Making the jump to warp speed might not require us to leap beyond the limits of physics, a team of researchers has argued. Previously, all models for achieving this ultra-fast propulsion have relied on whimsical energy sources that contradict the properties of matter, yet the new study suggests it may be possible to build a warp drive that doesn’t run on fictional fuel.
In the sci-fi realm, warp drives enable spacecraft to move at light speed by compressing spacetime in front of the ship and expanding everything to the rear, creating a warp bubble. Most strongly associated with Star Trek, the technology has helped to squeeze countless intergalactic adventures into a standard episode running time and has inspired numerous physicists to try and come up with a blueprint for their own working model.
Famously, Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre devised the so-called Alcubierre Drive in 1994. The one problem with this model, however, is that it can only function using something called “negative energy”, which has never been observed in the real universe.
To get around this slight inconvenience, the authors of a new study claim to have mathematical proof that warp drives can in fact be built without the need for “exotic” fuels. According to their calculations, the interplanetary transport system can feasibly be constructed using “traditional and novel gravitational techniques to create a warp bubble that can transport objects at high speeds within the bounds of known physics.”
“The solution involves combining a stable matter shell with a shift vector distribution that closely matches well-known warp drive solutions such as the Alcubierre metric,” write the researchers. Summing up the significance of these findings in layman’s terms, study author Dr Jared Fuchs explained in a statement that “we’ve shown that warp drives might not be relegated to science fiction.”
Unfortunately, the physicists say their warp drive probably wouldn’t be able to reach light speed, but could come pretty close. In essence, the plan involves engineering warp drives to “gravitate like ordinary matter”, thus eliminating the need for the fictitious dark energy.
“Although such a design would still require a considerable amount of energy, it demonstrates that warp effects can be achieved without exotic forms of matter,” added study author Dr Christopher Helmerich. “These findings pave the way for future reductions in warp drive energy requirements,” he said.
The study is published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity.
Source Link: Warp Drives May Be Possible Using Real Physics, First-Of-Its-Kind Model Hints
