View source for FELT Drive History

== Laminar Time Theory ==
In the mid-twenty first century, towards the end of his career, Professor B. Honeydew (Oxford) proposed the Theory of Laminar Time.

In short, as we all know from fluid dynamics, liquids move in a laminar fashion over a stationary surface.  As you take smaller and smaller cross sections of the liquid from the stationary surface outward, the average momentum of the liquid decreases until you reach a point where, at the smallest cross section possible, the liquid at the stationary surface has zero momentum regardless of the average momentum of the liquid as a whole.

Dr. Honeydew proposed that time operates in a similar fashion with human awareness as the theoretical "stationary surface."  Under normal conditions, humans do not actually perceive the progression of time, just as they are not aware of autonomic functions such as breathing and blood flow.  Honeydew dubbed this condition as "zero momentum." However, under certain circumstances, humans DO perceive time as moving faster or slower, depending on certain physiological conditions.

In situations with high levels of stress, time seems to slow for humans.  In other situations, such as those involving intense focus, time can seem to speed up.  The common factor in these situations is skin conductance, or the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR).  Lower GSR levels correlated directly to decreases in perceived time.  Higher GSR levels correlated to increases in perceived time.

Honeydew postulated that when the GSR fluctuated, human skin created a field that moved the subject into alternate laminar time streams in relation to their surroundings, and as such, perceived changes in the flow of time were actual dilations of time.

== Initial Use ==
Using synthetic skin, and several electrode controllers developed by demolitions expert Donald "Crazy" Harry, Honeydew was able to create a low level time distortion field that was eventually incorporated into many major refrigeration appliances to help slow the decay of food.

Other human scientists' experiments with controlling skin conductivity to achieve states of suspended animation met with very limited success, and the technology was eventually shelved for any uses beyond the household grocery crisper.

== Early Felt Experiments ==
It wasn't for another twenty years that Honeydew's protégé, Dr. Beaker postulated that the time dilation effect could be applied to puppet skin, also known as felt.  

Unfortunately, early experiments met with failure. Dr. Beaker attributed it to the fact that unlike human skin, felt has no cellular structure, and as such, it cannot conduct electricity like human skin can due to its inherently chaotic nature.  This is why puppets do not experience perceived changes in the rate of time flow like humans do.  They have no GSR.

However, using supersonic pulses to manipulate the particle structure of the felt, Beaker was able to create what he dubbed a Felt Matrix, which WAS capable of conducting electricity.  Early prototypes of the Felt Matrix had a GSR that was larger that that of synthetic skin by a factor of 10.  

While puppets born of Felt Matrix construction did perceive time dilation effects much like humans did, the effect didn't last long as the Felt Matrix quickly destabilized into a normal felt configuration due to humidity. Any water at all had an extremely adverse effect on the alignment of the matrix, and coating it any sort of waterproofing material prevented the free flow of electrons.

Through further refinement, in humidity controlled clean rooms, Dr. Beaker was able to magnify the GSR rating by a factor of 10,000.  Re-scaled and re-dubbed the Galvanic Felt Response (GFR), Beaker's experiments successfully created a time dilation field that was easily able to hold puppet volunteers in stasis for extended periods of time.  Unfortunately, the technology was useless on humans, as even the slightest humidity from exhalation or sweat immediately destabilized the Felt Matrix.

== Space Applications ==
It was during Dr. Beaker's tenure as lead scientist on the International Space Station that he was inspired to test the Felt Matrix in the vacuum of space.  The Felt Matrix responded to polarized interstellar hydrogen in ways that Beaker never foresaw.  The GFR of the Felt Matrix responded logarithmically to polarized hydrogen, and through his experiments, he was able to create time dilation fields large enough to encompass significant portions of the Space Station.

It was this discovery that led Beaker to return to his mentor's old friend Dr. Harry in order to couple the time dilation field with a propulsion system.  And thus, the first Felt Energized Laminar Time Drive (F.E.L.T. Drive) was born.


[[Category:Technology]]