Convert warp factor to multiples of light speed, compute interstellar travel times in light years, and explore the TOS vs TNG scale comparison table from warp 1 to 9.99. All on one page, running 100% in your browser.
The TNG scale is used in The Next Generation / DS9 / Voyager era: v = w10/3·c for warp 1–9, warp 10 = infinite. The TOS scale (Kirk era): v = w³·c, no upper limit.
Multiples of light speed (×c) on both scales, plus estimated travel time to Alpha Centauri (4.24 light years) on the TNG scale.
| Warp | TOS (×c) | TNG (×c) | 4.24 ly (TNG) |
|---|
For warp 9–10, the table uses the simple w10/3 formula as an educational approximation. The official TNG scale uses a special curve climbing more steeply toward infinity at warp 10 (the digitized official table records warp 9.9 ≈ 3,053×c).
No. The warp scale is fiction from Star Trek, used on this page purely for entertainment and education. Warp drive does not exist in the real world, and the numbers here come from fictional formulas — not from tested physics experiments or theories.
On the TNG scale, warp 9 = 1,516.38 times light speed (about 454,599,619 km/s or 1,016,910,386,842 mph). On the older TOS scale, warp 9 = 729 times light speed.
The TOS scale uses v = w³ × c (explained in The Making of Star Trek, 1968). The TNG scale uses v = w10/3 × c for warp 1 through 9; above warp 9, the exponent climbs toward infinity at warp 10.
Per the Star Trek: The Next Generation technical manual, warp 10 = infinite speed — an unattainable limit. The threshold: on the TNG scale, 2,154.43 times light speed already equals warp 10. This calculator rejects w ≥ 10 on the TNG scale with a clear message, not a number.
Alpha Centauri is 4.24 light years away. At warp 9 on the TNG scale (1,516.38× light speed), the trip takes 1 day 1 hour (about 1.02 days). For comparison, light itself takes 4.24 years.
USS Voyager is often said to cruise at warp 9.975. On the TNG scale that equals about 2,136.53 times light speed per the w10/3 formula.
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