The Dimensional Fold Drive is an extension of existing Warp Drive technology. It was developed by melding Hyperspace technology produced by Excalibur Inc. and Federation Warp Drive technology. It is used to travel not only through space, but also through time.
Operation
The drive works as an extension of Warp Drive by infusing the the warp field with a temporal energy (a specifically calibrated mix of tachyons, chronotons, and lygons) which create more drastic changes in the surrounding space-time. This alteration of space-time folds the space around the vessel back into itself in a controlled spacial implosion. Using the vessels warp nacelles in consort with the main deflector and static deflector grid to control the implosion and the space of the resulting bubble of space-time the vessel is able to create pocket. This pocket is tethered to real space-time but exists outside the normal space-time flow. This region (called null-space) exists in an infinite plane between real space and adjacent subspace domains.
Connection to Real Space-Time
The space-time anchor exists in real space as a verteron particle nexus which prevents the space-time bubble from separating from its native reality. This particle nexus moves through real space proportional the vessels path through null-space. Since the vessel itself is not moving relative to it's space-time pocket it experience no initia nor is the vessel impacted by the corresponding tether's position in real space. The pocket itself is affected by forced proportional to its distance in subspace from real space (i.e. the length of the tether). The vessel alters the direction of travel and velocity by altering the field geometry and how far into null-space the pocket is. A natural equalibrum of relational speed in real space to energy output and field geometry occurs making speed a constant relative to the shape of the pocket and relative position in null-space.
Neither matter nor energy can exist for more than seconds before being pushed back into normal space at random. A ship or person cannot survive intact the uncontrolled transition intact. A ship's debris would be spread over an entire sector or farther, if folded space collapsed around it.
Velocity
The velocity relative to a position in normal space-time is calculated based on transition between 10 levels of of flight through null-space in the folded space-time pocket. These levels are termed Fold Factor or sometimes Fold Depth, each level corresponds to a specific output and geometry based on the shape and size of the vessel to produce a specific velocity of position in real space. Where x is the fold level, the following function gives speed cochrans.
Roughly 1 cochran moving through a region with a space-time gradient of 1 (that is to say no distortions in the local space-time) is equivalent to the speed of light in a vacuum. Partial fold factors are also allowed, so it is possible to travel at a velocity between Fold 5 and Fold 6 and the relative speed in real space would fit the predicted speed by the above function.
Efficiency
For a Fold Factor of 2 or less, it is more efficient to use Warp Drive due to the power output for velocity gain over Warp Drive. Transitioning to Fold 3 and higher, there is a significant speed differential for a similar (though generally higher) power output for the same Warp Factor.
Communications / Sensing
Sending / communicating while moving through null-space is difficult at best. Usually some form of specialized beacon or receiver is required to do so. Currently Solas Tempus operates several transceivers which allow communications with vessels travelling in null-space. Due to the proprietary nature of the technology, only Solas Tempus has technology to reliably communicate with a vessel in null-space.
Time Travel
While traveling through null-space the pocket field geometry can be altered to change the vessel's Delta-T to alter the way the pocket flows through space-time relative to its point of origin. This is called the T Factor, normally the drive operates with a T Factor of 1 but the T Factor can be increased to a maximum not to exceed the Fold Factor. This is due to energy output, the energy output to alter the Delta-T is greater than the energy output to maintain the pocket integrity (the Fold Factor) the field will destabilize. In normal operation the T Factor is equal to the Fold Factor while moving through time.
The rate at which the vessel moves through time is equal to the equation below, allowing to x to be the T Factor. The formula gives the rate of change through time in real space seconds per null-space second. It is not possible to stop time within the null-space bubble, that remains at a Delta-T of 1. It is only possible to alter how time flows relative to anchor location in real space-time.
The directionality through time is determined not by the power output but by the geometry of the pocket during travel, thus a T Factor of 2 measures a rate forward or backward through time.
Visiting the Future
All matter and energy in the universe has a quantum signature that is in flux, the field generated by the DFD at the time of folding must be resonant to the quantum signature at the time of departure. Attempts have been made to alter the quantum signature of the field in order to travel beyond the point of departure, such attempts have catastrophically failed setting a hard limit on how far into the future a vessel can go. No vessel has been able to maintain a Delta-T greater than forward value of 1. At this time there is no known to way to remodulate the field geometry to generate a stable pocket which can travel forward in time beyond the real space flow of time.
Arriving at Departure Time
It is possible to arrive at a destination at the same instant of departure by adjusting a field geometry of 1 in the reverse direction. However, the pocket tends to be difficult to control in this configuration and this should only be done in the case of extreme emergency.
Stopping Time
There has been some success in allowing a vessel to exist in null-space with a Delta-T close to 0, while it is not possible to achieve a Delta-T of true 0. While possible it is not stable and should only be used in times of extreme emergency.