Scientists produce Star Trek-like deflector device for cancer-free interplanetary travel

"Scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK are working on a Star Trek-like deflector shield to enable the transport of humans between planets and stars without subjecting them to lethal doses of cosmic radiation. This research comes at a vital time, as numerous groups, including NASA, look to send humans to Mars — but without adequate shielding from the Sun’s harsh cosmic rays, it could be a one-way trip full of vomiting, diarrhea, and more serious symptoms of radiation poisoning, such as death."

Came across this article and thought I would bring it to the attention of ATS. Seems to be the way forward if we ever wish to tour our own solar system and remain alive. I wonder if the technology could be upscaled and used to deflect particulate matter like the navigational deflector shields in Star Trek?

www.extremetech.com...

are we already have interplanetery technology? if we not yet..why they cr8 such thing..weird..

The core principal for sending humans into deep space should always be safety. Now if only there was a warp engine in prototype we be set to go to Mars.

Originally posted by cheesy
are we already have interplanetery technology? if we not yet..why they cr8 such thing..weird..

If by we you mean the black budget projects that allegedly operate such technology please do tell?

Short of that our best bet would be Ion engines/solar sails regarding travel within our own star system. Unless they manage to get this Alcubierre drive concept off the drawing board.

We have the technology to get to mars fast and back fast right now it is just VERY expensive so wont be done until tech is developed to do it on the cheap. Several new engines being tested that will enable us in next 20-50 years to start traveling our solar system on fairly low budgets.

If we could stop warring we would already be out there but instead of spending our resources on expanding humanity to the stars, we use most of our resources to make new ways kill each other and control.

Originally posted by Xeven
We have the technology to get to mars fast and back fast right now it is just VERY expensive so wont be done until tech is developed to do it on the cheap. Several new engines being tested that will enable us in next 20-50 years to start traveling our solar system on fairly low budgets.

If we could stop warring we would already be out there but instead of spending our resources on expanding humanity to the stars, we use most of our resources to make new ways kill each other and control.

edit on 29-6-2013 by Xeven because: (no reason given)

I take it you mean this type of propulsion method?

www.extremetech.com...

We are a lot closer on Warp Drive than you might believe, recently I saw a story that NASA was working on a small scale testable model of warp drive using Alcubierre's theories with some new information on how to accomplish that while scaling down the power level and size required to accomplish it.

I can't find that story right now but here is a story I found quickly. I also can't remember what website the story I mentioned was on so I can't be sure of the validity of the story but search for Warp Drive and you will find many recent stories about it.

www.space.com...

There is probably still a lot of work to be done but if these ideas turn out to be correct we might actually see that within our lifetime.

Oh and of course we have interplanetary capability, we've recently dropped off rovers on Mars which is another planet. What we don;t currently have is interstellar capability, but with luck that might be coming soon.

Also this deflector idea is brilliant, using the best example we have of a protective shield against radiation which is our own Earth's magnetosphere. It probably won't block small particles in space that could be dangerous but I could be wrong there. I just don't know enough about it.

reply to post by inquisitive1977


I was under the impression that the Alcubierre drive concept requires the generation of negative mass, something we cannot make or even understand the principles involved in the creation of such an exotic form of matter.

I don't see us having warp drive just yet i'm afraid, maybe in 50-100 years. We need to understand the physics before we can engineer the concept into a workable design/prototype.

Don't get me wrong I would love for this Alcubierre drive concept to become a reality but you have to work with what you got, Ion engines would be sufficient to tour our own system and that's what we need to do before preceding to other star systems which is where this Alcubierre concept will eventually take us.......If it works that is.

Here we go, this is another story, not the initial one I mentioned but it does state NASA is working on the first field test while "tweaking" alcubierre's theories.

www.collective-evolution.com...

Ok I think I found the original story I referenced as well, please see below

techland.time.com...

Originally posted by inquisitive1977
Here we go, this is another story, not the initial one I mentioned but it does state NASA is working on the first field test while "tweaking" alcubierre's theories.

www.collective-evolution.com...

Ok I think I found the original story I referenced as well, please see below

techland.time.com...

edit on 29-6-2013 by inquisitive1977 because: (no reason given)

It is stated in the articles you have posted that for the concept to function negative matter/energy is a requirement, as I have already suggested we don't have the capability or understanding required to produce this form of matter.

