"). [6] [5] :75

A number of related terms (such as imaginary space, Jarnell intersplit, jumpspace, megaflow, N-Space, nulspace, slipstream, overspace, Q-space, subspace, and tau-space) have been used by various writers, although none have gained recognition to rival that of hyperspace. [6] [9] :238–239 [5] :75 [11] [4] :404 [13] [14] :156 Some works use multiple synonyms; for example, in the Star Trek franchise, the term hyperspace itself is only used briefly in a single 1988 episode ("Coming of Age") of Star Trek: The Next Generation , [15] :353 while a related set of terms – such as subspace, transwarp, and proto-warp – are employed much more often, and most of the travel takes place through the use of a warp drive. [9] :238–239 [11] [16] Hyperspace travel has also been discussed in the context of wormholes and teleportation, which some writers consider to be similar whereas others view them as separate concepts. [17] :85 [18] :2 [19] [20] :265–266

History

The earliest references to hyperspace in fiction appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories Quarterly (shown here is the Spring 1931 issue featuring John Campbell's Islands of Space). Amazing stories quarterly 1931spr.jpg
The earliest references to hyperspace in fiction appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories Quarterly (shown here is the Spring 1931 issue featuring John Campbell's Islands of Space ).

Emerging in the early 20th century, within several decades hyperspace became a common element of interstellar space travel stories in science fiction. [6] [1] Kirk Meadowcroft's "The Invisible Bubble" (1928) and John Campbell's Islands of Space (1931) feature the earliest known references to hyperspace, with Campbell, whose story was published in the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly , likely being the first writer to use this term in the context of space travel. [1] [2] :72–73 [9] :238–239 [7] According to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, the earliest known use of the word "hyper-drive" comes from a preview of Murray Leinster's story "The Manless Worlds" in Thrilling Wonder Stories 1946. [12]

Another early work featuring hyperspace was Nelson Bond's The Scientific Pioneer Returns (1940). [9] :238–239 Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, first published in Astounding starting in 1942, featured a Galactic Empire traversed through hyperspace through the use of a "hyperatomic drive". [21] :100 [22] In Foundation (1951), hyperspace is described as an "...unimaginable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighboring instants of time." [23] :5 E. C. Tubb has been credited with playing an important role in the development of hyperspace lore; writing a number of space operas in the early 1950s in which space travel occurs through that medium. He was also one of the first writers to treat hyperspace as a central part of the plot rather than a convenient background gadget that just enables the faster-than-light space travel. [6] [5] :75

In 1963, Philip Harbottle called the concept of hyperspace "a fixture" of the science fiction genre, [6] and in 1977 Brian Ash wrote in The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction that it had become the most popular of all faster-than-light methods of travel. [5] :75 The concept would subsequently be further popularized through its use in the Star Wars franchise. [11]

In the 1974 film Dark Star , special effects designer Dan O'Bannon created a visual effect to depict going into hyperspace wherein the stars in space appear to move rapidly toward the camera. This is considered to be the first depiction in cinema history of a ship making the jump into hyperspace. The same effect was later employed in Star Wars (1977) and the "star streaks" are considered one of the visual "staples" of the Star Wars franchise. [24] :115 [25] [26] :189

Characteristics

Hyperspace is typically described as chaotic and confusing to human senses; often at least unpleasant – transitions to or from hyperspace can cause symptoms such as nausea, for example – and in some cases even hypnotic or dangerous to one's sanity. [6] [9] :238–239 [4] :405 Visually, hyperspace is often left to the reader's imagination, or depicted as "a swirling gray mist". [5] :75 [6] In some works, it is dark. [4] :405 Exceptions exist; for example, John Russel Fearn's Waters of Eternity (1953) features hyperspace that allows observation of regular space from within. [6]

Many stories feature hyperspace as a dangerous, treacherous place where straying from a preset course can be disastrous. In Frederick Pohl's The Mapmakers (1955), navigational errors and the perils of hyperspace are one of the main plot-driving elements, [2] :72–73 [5] :75 and in K. Houston Brunner's Fiery Pillar (1955), a ship re-emerges within Earth, causing a catastrophic explosion. [5] :75 In some works, travelling or navigating hyperspace requires not only specialized equipment, but physical or psychological modifications of passengers or at least navigators, as seen in Frank Herbert's Dune (1965), Michael Moorcock's The Sundered Worlds (1966), Vonda McIntyre's Aztecs (1977), and David Brin's The Warm Space (1985). [9]

While generally associated with science fiction, hyperspace-like concepts exist in some works of fantasy, particularly ones which involve movement between different worlds or dimensions. Such travel, usually done through portals rather than vehicles, is usually explained through the existence of magic. [4] :405

