10 Examples Of Real Science In Star Trek

Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity proved conclusively that nothing in the universe can move faster than light. For a while, it was assumed, for this reason, that interstellar travel would forever be impossible, or at the very least, take thousands of years, considering how far apart stars are from each other. And even if ships could travel at velocities near the speed of light, they would go through drastic time dilation and experience time much slower than people on Earth. Fortunately, it was discovered that there existed a loophole in Einstein's calculations.

While it is true that nothing can move faster than light, space itself is known to expand and contract. If one could expand the space behind the ship and shorten the space in front of the ship, one could traverse the same distances in less time. This is how Starfleet's warp drives work.

The ship itself is not moving faster than light, the space around the ship is merely bending to allow these distances to be shortened. Many scientists now believe that a warp drive is the only method of faster-than-light travel that could be possible in reality.