Warp drives: Physicists give chances of faster-than-light space travel a boost

[eppur_se_muova]

Mario Borunda
Associate Professor of Physics, Oklahoma State University
April 23, 2021 1.38pm EDT

The closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri. It is about 4.25 light-years away, or about 25 trillion miles (40 trillion km). The fastest ever spacecraft, the now- in-space Parker Solar Probe will reach a top speed of 450,000 mph. It would take just 20 seconds to go from Los Angeles to New York City at that speed, but it would take the solar probe about 6,633 years to reach Earth’s nearest neighboring solar system.

If humanity ever wants to travel easily between stars, people will need to go faster than light. But so far, faster-than-light travel is possible only in science fiction.

In Issac Asimov’s Foundation series, humanity can travel from planet to planet, star to star or across the universe using jump drives. As a kid, I read as many of those stories as I could get my hands on. I am now a theoretical physicist and study nanotechnology, but I am still fascinated by the ways humanity could one day travel in space.

Some characters – like the astronauts in the movies “Interstellar” and “Thor” – use wormholes to travel between solar systems in seconds. Another approach – familiar to “Star Trek” fans – is warp drive technology. Warp drives are theoretically possible if still far-fetched technology. Two recent papers made headlines in March when researchers claimed to have overcome one of the many challenges that stand between the theory of warp drives and reality.
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more: https://theconversation.com/warp-drives-physicists-give-chances-of-faster-than-light-space-travel-a-boost-157391

[captain queeg]

1. If aliens are watching us they'll probably put their food down if we appear to be close to space

travel. They won’t want us to spread out disease to others

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I don't have the math skills to work it all out, but I can't help thinking...

it's all about higher dimensions.

Schrodinger's cat was neither dead nor alive, but taking a nap in the 6th dimension. And a shortcut across the galaxy could be through the fourth.

[unblock]

3. Mathematically possible; but practically, impossible.

Apparently it requires containing and controlling a black hole with at least the mass of our sun. Good luck with that.

Fun to think aboutX but we're many major theoretical improvements from being able to use the word "possible" in anything but a purely theoretical sense.

[jpak]

4. Make it so

Engage

[rampartc]

5. there are plenty of goal attainable in our own solar system

including lunar colonies, orbital habitats, asteroids, mars, several of the moons of outer planets etc.

by then we might think of long term hibernation or multi generational spacecraft.

is ftl possible? a century ago flight was a dream.