If you would like to know more about the theories of interstellar flight, you should visit the tau zero foundation. There are many absurd theories that have become reality over the years of scientific research. Department of physics and astronomy, university of wales, college of cardi. The following is a nasa list of publications on space warp drivers. This program uses the second approach to space travel, bending space and time. Nasa discusses its warp drive research, prepares to create a. It does this by moving the space around a craft rather than moving the craft itself. May 01, 2015 nasa has quietly, and successfully, tested an electromagnetic em drive in a spacelike vacuum. Sep 24, 2012 but the biggest news of all is that white and his nasa team are designing laboratory experiments that will, hopefully, form the foundations for a practical solution to building a warp drive. Nasa glenns marc millis, who has taken a break from project management for nasas breakthrough propulsion physics bpp project to return to conducting research, offers this assessment of the prospects for achieving the propulsion breakthroughs that would enable such farfuture visions of interstellar travel. Nasa scientists are performing experiments that could help make warp drive a possibility sometime in the future from a lab built for the apollo program at nasas johnson space center in houston.
In 1994, a mexican physicist by the name of miguel alcubierre came up with a proposal for stretching the fabric of spacetime in a way which would, theoretically, permit ftl travel. Nasa scientists are working with smallscale models in an effort to produce localized distortions in. Davis2 15231 pilgrim oaks lane, league city, tx 77573, usa 2inst. Here, using fluid dynamic analogues, solutions of einsteins equations of general relativitygr that describe spacetime distortions and stresses caused by an acceleratingvehicle are replaced by solutions of the navier stokes ns.
White and colleagues are looking to practically prove the concept of warp drive by lab experiments. Feb 16, 2017 a simple explanation of how a real warp drive could work asteronx in this video we discuss how warp drives work. York time is measure of expansion contraction of space. White explains the theoretical basis for the whitejuday warp field interferometer. For those of us who have a mental breakdown on 10 hour plane. Alcubierre warp drive and light speed spacebattles forums. The alcubierre warp drive allows a spaceship to travel at an arbitrarily large global velocity by deforming the spacetime in a bubble around the spaceship. However, with the alcubierre drive, it would take a little under five months. Named after theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre. Luckily for vulcans, tatooinians and any acquaintances on kepler 22b, the alcubierre warp drive is still very much theoretical. Media reports have asserted that nasa may have discovered warp drive and em drive. The alcubierre warp drive in higher dimensional spacetime h. A simple explanation of how a real warp drive could work asteronx in this video we discuss how warp drives work. May 28, 20 nasa is currently working on the first practical field test toward the possibility of faster than light travel.
On paper, it is a highly speculative, but possibly valid, solution of the einstein field equations. On a floating tabletop inside a seismically isolated room deep within the sprawling johnson space center, birthplace of the apollo moon. Nov 16, 2012 the alcubierre drive is, of course, still highly speculative. An oddity in the alcubierre drive physics stack exchange. Nasa s warp drive concept this is the future, people. The painful truth about nasas warp drive spaceship from a. Pdf an examination of warp theory and technology to determine. When it comes to ship design, function over form is the way to go. In the star trek tv series and movies the starship uss enterprise could travel faster than light by engaging its. In a paper titled warp field mechanics 101 pdf, dr. Astronomy sleek ship nestled at the center of two enormous rings, which create the warp. Is the alcubierrefroning drive a legitimate possibility for. A future starship is now possible, based on current research at nasa from the ideas of theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre.
