Changes

The Warp's existence is fueled by the emotions and souls of all sentient beings in the Materium.{{Fn|5}} Warpspace is without form and the laws of time and space do not apply there, for both size and time are simultaneously infinite and irrelevant within The Warp.{{Fn|33a}} Its energies are in constant turmoil, subject to endless disturbances.{{Fn|33a}}

The common analogy used to describe Warpspace compares the Warp to a vast sea of energy, which is subject to constant movement, currents, undertows, etc. Immaterial space and real space bear a relationship as the dimensions parallel with each other. The fact that they share this relationship allows a Warp-capable craft to enter the Warp, carried for a time along the Warp flows until reemerging into real space a distance away from its starting point. The common metaphor used for Warp-jumping compares the Warp to a fast flowing stream. Its motionless banks represent real space. A leaf dropped into the water upstream will be carried along by the currents. This is a useful metaphor in understanding Warpspace, although the Warp is far more complex in its movements than a linear stream. The Warp moves in endlessly unpredictable and convoluted patterns.{{Fn|33a}}

A spaceship may enter the Warp through the use of [[Warp drive]]s. This is the means by which spacecraft effectively travel faster than the speed of light. This is achieved because Warpspace is a domain of pure energy, where spacecraft can navigate between streams, as in an ocean. The Imperium uses [[Navigators]], a sub-race of humans, for this purpose. Time also proceeds a great deal slower- or faster- in the Warp than in the material universe, resulting in forms of time stasis, acceleration, reversal, and other chaotic violations of physics. While this solution is effective, it is far from perfect.{{Fn|33a}}

Long-distance journeys take months or even years, and the timing itself is unpredictable due to the very nature of the Warp.{{Fn|33a}}

The Warp is an extremely volatile medium. At times, disturbances can turn areas of the Warp into [[Warp Storm|raging storms]] of incomprehensibly destructive fury. These storms can last for days, months, or even centuries.{{Fn|2c}} Even more devastating are [[Warp Rift]]s, which are tears in reality that link The Warp to the [[Materium]]. These rifts are highly dangerous and allow the Realm of [[Chaos]] to spill into our own.{{Fn|33a}} Notable Warp Rifts include the [[Eye of Terror]], [[Maelstrom]], and [[Great Rift]].

The Warp, though utterly hostile to creatures of the material realm, is home to its own form of life.{{Fn|3}} These are often voracious entities which are drawn to the psychic emanations of mortals of real space - these creatures include the [[Vampyre]], [[Psychneuein]], [[Astral Spectre]], [[Astral Hound]],{{cite thisFn|3b}} [[Enslaver]]{{Fn|33a}} and most terrifying and numerous of all, the [[daemon|Daemons of Chaos]].{{cite this}}

*{{Endn|3}}: [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader]], **{{Endn|3a): pgs. 130-132**{{Endn|3b): pg. 203