Faster Than Light Travel

[Agnorath]

Yeah, so I've had an idea that's been brewing for a while, on faster than light speeds.

I don't know the exact speeds that everything would add, but I think it could work. Tell me If I'm wrong or if there's a better way to do this.

So the first step would be someone being a steel compounder lets call him X. So X can both store speed in steel and can push on metal by burning steel. So X is a Steelrunner and a Coinshot. A compounder could move very fast, but is restricted by air resistance and friction. Next, X would need a Hemalurgic spike that would give them the abilities of a Slider, or the ability to burn Bendalloy and create speed bubbles. X would then have to become a Bendalloy savant, Bendalloy savants can move their speed bubble with them. 

Now with these abilities, they would already be able to move incredibly fast, but air resistance might still restrict them from faster than light, so they would need the Surge of Fricton. If they were able to travel to Roshar and become an Edgedancer or a Dustbringer, they would have access to it. 

But my Idea includes the surge of Gravitation. So they could become an Edgedancer, Dustbringer, Windrunner, or Skybreaker. Hemalurgic spikes can steal surges, it is more complicated but it is possible. They could also carry an Honorblade, or find some other way to gain access to the surge. But in some way, they have access to Gravitation and Friction.

Now to put it all together. X travels to the cognitive realm (its the only place I can think of that is pretty much flat) They store a massive amount of speed, for compounding. Now X has two options, they can either Lash themselves so they are floating or they can choose to run. X chooses to run. 

Step one, X puts up a speed bubble that will move with them (they are a savant). Two, X uses the surge of friction so that they can run without air resistance. Three, they lash themselves forward as many times as they can, so that they are falling at an incredible rate. Four, X compounds as much speed as they can and runs forward (downward for them).

I don't know if this would all work or if there is a better way to do it, what do you guys think?

[spaidapig]

I see some problems with this theory.

First of all, as I see this, there is so net gain from running downwards with gravitational aid. So one is ultimately stronger than the other one. You can either outrun the gravity or the gravity “outpulls” your running speed. 

The second thing is the combination of the Friction-Surge with the Steelrunner ability. This WoB clarifies that a steelcompounding Edgedancer could not outrun a nuclear bomb, so they do not get that fast.

Now it gets interesting. A bendalloy savant can, as you said, move his time bubble with him. But even though there are different problems with moving bubbles. Items moving in and out of a bubble will be deflected in strange angles. Furthermore you will need more energy when this happens, I think this means that the metal will be burned faster. With enough supply this isn’t a problem but one to be dealt with.

Let’s assume we have nothing in our way. 

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One nugget of bendalloy can compress approximately two minutes into fifteen seconds.

This is from the coppermind. An explosion can have a velocity of up to 10.000 m/s. In combination with the timebending coefficient of 8 this would even lead to a speed of 80.000 m/s, which isn’t even a fraction of the speed of light.

[Shard of Reading]

I don't really think this will work because of how complicated it is. Even if it did work it would almost never happen because of how many different things you need to do first.

[Mage]

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The second thing is the combination of the Friction-Surge with the Steelrunner ability. This WoB clarifies that a steelcompounding Edgedancer could not outrun a nuclear bomb, so they do not get that fast

I read the WoB, so Brandon says that it is impossible, but why exactly could a steelcompounding Edgedancer not have near infinite speed? They could pull tons of compounded speed all at once, and without the restrictions of friction that should be able to go as fast as they want. What am I missing?

[Shard of Reading]

13 minutes ago, Mage said:

I read the WoB, so Brandon says that it is impossible, but why exactly could a steelcompounding Edgedancer not have near infinite speed? They could pull tons of compounded speed all at once, and without the restrictions of friction that should be able to go as fast as they want. What am I missing?

I’m not necessarily saying that this is impossible I’m saying that it probably will never happen because of how many things you need to put together for it to happen. There is likely to be wide spread FTL in era four and this is very personal and incredibly complicated so there would need to be a lot of things that come together to make it happen. So from a story telling stand point it will never happen because of the inconceivably of it.

[Mage]

4 minutes ago, Shard of Reading said:

So from a story telling stand point it will never happen because of the inconceivably of it.

Okay, let me get this straight. So theoretically it isn't impossible, but it is practically impossible and we likely won't ever see someone doing it.

[spaidapig]

13 minutes ago, Mage said:

I read the WoB, so Brandon says that it is impossible, but why exactly could a steelcompounding Edgedancer not have near infinite speed? They could pull tons of compounded speed all at once, and without the restrictions of friction that should be able to go as fast as they want. What am I missing?

I think it's the consumption rate at which the metal can be burned/tapped, which should be at an exponential rate, especially in the higher rates.

 

[Mage]

3 minutes ago, spaidapig said:

I think it's the consumption rate at which the metal can be burned/tapped, which should be at an exponential rate, especially in the higher rates

Is there a limit to how fast you can tap a metalmind? I was under the impression that feruchemy was only limited by the amount of attribute that was stored, but not the rate that it could be released.

[spaidapig]

1 minute ago, Mage said:

Is there a limit to how fast you can tap a metalmind? I was under the impression that feruchemy was only limited by the amount of attribute that was stored, but not the rate that it could be released.

It can be released as fast as you want, but you need more charge for higher effects.

 

Let's say you have stored enough speed to go twice as fast for four minutes.

If you want to go four times as fast as standard speed, it would hardly last for 1 minute and not 2, because the cinsumption rate isnt linear but exponential. 

You want to go 8 times faster, only lasts a few seconds. And so on.

So the amount of Investiture you need to have stored is so high, that you probably couldn't move, because if the weight of your metalminds.

And of course there is relativity stuff going on that prevents you from going faster even in friction free areas.

[Mage]

4 minutes ago, spaidapig said:

So the amount of Investiture you need to have stored is so high, that you probably couldn't move, because if the weight of your metalminds.

And of course there is relativity stuff going on that prevents you from going faster even in friction free areas.

Okay thanks. I think I understand now.

[Agnorath]

Ah, I see. Thank you for helping me understand that really helped. I do however think that Bendalloy savants will be important to FTL. In the coppermind it does say that Bendalloy and Cadmium will be important to FTL. 

4 hours ago, spaidapig said:

First of all, as I see this, there is so net gain from running downwards with gravitational aid. So one is ultimately stronger than the other one. You can either outrun the gravity or the gravity “outpulls” your running speed. 

That is also very true.  This WoB says a steelrunner couldn't store speed from falling, so I doubt that they could make themselves fall faster, therefore eliminating the usefulness of the surge of Gravitation.

Thanks for doing the math and other things though everyone that really helped.

 

[spaidapig]

48 minutes ago, Agnorath said:

I do however think that Bendalloy savants will be important to FTL. In the coppermind it does say that Bendalloy and Cadmium will be important to FTL

Jup. This will definitly become very important.

I think it will be a combination of multiple time bubbles, the Harmonium Cubes and something we haven't seen yet.

Someone was pretty close to solving the allomantic FTL, but we are still missing one piece.

There are certain WoBs that are thinking along the right lines. Primarly This, this and that one. While the last one mentions an Alcubierre Drive, I think this is a solid start for further theorizing the FTL