Dilithium only regulates the matter/anti-matter reaction to keep the flow consistent. The core itself is powered by the matter anti-matter reaction, which has always been shown to be fueled by deuterium.
I can’t remember if it was stated onscreen, but I always understood it to be that the cruising speed of a starship is where they find the maximum efficiency of fuel use vs speed as well as wear-and-tear on the nacelles and warp coils.
Dilithium only regulates the matter/anti-matter reaction to keep the flow consistent. The core itself is powered by the matter anti-matter reaction, which has always been shown to be fueled by deuterium.
I can’t remember if it was stated onscreen, but I always understood it to be that the cruising speed of a starship is where they find the maximum efficiency of fuel use vs speed as well as wear-and-tear on the nacelles and warp coils.
Makes sense since most ships cruise at warp 6-7 which I like to imagine is a nice cool 55 on the highway
I assumed they cruised under impulse power and only went into warp when they needed to cross larger distances.