a new hope dillemas

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2004-03-04 05:24am

So what exactly does Han mean when he says "she'll get .5 past lightspeed"?

Is he saying "when I'm going as slowly as possible, using my sublight engines, she'll go .5 c"? Or is he saying "you know, I have this .5 class hyperdrive which is the fastest thing there is, going millions of times c" or something else? ("factors" past lightspeed)

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) on Mike's site he speculates that "sublight" (non hyperspace) in SW is actually many times FTL and hyperspeed (whatever you want to term going through hyperspace) is tens of thousands to millions of times FTL (due to "space lanes" without many detours perhaps).

I just see a lot of rationalizations for the ".5" thing not being (as Trekkies assume) that he's saying his ship has a max speed of 1.5 c.

I'm wondering which is the "most official" and correct interpretation, or if we're just left with several competing explanations from the EU...

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-03-04 05:35am

Kurgan wrote:So what exactly does Han mean when he says "she'll get .5 past lightspeed"?

.5 is the hyperdrive rating. Hyperspace is beyond lightspeed.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-04 12:04pm

Well, it's certainly not 0.5c because this would be one-half lightspeed, so certainly not "past lightspeed."

The general consensus is, obviously, that "she'll make point five, past lightspeed" means "she's rated point five for hyperspace."

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-04 12:09pm

Wow, Kurgan, that's a whole lotta nonsense you've got there...

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2004-03-04 02:09pm

Wow, Kurgan, that's a whole lotta nonsense you've got there...

I'm asking what he means by ".5 past lightspeed"?

What's the official explanation? Does it make sense? Or is there no "one right answer"?

PS: Obviously I don't believe that the Falcon can only travel at 1.5c, I just want to know what the .5 thing means, in-universe.

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2004-03-04 02:35pm

At least it is better than the HORRIBLE german translation. In the German Version, he says: "...makes five times lightspeed.", which is not only totally wrong translated, but also total nonsense.

Tychu · Post by **Tychu** » 2004-03-06 01:50am

The only thing i can come up with, other than what class hyperdrives are is that the reason the death star appeard so much closer in the 2nd scene is that Lucas and company felt they had to speed the act up

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-06 02:04am

You know, I kind of wish there were an actual benchmark from the movies by which we could compare how "fast" a ship was going through hyperspace. I don't suppose there's any way to figure out how long the run from Alderaan to Tatooine took, is there? Although, that'd probably have extra complications due to the fact that Solo probably did some random microjumping to throw the Imperials off. Then again, maybe not..."Well, you can forget your worries about those Imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun them." *shrug* I feel like I've read that before...

Anyway, maybe we (as a community) should try to work out a way to rationalize the hyperspace scale? Just wanking for a moment, my guess would be that the rating is the divisor of some constant, with this being an exponent of some other constant (i.e. x^(y/z) where z is the hyperdrive rating). Of course, it's probably not that simple. Anyway, somethign to think about

Angie the Chiss Lord · Post by **Angie the Chiss Lord** » 2004-03-06 02:08am

ok in ANH Han Solo says, "She'll make .5 past light speed" hello people PAST light speed, they'd end up going back in time here

When you are moving at the speed of light everything else is pretty much at a stand still

When you go past the speed of light you will end up going back in time

This was Albert Einstein's Theory

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-06 02:09am

Don't be stupid.

Read the fucking website, as well as Saxton's.

And traveling faster than C does NOT make you go back in time. It makes time speed up. That's relativity, you dolt.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-03-06 02:10am

angie the chiss lord wrote:ok in ANH Han Solo says, "She'll make .5 past light speed" hello people PAST light speed, they'd end up going back in time here

When you are moving at the speed of light everything else is pretty much at a stand still

When you go past the speed of light you will end up going back in time

This was Albert Einstein's Theory

Did you actually read what you wrote?

.5 what?

time or distance?

He never really specifies...and are you saying they can travel through time in SW even though canon and everything else refutes this like no tomorrow?!

