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NASA’s Star Trek-style, warp capable, space ship, the IXS Enterprise
NASA engineer and physicist Harold White announced a few years ago that he was working on a potentially groundbreaking idea that could allow space travel faster than the speed of light. Yes, like in “Star Trek.”
http://techland.time.com/2012/09/19/nasa-actually-working-on-faster-than-light-warp-drive/ [time.com]
An over-simplified explanation is that the concept seeks to exploit a “loophole” in Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity that allows travel faster than the speed of light by expanding space-time behind the object and contracting space-time front of it. Essentially, the empty space behind a starship would be made to expand rapidly, pushing the craft in a forward direction — passengers would perceive it as movement despite the complete lack of acceleration. White speculates that such a drive could result in “speeds” that could take a spacecraft to Alpha Centauri in a mere two weeks — even though the system is 4.3 light-years away.
So how quickly can this all become a reality? According to White, in an interview with i09 http://io9.gizmodo.com/5963263/how-nasa-will-build-its-very-first-warp-drive [gizmodo.com] , proving that the math can become a reality in the lab is the first and probably most important step in the process:
What White is waiting for is existence of proof — what he’s calling a “Chicago Pile” moment — a reference to a great practical example.
“In late 1942, humanity activated the first nuclear reactor in Chicago generating a whopping half Watt — not enough to power a light bulb,” he said. “However, just under one year later, we activated a ~4MW reactor which is enough to power a small town. Existence proof is important.”
White explains in great detail the science behind his quest in this lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M8yht_ofHc&feature=youtu.be [youtube.com]
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