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PHVSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
"Wormholes, extra dimensions, and quantum computers open up
speculative scenarios that could transform our entire universe eventually into a 'living cosmos' "
THE ALCUBIERRE DRIVE AND NEGATIVE ENERGY
The best example of stretching space is the Alcubierre drive, proposed
by physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994 using Einstein's theory of gravity. It is quite similar to the propulsion system seen in Star Trek. The
pilot of such a starship would be seated inside a bubble (called a "warp
bubble") in which everything seemed to appear normal, even as the
spacecraft broke the light barrier. In fact, the pilot would think that he
was at rest. Yet outside the warp bubble extreme distortions of spacetime would occur as the space in front of the warp bubble was compressed. There would be no time dilation, so time would pass normally
inside the warp bubble.
Alcubierre admits that Star Trek may have had a role to play in his
finding this solution. "People in Star Trek kept talking about warp
drive, the concept that you're warping space," he says. "We already had
a theory about how space can or cannot be distorted, and that is the
general theory of relativity. I thought there should be a way of using
these concepts to see how a warp drive would work." This is probably
the first time that a TV show helped to inspire a solution to one of Einstein's equations.
Alcubierre speculates that a journey in his proposed starship
would resemble a journey taken on the Millennium Falcon in Star
Wars. "My guess is they would probably see something very similar to
that. In front of the ship, the stars would become long lines, streaks. In
back, they wouldn't see anything-just black-because the light of the
stars couldn't move fast enough to catch up with them," he says.
The key to the Alcubierre drive is the energy necessary to propel
the spacecraft forward at faster-than-light velocities. Normally physicists begin with a positive amount of energy in order to propel a starship, which always travels slower than the speed of light. To move
PHVSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
"Wormholes, extra dimensions, and quantum computers open up
speculative scenarios that could transform our entire universe eventually into a 'living cosmos' "
THE ALCUBIERRE DRIVE AND NEGATIVE ENERGY
The best example of stretching space is the Alcubierre drive, proposed
by physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994 using Einstein's theory of gravity. It is quite similar to the propulsion system seen in Star Trek. The
pilot of such a starship would be seated inside a bubble (called a "warp
bubble") in which everything seemed to appear normal, even as the
spacecraft broke the light barrier. In fact, the pilot would think that he
was at rest. Yet outside the warp bubble extreme distortions of spacetime would occur as the space in front of the warp bubble was compressed. There would be no time dilation, so time would pass normally
inside the warp bubble.
Alcubierre admits that Star Trek may have had a role to play in his
finding this solution. "People in Star Trek kept talking about warp
drive, the concept that you're warping space," he says. "We already had
a theory about how space can or cannot be distorted, and that is the
general theory of relativity. I thought there should be a way of using
these concepts to see how a warp drive would work." This is probably
the first time that a TV show helped to inspire a solution to one of Einstein's equations.
Alcubierre speculates that a journey in his proposed starship
would resemble a journey taken on the Millennium Falcon in Star
Wars. "My guess is they would probably see something very similar to
that. In front of the ship, the stars would become long lines, streaks. In
back, they wouldn't see anything-just black-because the light of the
stars couldn't move fast enough to catch up with them," he says.
The key to the Alcubierre drive is the energy necessary to propel
the spacecraft forward at faster-than-light velocities. Normally physicists begin with a positive amount of energy in order to propel a starship, which always travels slower than the speed of light. To move