One issue with Alcubierre's original theory was that the so-called 'stress energy tensor' that generates the warp field would be entirely symmetrical about the surface parallel to the spacecraft's bow–stern axis.Īs Dr White put it: 'How does the ship know which way to go? The energy density curves local space-time, but since it has no bias along the x-axis, how does space know which way to contract and expand?' As Dr White put it: 'How does the ship know which way to go? The energy density curves local space-time, but since it has no bias along the x-axis, how does space know which way to contract and expand?' One issue with Alcubierre's original theory was that the so-called stress energy tensor that generates the warp field would be entirely symmetrical about the surface parallel to spacecraft's bow–stern axis - as pictured in this illustration. 'This approach would allow a journey to, say, Alpha Centauri as measured by an Earth-bound observer (and spacecraft clocks) measured in weeks or months, rather than decades or centuries.'
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'The field would be turned on and the craft would zip off to its stellar destination, never locally breaking the speed of light - but covering the distance in an arbitrarily short period of time just the same. In Alcubierre's theory, 'the spacecraft would depart the point of origin using some conventional propulsion system and travel a distance, then bring the craft to a stop relative to the departure point,' Dr White explains in his paper. The only exceptions to this principle are those particles which have zero mass at rest - such as photons and gluons - which can travel at the speed of light, explaining how light itself manages to travel at light speed.Īccording to theoretical physicists, however, there may be ways to essentially 'cheat' this light-speed barrier - achieving so-called 'apparent' faster-than-light travel while technically still moving at subluminal (that is, slower-than-light) speeds.Įssentially, a warp-capable ship would travel in a 'bubble' of regular spacetime (pictured as in the centre of this illustration as a two-dimensional plane, with regions of contracted and expanded spacetime either side) that itself is displaced across the universe at faster-than-light speeds - while the ship technically remains at subluminal speeds within the bubble
In fact, such a hypothetical particle travelling at the speed of light - 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometres per second) - would gain infinite mass, and require an infinite amount of energy to move. Pictured, Star Trek's USS Discovery travels at warp speed - and is going in the right directionĭeveloped by the physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, the so-called 'Alcubierre warp drive' is a speculative concept for how a spacecraft could effectively achieve faster-than-light travel based on a solution to Einstein's field equations in special relativity.įaster-than-light travel is thought to be impossible, as particles with mass get heavier as they move faster, making it increasingly difficult to accelerate them more. This means that before Captain Kirk says 'Ahead Warp 1, Mr Sulu', he should be checking the Enterprise is already moving, slower-than-light, in the right direction.Ī NASA engineer claimed that getting a 'running start' would be the key to ensuring that a real-life, Star Trek-style warp engine is in drive, and not reverse. The energy density distribution required to bend space is symmetrical - meaning a craft starting at rest might as easily shoot off in reverse as it would go the right way. NASA physicist Harold 'Sonny' White - who specialises in advanced propulsion technology - found that the leading warp drive theory had one major flaw.
However, a warp drive could - in theory - allow spacecraft to cheat their way around this rule, by moving parts of spacetime instead of the ship itself. This would make space travel to most planets impractical in the scale of a human lifetime, if one was confined to relativistic speeds. In Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, our Universe comes with a speed limit - with nothing able to travel faster than the speed of light. A NASA engineer has claimed that getting a 'running start' would be the key to ensuring that a real-life, Star Trek-style warp engine is in drive, and not reverse.
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