Warp Ring

A Warp Ring is responsible for supporting a ship's warp field and exciting exotic matter. All ships need a warp ring in order to successfully sustain a warp field. The faster the ship goes, the more elongated the bubble becomes. So in order to attain higher speeds and still maintain a warp field, a larger warp ring is required.

Warp Ring Functions
Warp rings are directly connected to a spaceship's Driving Beam that syncs its rotation to the rest of the warp drive's components. The ring plays a vital role in the operation of a spaceship's warp drive.

Maintaining A Warp Field
One of the main purposes of a warp ring is to channel light plasma around the ship so that a warp bubble can completely encompass a ship. For ships that do not need to go as fast (subluminal speeds), the warp ring can be a few meters across, around the size of the Forecylinder. Ships that require higher speeds need a warp ring with a significantly larger diameter to counter the elongation of the warp field that comes with moving at high velocities. The diameter of the bubble cannot become narrower than the diameter of the warp ring. When the bubble reaches maximum elongation, the ship physically cannot travel any faster. Larger rings allow for larger and more powerful warp bubbles.

Problem with smaller Warp Rings
The problem that arises from warp rings with small diameters, notable those smaller than the hull of their ship, is that if the ship is going fast enough, the edge of the bubble can be within the hull of the ship, ripping sections of the exposed hull apart by the contraction of spacetime. It has recently become standard that either warp rings are built to completely surround the full diameter of the hull, or speed limits are programmed into the ship's computer to prevent the ship from going at dangerous speeds.

Excitation of Exotic Matter
The other main responsibility of the warp ring is to evenly distribute light plasma to compartments with exotic matter, which they can then be excited to induce a negative mass distortion behind the ship to create a warp field. It does not matter where on the ship the ring is located, only that it is behind the warp coil and Forecylinder. Due to there being less exotic matter than normal matter (as it is tough to produce), the warp ring is required to be bigger than the Forecylinder to allow energy to be distributed over a wider surface area. This is needed to produce a distortion equally proportionately inverse to that of normal matter for consistent warp drive operation. Deviation from the balance of positive and negative mass distortions, albeit rare, can lead to damaging or destruction the warp drive.

Heat Dissipation
Lining the outside of Reverie's warp ring are many elliptical slits. These are Heat Dissipation Vents that are designed to do exactly what you think: Evenly distribute and release heat generated by light plasma conduits in the warp ring, as well as heat from the warp drive itself. These vents are incredibly useful in keeping Reverie's warp drive cool.

Ring Buttresses
At first it might look extremely odd and somewhat abstract, but these flying buttresses are very important. They help the structural stability of the hull and prevent it from collapsing, as well as keeping the Warp Ring in place, preventing it from rolling forwards or backwards. Without them, the ring would wobble back and forth and Reverie's hull integrity would be decreased.

Trivia

 * The warp ring was originally meant to be triple the hull's height.
 * The ring cannot be ripped apart due to centrifugal force due to its material and structure.
 * Its maximum speed of rotation is 19,440 RPM.