a black hole." Relation to Star Trek warp drive The Star Trek television series and films use the term "warp drive" to describe their method of faster-than-light travel. Neither the Alcubierre theory, nor anything similar, existed when the series was conceived—the term "warp drive" and general concept originated with John W. Campbell's 1931 science fiction novel Islands of Space. Alcubierre stated in an email to William Shatner that his theory was directly inspired by the term used in the show and cites the "'warp drive' of science fiction" in his 1994 article. A USS Alcubierre appears in the Star Trek tabletop RPG Star Trek Adventures. See also EmDrive Exact solutions in general relativity (for more on the sense in which the Alcubierre spacetime is a solution) IXS Enterprise Quantum vacuum thruster Reactionless drive Spacecraft propulsion Unruh effect Notes References External links It describes the concept in laymans terms (hosted by John Michael Godier) A short video clip of the hypothetical effects of the warp drive. Marcelo B. Ribeiro's Page on Warp Drive Theory Interstellar travel Warp drive theory Lorentzian manifolds Science fiction themes Hypothetical technology 1994 introductions Exact solutions in general relativity