Here is a report of nasa research on the drive last year, sonny white revealed a new design pictured top for the alcubierre drive that reduces the energy requirement from the total massenergy of a planet the size of jupiter, down to the massenergy of voyager1 700 kilograms. The alcubierre warp drive in higher dimensional space. The alcubierre drive, alcubierre warp drive, or alcubierre metric referring to metric tensor is a speculative idea based on a solution of einsteins field equations in general relativity as proposed by theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent fasterthanlight travel if a configurable energydensity field lower than that of vacuum that is. On the other hand, star trek style artificial gravity, superluminal subspace communication, force fields, phasers and vulcan telepathy are all far less plausible. Harold sonny white nasa johnson space center 2101 nasa parkway, mc ep4 houston, tx 77058 email. Alcubierre recently exhibited a spacetime which, within the framework of general relativity, allows travel at. Pbs space time is the alcubierre warp drive possible. Nasa has quietly, and successfully, tested an electromagnetic em drive in a spacelike vacuum. Unfortunately, coverage of that nasa press release has been along the lines of book your tickets now, rockets are going to obsolete by next year. In a sense, this is very similar to the geometry of a gravitational waves, but imagine a craft sitting in the middle of it.
White and colleagues are looking to practically prove the concept of warpdrive by lab experiments. Will the alcubierre drive proposed by miguel alcubierre. Genk, american institute of physics, melville, new york, 2006. Nasa discusses its warp drive research, prepares to create. In one of my interstellar mod games i went to moho using the inertial fusion engine and had ridiculous amounts of deltav, so i decided to make the return by leaving retrograde, cancelling all of the planets rotational velocity. The alcubierre drive is, of course, still highly speculative. But for the near future, warp drive remains a dream.
In fact, the idea of a warp drive is still, in scientific terms. Inspired by gene roddenberrys star trek, physicist miguel alcubierre set out to transform one of the cornerstones of science fiction iconography, the warp drive, into reality. Artists concept of a spacecraft using an alcubierre warp drive. Nasa glenns marc millis, who has taken a break from project management for nasa s breakthrough propulsion physics bpp project to return to conducting research, offers this assessment of the prospects for achieving the propulsion breakthroughs that would enable such farfuture visions of interstellar travel. Nasa tests warp drive in vacuum, breaks laws of physics. Warp drives might be more realistic than thought wired. An explanation of the alcubierrewhite warp drive youtube. The photo showing astronaut aldrin driving core tube 5 into the lunar surface nasa photo as 11405963 also shows the light and. The paper explores the possibility of simulating some features of warp drive. Nasa one of the reasons for this is because this method would not. Warp drives may come with a killer downside universe today.
A warp drive is a theoretical superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction. The idea comes from the work published by miguel alcubierre in 1994. Nasas warp drive concept this is the future, people. There, the scientists have setup a mini warpdrive called whitejuday. Jan 20, 2017 artists concept of a spacecraft using an alcubierre warp drive. But the biggest news of all is that white and his nasa team are designing laboratory experiments that will, hopefully, form the foundations for a. Nasa has not designed a warp drive and it does not plan to in the future. Forget blowing bubbles, nasa may be on the path to discovering warp bubbles that. Jan 19, 2017 in physics, it is what is known as the alcubierre warp drive. The alcubierre drive, alcubierre warp drive, or alcubierre metric referring to metric tensor is a speculative idea based on a solution of einsteins field equations in general relativity as proposed by mexican theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent fasterthanlight travel if a configurable.
The alcubierre warp drive in higher dimensional spacetime. Alcubierre claims he was watching star trek and got inspired asking the question if the warp drive in science fiction series and movies could be supported in some way in physics. The canonical form of the alcubierre warp drive metric is considered to gain insight. In physics, it is what is known as the alcubierre warp drive. The alcubierre warp field and anti matter 2020 youtube. On paper, it is a highly speculative, but possibly valid, solution of the einstein field equations, specifically how space, time and.
Nasas faster than warp drive project st johnson space center. Nasa is currently working on the first practical field test toward the possibility of faster than light travel. Tbd tiptree tourapollo translation urania vogel writers of the future zajdel. The alcubierre warp drive is a very interesting arena for thought experiments to try to better understand general relativity and quantum field theory, but it should give you zero hope for actually. Some are calling the propulsion system a warp drive for its incredible potential speeds, although researchers say it falls short of fasterthanlight travel. A warp ship would at least have a donut shaped, fat ring, all warp ships would have them, since the thin rings require more power to generate the warp field.
