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> The only problem is, previous studies estimated the warp drive would require a minimum amount of energy about equal to the mass-energy of the planet Jupiter.
by cryptoz 14y ago
> The only problem is, previous studies estimated the warp drive would require a minimum amount of energy about equal to the mass-energy of the planet Jupiter.
Uh, no. The "only problem" is that the concept relies on exotic matter, a hypothetical matter with 0 evidence for its existence (so far). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter
- randallsquared 14y agoWell, the Casimir effect generates a tiny amount of negative energy, does it not? Maybe that's how they think they can test it in the lab.
- sp332 14y agoActually the Casimir effect just reduces the "ambient" pressure, it doesn't create negative pressure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect Edit: Whoops, looks like it might work anyway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect#Wormholes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect#Wormholes Edit2: Actually I think that contradicts this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole#Raychaudhuri.27s_theorem_and_exotic_matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole#Raychaudhuri.27s_theor... which makes more sense to me. Unless you have already curved spacetime, a Casimir effect is not enough to stabilize a wormhole.
- jerf 14y agoThere are places in physics where "negative mass" can briefly appear, but as I understand it, the quantity of such negative mass times the duration of the negative mass is a constant... and a very, very small constant to boot. It's a balancing term in QM interactions, not something you're ever going to hold in your hands. As I like to say, assume one impossibility in physics, and it's not surprising that you get other impossibilities as a result. Unfortunately, in practical terms, requiring Jupiter sized amounts of stable negative mass and requiring "Voyager" sized amounts of stable negative mass do not appear to be appreciably different in difficulty, both being totally impossible. I'd also point out that this article isn't even remotely unique. People have been tweaking the Alcubierre equations ever since they came out. Nobody has yet squeezed the "impossible" out of it, but each and every one of them has been accompanied by, well, basically this exact article. I support people trying to tweak them as a scientific Hail Mary, but I wish credulous science writers would stop writing these stories as if moving from "impossible" to "impossible" was some sort of huge step forward in practical terms.
- lukevdp 14y agoI agree entirely. The journalist in this article is giving the impression that this idea is more widely accepted than it actually is. It paints a picture of scientists agreeing on this when in reality it's a person or small group of people saying this. At the same time, this kind of research is cool, and is an important part of science. It's just misrepresented by publications.
- sp332 14y agoThat was my main problem with this article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter You could simulate the effect using metamaterials probably, but you couldn't break the real speed of light with it because you don't have real negative mass.
- iRobot 14y agoGot to start somewhere if we want a shiny starship
- hooo 14y ago> Uh, no. The "only problem" is that the concept relies on exotic matter, a hypothetical matter with 0 evidence for its existence (so far). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter There are multiple routes here though. They could also find an "exotic spaceship" that already has a warp drive.
- MBlume 14y agoFind one with a halting oracle on board and you're set.
- stcredzero 14y agoHow to fake an "almost" Halting Oracle. For one thing, it's not a Halting Oracle, it's actually an "oracle" that tells you if you have an unspecified bug. The "oracle" doesn't answer "trivial" questions, for an unspecified definition of trivial. In reality, the "oracle" just uses heuristics to determine if the program is complex enough, that any experienced developer would tell you that there's probably a bug somewhere. The "oracle" will only answer questions about systems that are really Production systems. The "oracle" will not answer questions about systems that use Formal Methods. If the above criteria are met, the "oracle" waits a random interval of time, flashing lights in complex patterns, then simply answers, "Yes."
- indiecore 14y agoThat'd be a good day.
- fungi 14y agoseems unlikley. if only we had some kind of improbability engine.
- jlgreco 14y agoI doubt an improbability engine would be good for much more than party tricks. An infinite improbability drive would be much more useful, but such a thing would be virtual impossibility...