Use

While mainly designed as means of fast space travel, occasionally, some writers have used the hyperspace concept in more imaginative ways, or as a central element of the story. [2] :72–73 In Arthur C. Clarke's "Technical Error" (1950), a man is laterally reversed by a brief accidental encounter with "hyperspace". [3] :177 In Robert A. Heinlein's Glory Road (1963) and Robert Silverberg's "Nightwings" (1968), it is used for storage. [4] :405 In George R.R. Martin's FTA (1974) hyperspace travel takes longer than in regular space, and in John E. Stith's Redshift Rendezvous (1990), the twist is that the relativistic effects within it appear at lower velocities. [1] [2] :72–73 [9] :238–239 Hyperspace is generally unpopulated, save for the space-faring travellers. Early exceptions include Tubb's Dynasty of Doom (1953), Fearn's Waters of Eternity (1953) and Christopher Grimm's Someone to Watch Over Me (1959), which feature denizens of hyperspace. [9] :238–239 [5] :75 [6] In The Mystery of Element 117 (1949) by Milton Smith, a window is opened into a new "hyperplane of hyperspace" containing those who have already died on Earth, [3] :181 and similarly, in Bob Shaw's The Palace of Eternity (1969), hyperspace is a form of afterlife, where human minds and memories reside after death. [4] :405 In some works, hyperspace is a source of extremely dangerous energy, threatening to destroy the entire world if mishandled (for instance Eando Binder's The Time Contractor from 1937 or Alfred Bester's "The Push of a Finger" from 1942). [6] [9] :238–239 The concept of hyperspace travel, or space folding, can be used outside space travel as well, for example in Stephen King's short story "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" it is a means for an elderly lady to take a shortcut while travelling between two cities. [17] :85

In many stories, a starship cannot enter or leave hyperspace too close to a large concentration of mass, such as a planet or star; this means that hyperspace can only be used after a starship gets to the outside edge of a solar system, so that it must use other means of propulsion to get to and from planets. [5] :76 Other stories require a very large expenditure of energy in order to open a link (sometimes called a jump point) between hyperspace and regular space; this effectively limits access to hyperspace to very large starships, or to large stationary jump gates that can open jump points for smaller vessels. Examples include the "jump" technology in Babylon 5 and the star gate in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). [4] :404 [27] Just like with the very concept of hyperspace, the reasons given for such restrictions are usually technobabble, but their existence can be an important plot device. [5] :74–76 [28] :554 Science fiction author Larry Niven published his opinions to that effect in N-Space . According to him, an unrestricted FTL technology would give no limits to what heroes and villains could do. [28] :554 Limiting the places a ship can appear in, or making them more predictable, means that they will meet each other most often around contested planets or space stations, allowing for narratively satisfying battles or other encounters. On the other hand, a less restricted hyperdrive may also allow for dramatic escapes as the pilot "jumps" to hyperspace in the midst of battle to avoid destruction. [28] :557 In 1999 science fiction author James P. Hogan wrote that hyperspace is often treated as a plot-enabling gadget rather than as a fascinating, world-changing item, and that there are next to no works that discuss how hyperspace has been discovered and how such discovery subsequently changed the world. [29] :107–108

See also

Notes

  1. The theory of relativity prohibits the principle of causality being broken by the reversal of cause and effect, which the very concept of FTL travel breaks as the arrival of an object using FTL means of travel, such as hyperspace, might be witnessed by observers elsewhere in the Universe as preceding the take-off. [1]

Related Research Articles

Known Space is the fictional setting of about a dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories by American writer Larry Niven. It has also become a shared universe in the spin-off Man-Kzin Wars anthologies. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) catalogs all works set in the fictional universe that includes Known Space under the series name Tales of Known Space, which was the title of a 1975 collection of Niven's short stories. The first-published work in the series, which was Niven's first published piece, was "The Coldest Place", in the December 1964 issue of If magazine, edited by Frederik Pohl. This was the first-published work in the 1975 collection.

The fictional technology in Star Trek has borrowed many ideas from the scientific world. Episodes often contain technologies named after or inspired by real-world scientific concepts, such as tachyon beams, baryon sweeps, quantum slipstream drives, and photon torpedoes. Some of the technologies created for the Star Trek universe were done so out of financial necessity. For instance, the transporter was created because the limited budget of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) in the 1960s did not allow expensive shots of spaceships landing on planets.

Superluminal communication is a hypothetical process in which information is conveyed at faster-than-light speeds. The current scientific consensus is that faster-than-light communication is not possible, and to date it has not been achieved in any experiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warp drive</span> Fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system

A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek, and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was introduced by John W. Campbell in his 1957 novel Islands of Space and was popularized by the Star Trek series. Its closest real-life equivalent is the Alcubierre drive, a theoretical solution of the field equations of general relativity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship</span> Spacecraft designed for interstellar travel

A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in Oahspe: A New Bible.

Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of such an empire. The capital of a galactic empire is frequently a core world, such as a planet relatively close to a galaxy's supermassive black hole, which has advanced considerably in science and technology compared to current human civilization. Characterizations can vary wildly from malevolent forces attacking sympathetic victims to apathetic bureaucracies to more reasonable entities focused on social progress and anywhere in between.

A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, parallel world, parallel dimension, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reality is often called a "multiverse". While the six terms are generally synonymous and can be used interchangeably in most cases, there is sometimes an additional connotation implied with the term "alternate universe/reality" that implies that the reality is a variant of our own, with some overlap with the similarly named alternate history.

The interstellar space opera epic Star Wars uses science and technology in its settings and storylines. The series has showcased many technological concepts, both in the movies and in the expanded universe of novels, comics and other forms of media. The Star Wars movies' primary objective is to build upon drama, philosophy, political science and less on scientific knowledge. Many of the on-screen technologies created or borrowed for the Star Wars universe were used mainly as plot devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Question</span> Science-fiction short story by Isaac Asimov

"The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and in the anthologies in the collections Nine Tomorrows (1959), The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973), Robot Dreams (1986), The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (1986), the retrospective Opus 100 (1969), and in Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Vol. 1 (1990). While he also considered it one of his best works, "The Last Question" was Asimov's favorite short story of his own authorship, and is one of a loosely connected series of stories concerning a fictional computer called Multivac. Through successive generations, humanity questions Multivac on the subject of entropy.

Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer appearing in over a dozen science fiction stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov's depiction of Multivac, a mainframe computer accessible by terminal, originally by specialists using machine code and later by any user, and used for directing the global economy and humanity's development, has been seen as the defining conceptualization of the genre of computers for the period (1950s–1960s). Multivac has been described as the direct ancestor of HAL 9000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-dimensional space</span> Geometric space with four dimensions

Four-dimensional space (4D) is the mathematical extension of the concept of three-dimensional space (3D). Three-dimensional space is the simplest possible abstraction of the observation that one needs only three numbers, called dimensions, to describe the sizes or locations of objects in the everyday world. For example, the volume of a rectangular box is found by measuring and multiplying its length, width, and height. This concept of ordinary space is called Euclidean space because it corresponds to Euclid's geometry, which was originally abstracted from the spatial experiences of everyday life.

"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the May 1984 issue of Redbook magazine, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.

<i>Man-Kzin Wars</i> Series of military SF short story collections

The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction anthologies and is the name of the first. The short stories detail the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti, set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. However, Niven himself has written only a small number of the stories; most were written by other science fiction writers, as Niven opened this part of the Known Space to collaboration in the form of a shared universe. The cover art for the books in the series is created by Stephen Hickman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wormholes in fiction</span>

A wormhole is a postulated method, within the general theory of relativity, of moving from one point in space to another without crossing the space between. Wormholes are a popular feature of science fiction as they allow faster-than-light interstellar travel within human timescales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tachyons in fiction</span> Hypothetical particle

The hypothetical particles tachyons have inspired many occurrences of in fiction. The use of the word in science fiction dates back at least to 1970 when James Blish's Star Trek novel Spock Must Die! incorporated tachyons into an ill-fated transporter experiment.

In astronautics, a black hole starship is the theoretical concept of a starship capable of interstellar travel using a black hole as an energy source for spacecraft propulsion. The concept was first discussed in science fiction, notably in the book Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke, and in the work of Charles Sheffield, in which energy extracted from a Kerr–Newman black hole is described as powering the rocket engines in the story "Killing Vector" (1978).

Hyperdrive may refer to

The idea of a fourth dimension has been a factor in the evolution of modern art, but use of concepts relating to higher dimensions has been little discussed by academics in the literary world. From the late 19th century onwards, many writers began to make use of possibilities opened up by the exploration of such concepts as hypercube geometry. While many writers took the fourth dimension to be one of time, others preferred to think of it in spatial terms, and some associated the new mathematics with wider changes in modern culture.

The space-opera blockbuster, Star Wars franchise has borrowed many real-life scientific and technological concepts in its settings. In turn, Star Wars has depicted, inspired, and influenced several futuristic technologies, some of which are in existence and others under development. In the introduction of the Return of the Jedi novelization, George Lucas wrote: "Star Wars is also very much concerned with the tension between humanity and technology, an issue which, for me, dates back even to my first films. In Jedi, the theme remains the same, as the simplest of natural forces brought down the seemingly invincible weapons of the evil Empire."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space travel in science fiction</span> Fictional methods, e.g. antigravity, hyperdrive

Space travel, or space flight is a classic science-fiction theme that has captivated the public and is almost archetypal for science fiction. Space travel, interplanetary or interstellar, is usually performed in space ships, and spacecraft propulsion in various works ranges from the scientifically plausible to the totally fictitious.

References

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Further reading