Fold drive

The Transrelay Space-Folding Drive (TSFD), or human slipspace drive is a human spacecraft propulsion system capable of making transitions to and from any location in physical space with any other through Slipstream Space, thus enabling faster-than-light long range interstellar human travel, Hence the name "Transrelay".

History
The drive was developed by a group of engineers and theoretical physicists led by Tobias Fleming Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa and was completed in September 19, 2074 AD. From that point onward, the drive became one of the most important technological innovations of humanity.

Functionality
The fold drive functions by creating ruptures between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace. The nonstandard physics of slipspace allow it to be used as a shortcut realm, Facilitating Interstellar travel between distant regions in reasonable time. However, Element zero works differently - mass effect fields compress slipspace in front of the ship yet stretch it out behind it, creating the illusion of teleportation, but not without the side effect of time dialition.

The drive makes ruptures by using high-power cyclic particle accelerators to generate microscopic yet unstable black holes that potentially can create slipspace "splinters" in normal space, eventually consuming the drive and the entire ship which the drive was placed on. Stabilization is achieved by containing the holes in a mass effect field.

Because of their low mass, Hawking radiation gives them a lifetime of around a nanosecond (or potentially a little longer than a whole second) before they evaporate into useless thermal energy. In that nanosecond, the engine manipulates them into forming a coherent rupture between normal space and the slipstream.

When active, a fold drive emits alpha (helium nuclei) and beta (fast electrons) particles.

The elements Selenium and Technetium are used to manufacture fold portals.