By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Spaceships speeding at the speed of light or faster are an important aspect of science fiction. Think of the Millennium Falcon in the ‘Star Wars’ movies and the starship Enterprise in ‘Star Trek’. Such a journey sounds like fantastic speculation. But is it?
A new research article written by an American physicist provides a potential blueprint for superluminal travel – faster than the speed of light – using conventional physics rather than a construct based on hypothetical particles and states of matter with exotic physical characteristics.
According to physicist Erik Lentz, who did the work while at the University of Göttingen, the article, published this week in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, took a step away from theoretical research and a step into the direction of an engineering challenge. in Germany.
A major obstacle remains, Lentz said, to find a way to significantly reduce the enormous amount of energy needed to power a theoretical ‘warp drive’ engine before hoping to build a prototype.
“A ‘warp drive’ technology is primarily envisaged to speed up transport into deep space,” Lentz said. “It can be used to improve current ambitions for interplanetary and interstellar travel by drastically shortening travel times and enlarging mission windows.”
The nearest star outside our solar system is Proxima Centauri, which is 4.25 light-years – the distance it takes to travel within a year. Light travels about 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km per second) and 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km) per year.
Using traditional rocket fuel, it will take about 50,000 to 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri, and nuclear propulsion with the proposed technology will arrive there within about 100 years, Lentz said. A light speed ride would take four years and three months.
Lentz’s blueprint provides a journey above the speed of light, which ‘holds the potential for a one-way and return-far interstellar journey within a human lifetime’.
“If we’re limited to the speed with underlights, large – generation spacecraft should be used for destinations outside the nearest stars, which is basically a glorified coffin for at least the first generation of people. I do not like the prospect. just as inspiring, ”Lentz said.
His paper describes the theoretical construction of a class of solitons – a compact self-sustaining wave that travels through space at a constant velocity – capable of making a superluminal motion. These solitons are often referred to as ‘warp bubbles’ and will provide the basis for a propulsion system.
“Currently, the amount of energy required for this new type of propulsion in space is still enormous,” Lentz said. If a spacecraft with a diameter of about 200 meters exceeds the speed of light, it could mean the energy equivalent of hundreds of times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet of our solar system – an unimaginable amount.
A lot of work will be needed to accomplish this. To make this practical, Lentz said, it would be necessary to drastically reduce energy needs to the range of modern nuclear fission reactors. A way to create and accelerate a soliton should also be devised, Lentz added.
Lentz considers the task difficult, but not impossible. He said the next phase of theoretical research and development work could unfold over the next few years, with a fully functional prototype within the next decade.
“The first truly superluminal driving forces could occur a few decades later,” Lentz said. “I would like to see this technology used in my lifetime.”
(Reporting by Will Dunham, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)