Einstein's space warp and real-world physics thumb|upright=1|Lorentz factor as a function of velocity. Its initial value is 1 (when ); and as velocity approaches the speed of light increases without bound . Einstein's theory of special relativity states that speed of light travel is impossible for material objects that, unlike photons, have a non-zero rest mass. The problem of a material object exceeding light speed is that an infinite amount of kinetic energy would be required to travel at exactly the speed of light. Warp drives are one of the science-fiction tropes that serve to circumvent this limitation in fiction to facilitate stories set at galactic scales. However, the concept of space warp has been criticized as "illogical", and has been connected to several other rubber science ideas that do not fit into our current understanding of physics, such as antigravity or negative mass.
Einstein's space warp and real-world physics thumb|upright=1|Lorentz factor as a function of velocity Its initial value is 1 (when ); and as velocity approaches the speed of light increases without bound  Einstein's theory of special relativity states that speed of light travel is impossible for material objects that unlike photons have a non-zero rest mass The problem of a material object exceeding light speed is that an infinite amount of kinetic energy would be required to travel at exactly the speed of light Warp drives are one of the science-fiction tropes that serve to circumvent this limitation in fiction to facilitate stories set at galactic scales However the concept of space warp has been criticized as "illogical" and has been connected to several other rubber science ideas that do not fit into our current understanding of physics such as antigravity or negative mass