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Think of spacetime as a vast pond. A warp drive is a boat crossing it. Some boats, like the famous Alcubierre drive, churn the water into chaotic whirlpools. Others, like the Rodal design, glide smoothly, barely leaving a ripple.

A warp bubble compresses spacetime in front of the ship and stretches it behind, like a boat pushing through water. The ship doesn’t accelerate to the speed of light; instead, it glides inside the bubble.

At the heart of a warp drive lies Einstein's idea that massive bodies curve spacetime — the very stage on which all cosmic events unfold. Picture a bubble of such curved spacetime. Inside it, the ship floats without any G-forces, like a passenger in an airplane cabin who doesn't feel the headwind.