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In science fiction, a higher "dimension" often refers to parallel or alternate universes or other imagined planes of existence. This usage is derived from the idea that to travel to parallel/alternate universes/planes of existence one must travel in a direction/dimension besides the standard ones.
Though the science fiction rocket has been described as a 20th-century icon, [5]: 744 according to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction "The means by which space flight has been achieved in sf – its many and various spaceships – have always been of secondary importance to the mythical impact of the theme". [4]
Warp drive, or a drive enabling space warp, is one of several ways of travelling through space found in science fiction. [3] It has been often discussed as being conceptually similar to hyperspace. [3] [4]: 238–239 A warp drive is a device that distorts the shape of the space-time continuum.
The earliest references to hyperspace in fiction appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories Quarterly (shown here is the Spring 1931 issue featuring John Campbell's Islands of Space). Emerging in the early 20th century, within several decades hyperspace became a common element of interstellar space travel stories in science fiction.
American science fiction author and editor Lester del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." [3] Another definition comes from The Literature Book by DK and ...
Inasmuch as they provide opportunities for telling stories of isolated populations with diverse cultures, space habitats serve the same function in space that islands serve on Earth in earlier speculative fiction, [3] though some science fiction works such as the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 take the opposite approach of ...
Spaceships are often one of the key plot devices in science fiction. Numerous short stories and novels are built up around various ideas for spacecraft, and spacecraft have featured in many films and television series. Some hard science fiction books focus on the technical details of the craft.
A common science-fiction device is to posit a faster-than-light propulsion system (such as warp drive) or travel through hyperspace, although some posit starships as outfitted for centuries-long journeys of slower-than-light travel. Other designs posit a way to boost the ship to near-lightspeed, allowing relatively "quick" travel (i.e. decades ...