Hyperspace

In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. In its original meaning, the term "hyperspace" was simply a synonym for higher-dimensional space. This usage was most common in 19th-century textbooks^[1]^: 404^[2]^[3]^: 94 and is still occasionally found in academic and popular science texts, for example, Hyperspace (1994).^[4]^[5]^{: 238–239}^[6] Its science fiction usage originated in the magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 and within several decades it became one of the most popular tropes of science fiction, popularized by its use in the works of authors such as Isaac Asimov and E. C. Tubb, and media franchises such as Star Wars.

One of the main reasons for the concept's popularity in science fiction is the impossibility of faster-than-light travel in ordinary space, which hyperspace allows writers to bypass. In most works, hyperspace is described as a higher dimension through which the shape of our three-dimensional space can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other, similar to the concept of a wormhole; or a shortcut-enabling parallel universe that can be travelled through. Usually it can be traversed – the process often known as "jumping" – through a gadget known as a "hyperdrive"; rubber science is sometimes used to explain it. Many works rely on hyperspace as a convenient background tool enabling FTL travel necessary for the plot, with a small minority making it a central element in their storytelling. While most often used in the context of interstellar travel, a minority of works focus on other plot points, such as the inhabitants of hyperspace, hyperspace as an energy source, or even hyperspace as the afterlife.

^ Langford, David (2005). "Hyperspace". In Westfahl, Gary (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
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^ Stableford, Brian M. (2006). Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-97460-8. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
^ Kevles, Bettyann (15 March 1994). "BOOK REVIEW / NONFICTION : His Scientific View Is Out of This World : HYPERSPACE: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the 10th Dimension by Michio Kaku; Oxford $25, 344 pages". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[Westfahl2005-1] Langford, David (2005). "Hyperspace". In Westfahl, Gary (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7. Retrieved 29 August 2014.

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[Stableford20063-5] Stableford, Brian M. (2006). Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-97460-8. Retrieved 29 August 2014.

[6] Kevles, Bettyann (15 March 1994). "BOOK REVIEW / NONFICTION : His Scientific View Is Out of This World : HYPERSPACE: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the 10th Dimension by Michio Kaku; Oxford $25, 344 pages". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

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