Sep 24, 2019 08:23 PM
https://www.universetoday.com/143422/jus...arp-drive/
EXCERPT: . . . In layman’s terms, the Alcubierre Drive achieves FTL travel by stretching the fabric of space-time in a wave, causing the space ahead of it to contract while the space behind it expands. In theory, a spacecraft inside this wave would be able to ride this “warp bubble” and achieve velocities beyond the speed of light. This is what is known as the “Alcubierre Metric”.
Interpreted in the context of General Relativity, the interior of this warp bubble would constitute the inertial reference frame for anything inside it. By the same token, such bubbles can appear in a previously flat region of spacetime and exceed the speed of light. Since the ship is not moving through space-time (but moving space-time itself), conventional relativistic effects (like time dilation) would not apply.
[...] While the field is still in its infancy, there have been a number of recent developments that have helped. For example, the discovery of naturally occurring gravitational waves (GWSs) by LIGO scientists in 2016, which both confirmed a prediction made by Einstein a century ago and proves that the basis for the warp drive exists in nature.
[...] Of course, the Warp Drive concept requires additional support and numerous advances before experimental research will be possible. These include advances in terms of the theoretical framework as well as technological advancements.
The sheer amount of positive and negative energy needed to create a warp bubble remains the biggest challenge associated with Alcubierre’s concept. Currently, scientists believe that the only way to maintain the negative energy density required to produce the bubble is through exotic matter. Scientists also estimate that the total energy requirement would be equivalent to the mass of Jupiter.
However, this represents a significant drop from earlier energy estimates, which claimed that it would take an energy mass equivalent to the entire Universe. Nevertheless, a Jupiter-mass amount of exotic matter is still prohibitively large. In this respect, significant progress still needs to be made to scale the energy requirements down to something more realistic. The only foreseeable way to do this is through further advances in quantum physics, quantum mechanics and metamaterials... (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . In layman’s terms, the Alcubierre Drive achieves FTL travel by stretching the fabric of space-time in a wave, causing the space ahead of it to contract while the space behind it expands. In theory, a spacecraft inside this wave would be able to ride this “warp bubble” and achieve velocities beyond the speed of light. This is what is known as the “Alcubierre Metric”.
Interpreted in the context of General Relativity, the interior of this warp bubble would constitute the inertial reference frame for anything inside it. By the same token, such bubbles can appear in a previously flat region of spacetime and exceed the speed of light. Since the ship is not moving through space-time (but moving space-time itself), conventional relativistic effects (like time dilation) would not apply.
[...] While the field is still in its infancy, there have been a number of recent developments that have helped. For example, the discovery of naturally occurring gravitational waves (GWSs) by LIGO scientists in 2016, which both confirmed a prediction made by Einstein a century ago and proves that the basis for the warp drive exists in nature.
[...] Of course, the Warp Drive concept requires additional support and numerous advances before experimental research will be possible. These include advances in terms of the theoretical framework as well as technological advancements.
The sheer amount of positive and negative energy needed to create a warp bubble remains the biggest challenge associated with Alcubierre’s concept. Currently, scientists believe that the only way to maintain the negative energy density required to produce the bubble is through exotic matter. Scientists also estimate that the total energy requirement would be equivalent to the mass of Jupiter.
However, this represents a significant drop from earlier energy estimates, which claimed that it would take an energy mass equivalent to the entire Universe. Nevertheless, a Jupiter-mass amount of exotic matter is still prohibitively large. In this respect, significant progress still needs to be made to scale the energy requirements down to something more realistic. The only foreseeable way to do this is through further advances in quantum physics, quantum mechanics and metamaterials... (MORE - details)