Radical space propulsion: warp drive for real?

Hmmm.. VERY interesting. I've just downloaded the paper going to have a browse through it now.

As others have said - this is a big "might" there may be a flaw in it, but hey.. It will be fun trying to get it to work - if someone steps up to the plate.

Hopefully instead of reading "Around the World in 80 days".. our future kids will be reading "Alpha Proxima in 80 days".

*crosses fingers*

-Keeval-

To quote a very famous Vulcan, All I can say is " Fascinating"!!!!

Originally posted by KeevalHopefully instead of reading "Around the World in 80 days".. our future kids will be reading "Alpha Proxima in 80 days"
-Keeval-

Actually less than 40 days to Alpha Proxima! The article said to Mars in three hours or a star 11 light years away in 80 days. Alpha Proxima being slighlty less than half that distance would take slightly less than half the time!

True.. I sped-read the article and thought it said the closest star.. if it's 11 light years it's even cooler!

-Keeval-

I'm curious, does anyone know where they got their numbers from? How did they come up with the speed of .1375 lightyears per day?

even if not completely succesfull test might lead to data to perfect the engine and a second test might be succesful. we will see but I am going to follow this as good as possible because this is the biggest thing in human history until present time. that is if they are going on with it. but if governement isn't willing I hope some group like ansari xprize will..

I don't ever see this thing becoming a reality for human travel.

Here to Mars in three hours? Be for real. I haven't done any calculations on this yet, but you'd have to accelerate to you'd have to quickly accelerate to 12 million mi./hr or accelerate to 30 million mi./hr. for 90 min.? before having to decelerate (inversely proportional) or creat another crater on Mars.

From what I understood about the little bit I read, this device seems to be opening worm holes (with the gravity and opening other dimensions). This would be fine except for the fact that our bodies can't withstand the forces of this extreme acceration and these unheard of powerful magnetic fields. Fields this strong would probably force every atom of iron from our hemoglobin out of our bloodstream and ionized the rest of the elements in our body virtually tearing us apart.

I just don't ever see it hapening. Not for human transportation.

Originally posted by Intelearthling
I don't ever see this thing becoming a reality for human travel.

Here to Mars in three hours? Be for real. I haven't done any calculations on this yet, but you'd have to accelerate to you'd have to quickly accelerate to 12 million mi./hr or accelerate to 30 million mi./hr. for 90 min.? before having to decelerate (inversely proportional) or creat another crater on Mars.

From what I understood about the little bit I read, this device seems to be opening worm holes (with the gravity and opening other dimensions). This would be fine except for the fact that our bodies can't withstand the forces of this extreme acceration and these unheard of powerful magnetic fields. Fields this strong would probably force every atom of iron from our hemoglobin out of our bloodstream and ionized the rest of the elements in our body virtually tearing us apart.

I just don't ever see it hapening. Not for human transportation.

just this kinds of reactions have us in a spot with no such propuslion systems and why we not have nuclear propulsion..
let us firstly wait for test results if they are going to make it . for the problems you post there will also be an solution. if the problems you say are going to happen we have to see first. that is why we have these test for. and for braking.. you don't know if you don't just pop up on the spot after leaving the dimension which we use to ttravel through. than we will know after the tests over 5 years if every thing goes well.

Originally posted by MarkLuitzen
just this kinds of reactions have us in a spot with no such propuslion systems and why we not have nuclear propulsion..

I'm not rying to critisize the research. I've thought all my life on how can I get from point A to point B instantaneaously without having to feel the phsical effects of acceleration and deceleration.

I come to the conclusion that if there is a force powerful enough to actually bend space itself and then fold point A and point B to where they touch, you could just step over to the second point and instanly be there without the need to travel.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just saying that we can't survive the G-forces associated with such spectacular acceleration.

We'll just have to think of another way, that's all.

[edit on 5/1/06 by Intelearthling]

I had the same thought. It could be usefull for longer trips though say to a nearby star. Man I can't believe I just said that...

Interial Dampening technologies will have to be researched for shorter journeys. I have read concepts that basically have the pilot immersed in a fluid which does its best to cancel out Interia like a Noise Canceller. Can equilibrium be reached is the question.

Also if this pans out what are the implications for Artificial gravity?

I guess the theory hinges on the assumption that there exists 3 quanta of Gravitational forces. 1. Graviton - Attrative 2. Gravitophoton - Attractive/Repulsive (I guess it has to do with polarity or somesuch thing) 3. Quintessance - Repulsive and that the 2nd can be manipulated by a superconducting torus shaped device emitting EM Fields. That's what I got out of the paper. As for when it shifts over into "parellel space" as they call it, my head starts to hurt trying to understand it

EDIT: Can't spell

[edit on 5-1-2006 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by junglejake
I'm curious, does anyone know where they got their numbers from? How did they come up with the speed of .1375 lightyears per day?

Exactly what I got. Going just 1/10000 the speed of light would be a major accomplishment.

I assume that this involves some sort of math other than college algebra and trigonometry, and that is where they got their numbers.

Originally posted by Intelearthling

Originally posted by MarkLuitzen
just this kinds of reactions have us in a spot with no such propuslion systems and why we not have nuclear propulsion..

I'm not rying to critisize the research. I've thought all my life on how can I get from point A to point B instantaneaously without having to feel the phsical effects of acceleration and deceleration.

I come to the conclusion that if there is a force powerful enough to actually bend space itself and then fold point A and point B to where they touch, you could just step over to the second point and instanly be there without the need to travel.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just saying that we can't survive the G-forces associated with such spectacular acceleration.