Quantum thruster physics could help make warp drive a. Aug 21, 20 nasa scientists are performing experiments that could help make warp drive a possibility sometime in the future from a lab built for the apollo program at nasas johnson space center in houston. Wormhole travel as envisioned by les bossinas for nasa. The alcubierre warp field as described by miguel alcubierre would help us surpass the speed of light many times which means that if we had a ship that could go 10 times the speed of light, it. Nasa scientists are working with smallscale models in an effort to produce localized distortions in space, but this new aussie. Alcubierre drive plural alcubierre drives a hypothetical means of fasterthanlight propulsion, based on the controlled contraction and expansion of surrounding space. Alcubierrewhite warp drive energy consumption physics. The nasa research team have some very specific and controlled steps to take to create a proof of concept, to see if the physics of the. The apollo program and the chinese treasure fleets. Is the alcubierrefroning drive a legitimate possibility. Jun, 2014 the idea comes from the work published by miguel alcubierre in 1994. While the mechanics work with einsteins general theory of.
Jun 11, 2014 for years, harold sonny white has been delving into the technical details of a concept known as the alcubierre warp drive as part of his job at nasa s johnson space center. Marc millis, a former nasa glenn physicist, founded the organization to. Nasa one of the reasons for this is because this method would not rely on moving faster than light in the local sense. The alcubierre warp drive is a very interesting arena for thought experiments to try to better understand general relativity and quantum field theory. Last year, it was revealed that nasa has a warp drive program lead by harold white. By trekky0623 at english wikipedia transferred from en. However, nasa never actually made these claims, providing another example of sensationalism in media. An explanation of the alcubierrefroning warp drive part.
Mar 02, 2018 the paper explores the possibility of simulating some features of warp drive. In 2010, nasa physicist harold white revealed that he and a team were working on a design for this fasterthanlight ship, and this is the most recent design of what such a ship might actually look like. Everett department of physics and astronomy, tufts university, medford, massachusetts 02155 received 14 september 1995. Proposed by mexican theoretical physicist miguel alcubierre in 1994, the drive would propel a ship at superluminal speeds by creating a bubble of negative energy around it, expanding space and. An explanation of the alcubierrefroning warp drive part ii. Here, using fluid dynamic analogues, solutions of einsteins equations of general relativitygr that describe spacetime distortions and stresses caused by an acceleratingvehicle are replaced by solutions of the navier stokes ns equations of. Aug 20, 20 the nasa research team have some very specific and controlled steps to take to create a proof of concept, to see if the physics of the alcubierre warp drive actually play out in practice. But as it seems, my variation did involve a separation medium. Before we jump into this, you should know that a number of scientists are currently researching the feasibility of warp drive and emdrive and a number of other modes of faster than light travel. So although part of this article is simply, oh my gosh, look at this. An alcubierre drive is a theoretical and i mean very theoretical device that would enable faster than light travel without specifically breaking relativity.
His version of a warp drive is based on the observation that, though light can only travel at a maximum speed of 186,000 miles. Traveling faster than light has always been attributed to science fiction, but that all changed when harold white and his team at nasa started to work on and tweak the alcubierre drive. Harold white has built an interferometer to try and measure a warp bubble. There, the scientists have setup a mini warp drive called whitejuday. Nasa scientists now think that the famous warp drive concept is a realistic possibility, and that in the far future humans could regularly travel faster than the speed of light. For years, harold sonny white has been delving into the technical details of a concept known as the alcubierre warp drive as part of his job at nasas johnson space center. I say almost to hedge my bets, but i dont expect to make a retraction any time soon. Little is known about the interactions between massive particles and the alcubierre warp drive, or the e. Mar 01, 2012 luckily for vulcans, tatooinians and any acquaintances on kepler 22b, the alcubierre warp drive is still very much theoretical.