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-06 02:16am

Angie the Chiss Lord wrote:ok in ANH Han Solo says, "She'll make .5 past light speed" hello people PAST light speed, they'd end up going back in time here

<snip>

Special relativity indicates that below lightspeed, but at high relativistic velocities, time will pass normally to an outside observer, but will pass more quickly for an observer at that relativistic speed. Upon hitting c time for the observer travelling at that speed slows to a standstill, while the outside observer continues to experience time normally. Thus, if one were to (somehow) travel precisely at c, they would experience the trip instantaneously, while an outside observer would experience the actual duration of the trip (if it's 30 LY, then the outside observer will observe a travel time of 30 years).

Based on what I'm (currently) reading on Dr. Saxton's site, he indicates that above c, the reverse occurs; the relativistic observer experiences time at a slower rate than the universe. If you draw this to its logical conclusion, then one could reach a point where time for the external observer stops (or rather, they witness an instantaneous transit), while time for the relativistic observer takes many, many years.

Since nobody ends up dead from long hyperspace trips, there's obviously some kind of technological device that counters this effect aboard every starship traveling at supralight speeds. Further information on this topic can be viewed here.

Spanky, be nice. Just because he doesn't understand doesn't mean you've got to be mean.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-06 02:17am

I have zero tolerance for idiocy, as do many others here.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-06 02:19am

Idiocy is one thing. Not knowing is another. If he reads that and then comes back and says, "No, he's wrong! Special relativity says..." or some such, then you can kill him

Let him be exposed to the right information first before you eat him, though. It won't hurt you.

EDIT: Wow, 200 posts already...

Angie the Chiss Lord · Post by **Angie the Chiss Lord** » 2004-03-06 02:21am

all i know is that Han Solo said "PAST light speed"

Time in itself is distance. If you were to go fast enough through space the farther you go the slower time will be. or something like that

Basically Time and Distance are one in the same. (Im using all i know of Einsteins theory which isn't that much)

If you were to travel at the speed of light you're aging process would slow down

(Einstein please forgive me if im twisting your theory around im doing my best)

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-06 02:23am

Time and space are aspects of the same thing, not time and distance.

Read the link I gave you. Otherwise, Spanky will eat you.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-06 02:24am

SW ships have equipment that can cancel the time dialation problems of supralight travel. Additionally, they jump to Hyperspace by actually skipping over C entirely.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-03-06 02:25am

Angie the Chiss Lord wrote:all i know is that Han Solo said "PAST light speed"

Time in itself is distance. If you were to go fast enough through space the farther you go the slower time will be. or something like that

Basically Time and Distance are one in the same. (Im using all i know of Einsteins theory which isn't that much)

No, they are not

Distance is one variable which we use in meters

Time is another variable which we use in seconds of variable fractions of.

Or do you want to explain velocity and accelration is some other way

Angie the Chiss Lord · Post by **Angie the Chiss Lord** » 2004-03-06 02:26am

ok here's a theory i once heard about what hyperdrives do...

Hyperdrive's create controllable worm holes, i don't know where i read or heard this i just remember hearing it

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-03-06 02:27am

Ok, now you can eat him, Spanky.

Dude, read and then keep posting. You're making yourself look like a fool.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-06 02:28am

Stop talking.

Read the link McC provided.

Angie the Chiss Lord · Post by **Angie the Chiss Lord** » 2004-03-06 02:32am

ok for starters im not a he im a she,

next i must be honest with you my mind is not very easy to sort through when a thought comes to my mind that is easy to put into words i do so. otherwise it takes a long process to put my thoughts into words. Sometimes i don't even understand how my own mind works, My imagination likes to run wild sometimes and i can't control it,

And last Im insane.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-03-06 02:33am

Whatever, child. Am I supposed to be impressed by your bragging of how much of an idiot you are?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-03-06 02:34am

Angie the Chiss Lord wrote:ok for starters im not a he im a she,

next i must be honest with you my mind is not very easy to sort through when a thought comes to my mind that is easy to put into words i do so. otherwise it takes a long process to put my thoughts into words. Sometimes i don't even understand how my own mind works, My imagination likes to run wild sometimes and i can't control it,

And last Im insane.

Still doesn't mean you shouldn't read the various bits of knowledge first...understand why and then come out with a theory that isn't a bunch of possible presumptions that you've come up with happenstance.

Angie the Chiss Lord · Post by **Angie the Chiss Lord** » 2004-03-06 02:35am

no im 20, and like i said im insane,

reasons why im insane,

I hate humans