We'll just have to think of another way, that's all.

[edit on 5/1/06 by Intelearthling]

Hey, if this thing works and allows FTL travel due to dimensional quirks, then whats to assume that the G-forces we would expierience in "normal" space be the same in this altered space?

We might only be going at 100 m/s in the bubble, whilst travelling FTL in "normal" space....

We might only be going at 100 m/s in the bubble, whilst travelling FTL in "normal" space....

Well you're not travelling "in" normal space, you're travelling FTL relative to normal space. Nitpicking I know but it highlights a another problem I see with this. How are we gonna Navigate in this Parellel Space? Is the topography the same as our universe or will we have to search for various landmarks ala B5? Also what about FTL communication?

[edit on 5-1-2006 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by Intelearthling
I don't ever see this thing becoming a reality for human travel.

I just don't ever see it happening. Not for human transportation.

I believe it was Ben Franklin that was in Paris when the first hot air balloon went up with a passenger and the woman next to him asked, “But what good is it?” And he replied, “What good is a newborn baby?”

Just for argument, lets say humans can’t stand the forces even though the propulsion system works. When the day comes that we are serious about colonizing Mars we can send the humans on a slow boat to the red planet and have supply ships arriving every three hours with supplies. Just imagine how fast we would be able to take root.

Or look back just a couple of hundred years ago. It took months to get from the old world to the new world. If you had told them that someday they would make the crossing in just a few hours they would have said it was totally impossible. NO human could withstand the forces of such rapid travel. It can’t be done. Untold thousands of people do just that in our day and age.

Earth to Mars in three hours? I believe it will happen. Maybe not in my lifetime but I do believe it will happen. Just as I believe we will travel the galaxies and eventually the universe.

Just my thoughts,

Wupy

Originally posted by sardion2000

We might only be going at 100 m/s in the bubble, whilst travelling FTL in "normal" space....

Well you're not travelling "in" normal space, you're travelling FTL relative to normal space. Nitpicking I know but it highlights a another problem I see with this. How are we gonna Navigate in this Parellel Space? Is the topography the same as our universe or will we have to search for various landmarks ala B5? Also what about FTL communication?

[edit on 5-1-2006 by sardion2000]

The way I understood it is that the field generated by the engine would distort local space sufficiently to allow the FTL effect to become apparent.

I would assume this is kind of like in Star Trek, where they have a "Warp Field", which enables them to travel in "Warp" (ie FTL), but the area outside (and beyond) the "warp bubble" would essentially be "normal space".

They travel through "normal space" whilst distorting the immediate space around the ship to facilitate FTL travel.

I might have it completely wrong......

Or look back just a couple of hundred years ago. It took months to get from the old world to the new world. If you had told them that someday they would make the crossing in just a few hours they would have said it was totally impossible. NO human could withstand the forces of such rapid travel. It can’t be done. Untold thousands of people do just that in our day and age.

Funny you should bring that up there.

When Steam engines where first used for rail travel, many commentators said that the Human body couldn't withstand the forces or the speed (a whole 15mph!!) that such a method of travel would impose.

stumason, ever seen a show call Andromeda? In it they have an FTL device called Slipstream where they use an attractive force that pulls them into a special dimension they use to travel the three galaxies. I believe it is more akin to that rather then a true "Warp Drive" whose power needs are immense last I checked.

Originally posted by sardion2000
stumason, ever seen a show call Andromeda? In it they have an FTL device called Slipstream where they use an attractive force that pulls them into a special dimension they use to travel the three galaxies. I believe it is more akin to that rather then a true "Warp Drive" whose power needs are immense last I checked.

Yeah, although I never watched it that often... It did look rather cool though, kind of spider-webby thing.... Thats my official sciencey verdict

Man! Generating and manipulating gravity is really gonna be the greatest breakthrough in history since... that day when humans found how to start a fire!!!

If it ever gets made (why would'nt it... everything gets made these days!), that's gonna completely change human civilisation. From this day forward, one of my favorite questions will be: will I finally be able to get to explore another solar system before I die? Perhaps I even gonna have my own spaceship... if so, I want the EXACT REPLICA of the Falcon Millenium!

See ya in the next galactic war!

[edit on 5/1/06 by Echtelion]

Unfortunately, Echtelion, I have a somewhat darker outlook on the future. By reading into Warhammer 40k - a game with an extremely dark universe - you kind of see how the world is progressing today in terms of politics, religion, and technology.

In 40k, once warp-drive technology was invented, mankind spread out into space at remarkable speeds. Setting up colonies throughout the galaxy, mankind entered the Dark Age of Technology. Despite what you may think, the Dark Age of Technology was actually a utopian time, and man's technology and thinking made him master of the heavens. But only for a time...

The reason it is called the Dark Age was because we invented the Men of Iron (commonly believed to be machines/robots with A.I.) that eventually turned against us and nearly whiped us out. After that, mankind developed an inherint distrust of technology, which then grew into a sort of "techno-arcana" - the treating of technology as if it were magic. By performing certain rituals, you could make something work (for example, there's the Rite of Maintenance - which is really just keeping your gun clean - though they believe the ritual is "appeasing the machine's spirit").

Interesting stuff to read into...

So, hopefully, we'll embrace the galaxy as well. I do not think it will be perfect though. We will face new political, philosophical, and moral challenges as we go. It will seem easy at first, but something will cause strife. Who knows what will happen?