We need to learn to walk before we run, just ask my 5 month old Son. LoL

reply to post by andy06shake


Actually no, they say Alcubierre's idea requires that yes which is not possible, but they go on to say that tweaking the theory could bring it into the realm of possibility. That is why and how they can work on the first field test. After tweaking the theory there is no mention of negative energy being a requirement. Below is the relevant quote from there.

"The only catch: Alcubierre says that, “just as happens with wormholes,” you’d need “exotic matter” (matter with “strange properties”) to distort space-time. And the amount of energy necessary to power that would be on par with — wait for it — the mass-energy of the planet Jupiter.

So we’re back to “fuhgeddaboudit,” right?

Maybe not. According to NASA physicist Harold White, the energy problem may actually be surmountable by simply tweaking the warp drive’s geometry.

White, who just shared his latest ideas at the 100 Year Starship 2012 Public Symposium, says that if you adjust the shape of the ring surrounding the object, from something that looks like a flat halo into something thicker and curvier, you could power Alcubierre’s warp drive with a mass roughly the size of NASA’s Voyager 1 probe.

In other words: reduction in energy requirements from a planet with a mass equivalent to over 300 Earths, down to an object that weighs just under 1,600 pounds.

What’s more, if you oscillate the space warp, White claims you could reduce the energy load even further.

“The findings I presented today change [Alcubierre's warp drive] from impractical to plausible and worth further investigation,” White told SPACE.com. “The additional energy reduction realized by oscillating the bubble intensity is an interesting conjecture that we will enjoy looking at in the lab.”



Read more: techland.time.com...

reply to post by inquisitive1977


Well there is always hope I suppose, i would suggest that when we are capable of producing the massive amounts of energy required for this concept to work we will also have a better understanding of how to produce this elusive exotic matter.

My bets still on Ion drives/solar sails combined with this new type of deflector technology regarding the exploration of our inner/outer solar system. Simply because is technologically feasible now.

reply to post by andy06shake

It is stated in the articles you have posted that for the concept to function negative matter/energy is a requirement, as I have already suggested we don't have the capability or understanding required to produce this form of matter.

We do.

Though making half a ton of it to power an Alcubierre drive is another story.

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by andy06shake

 

It is stated in the articles you have posted that for the concept to function negative matter/energy is a requirement, as I have already suggested we don't have the capability or understanding required to produce this form of matter.

We do.

Though making half a ton of it to power an Alcubierre drive is another story.

edit on 29/6/13 by Astyanax because: we do.

Meaning Anti-matter I suppose? Well lets think about that for a moment, given the known methods of producing Anti-matter how long would it take us to accumulate 1/2 ton of the stuff?

I'm thinking we will probably have a working Unified field equation long before we produce 1/2ton of the bad stuff.

Never mind the dangers of storing the stuff on or around our Earth! 1/2ton of anti-matter would probably be sufficient to destroy our Earth and most of the inner planets should we lose magnetic confinement.

So I don't see us producing it anywhere else other than beyond the orbit of Pluto, and to get there we would still need to use conventional methods of propulsion.

Other viable methods have popped up in recent months, though. Most notably, Inspiration Mars, which will send two humans to Mars in 2018, will employ a radiation shield fashioned out of food, water, and poop stored against the hull of the spacecraft.

Yeah.. er.. good luck with that.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


Some of my poops are already radioactive according to my other half. LoL

Another thing, what happens when the food and water in said shield gets irradiated by the cosmic rays? How can you still eat and drink the stuff, would that not be just as bad?

No thanks, no hi-tech devices necessary. I'll take my space travels in a nice roomy, hollowed-out asteroid with a coma shield (artificial atmosphere) as we find with comets.

Oh, wait! Do you think that maybe...? Naw! Impossible, right? Asteroids and comet nucli are so ugly and primitive looking. No decent, self-respecting ET would travel in such fashion. ...Bur would they if they were environmentally inclined to be resourceful? Supposedly, they are green, you know, according to legend.

reply to post by Aliensun


Asteroids would make great ready made space ship hulls. What you are describing sounds a hell of a lot like Panspermia only with people rather than microbes. Anythings possible I suppose given the correct technology.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Aliensun


Wouldn't an asteroid be a hell of a lot of mass to try to move? It would seem to me that propelling that asteroid in a desired direction would be just as difficult (if not more) than creating an artificial radiation shield.