A group of physicists from Applied Physics in New York and the University of Alabama in Huntsville has developed a model suggesting the possibility of building a subluminal warp drive. In their research published in Classical and Quantum Gravity, the team explains how their method physically works and why they believe warp drives may not just be science fiction.
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| Warp Drives May Be Possible |
Warp drives, popularized by the TV series Star Trek, are hypothetical engines capable of propelling spacecraft at currently unimaginable speeds, possibly even at the speed of light. In the science fiction series, this is explained as achieving high speeds by compressing space in front of the spacecraft and expanding it behind them to original dimensions.
According to current theory, warp drives cannot be constructed in the real world. However, if the team's new results are positive, existing theories may need revision. The research builds on the work of Miguel Alcubierre, who published a paper in 1994 describing the possible operation of a warp drive using physics. This publication required the existence of negative energy, which may or may not exist.
For this new research, the physicists developed a model that yields comparable results without requiring negative or any other exotic energy. Combining new and conventional physics techniques based on gravity, the team describes the formation of a warp bubble that allows an object to travel at speeds far beyond what was previously assumed, although not at or above the speed of light.
The researchers propose that the engine behind the technology would involve the combination of a stable matter shell with a "slip vector distribution" design similar to that described by Alcubierre. They also suggest that such an engine could allow for speeds close to the speed of light. However, given that constructing such an engine is well beyond the capabilities of current technology, this study is likely to remain hypothetical for a long time.