Scientists: Star Trek's Warp Drive is not impossible

In the past Star Trek's warp drive concept wasn't taken seriously by scientists but that has now changed and scientists are working full-time to figure out how to do it. Here's an interesting article that appeared today at Space.com:
www.space.com...

So how is this related to aliens and UFOs? Well if our scientists now agree that warp drive technology is possible, then it is technically possible for aliens from other planets to use the same technology to visit us.

This would prove to be the source of our own destruction! lol well if not than it would be really cool! but science has made radical claims before, i'm reminded of the teleportation device they have been experimenting with they say that now they have a way to relocate atoms from one point to another in a straight line or something to that effect.. but that was a while ago and we have heard nothing about it recently... just thinking the same will happen here.

wouldnt it be cool if they figured it out in our lifetimes. id love to see some good quality photos of space, and find out a bit more about our 'neighbourhood'!

and maybe even meet the neighbours!!!!!!

:-)

"The idea is that you take a chunk of space-time and move it," said Marc Millis, former head of NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project.

"The vehicle inside that bubble thinks that it's not moving at all. It's the space-time that's moving."

Make it so...........!!!

"We still don't even know if those things are possible or impossible, but at least we've progressed far enough to where there are things that we can actually research to chip away at the unknowns," Millis told SPACE.com.

Engage ....... !!!!

We have a few loose ends to tie up here on Earth first .

Quite the prize ..... awaits.

[edit on 6-5-2009 by UmbraSumus]

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[edit on 6/5/2009 by nerbot]

reply to post by Leto

No wonder aliens do such weird things to abductees.

I always thought they were really warped.

In the article it talks about the big bang perhaps traveling at warp... I wonder if this could have any relation to the Large Hadron Collider being the start of our own warp drive.... a man can dream cant he a man can dream.

Well if scientists are now saying it's not impossible, then how could someone rule out the possibility that ETs do it to get to Earth?
Just because humans are not at that point yet, doesn't mean other ET civilizations couldn't. Something for the skeptics to consider.

I don't recall to have ever read some paper debunking this possibility, and anyway if it was just some complete sci-fi then it would be interesting to know why did NASA started Breakthrough Propulsion Physics (BPP) Project which looks to fall in THAT specific field of research?

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics 11.19.2008

Introduction
The term breakthrough propulsion refers to concepts like space drives and faster-than-light travel, the kind of breakthroughs that would make interstellar travel practical.

For a general explanation of the challenges and approaches of interstellar flight, please visit the companion website: Warp Drive: When? The Warp-When site is written for the general public and uses icons of science fiction to help convey such notions. This website, on the other hand, is intended for scientists and engineers.

Full article here


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/4bb6c02c32e64b45.gif[/atsimg]
Status of "Warp Drive"

Warp drive
Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program
Status of Warp Drive
Alcubierre drive

reply to post by internos


I think someone missed out "financing" between the "science" and "technology" headings in the timeline. How much would it cost?

(remembering: "why build one when you can have two at twice the price")

reply to post by Leto





Warp propulsion as been being studied for many years and there have been some breakthroughs in the mathematical and physics aspect of it, as far as I know the main problem is conceptualizing an 'engine' that would be able to achieve this effect.

Actually there is some good information about FTL drive theories in the following thread: On Superluminal Propulsion


I haven't read the article yet, but thanks for bringing it to my attention, s & f!

[edit on 5/6/2009 by jkrog08]

reply to post by internos



Great point friend, many people don't even realize that yes, NASA has been looking into FTL possibilities and applications. Although it is disappointing that the program was closed in 2002 due to then President Bush saying the 1.6 million dollar budget was "to high".

Research does continue on in a lesser extent at NASA and with other entities.

Here is the article about the 2002 closing of the BPP (Breakthrough propulsion physics) program.

Status of the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics (BPP) Project
All NASA support to sustain cognizance on these possibilities has been withdrawn as of October 1, 2008. The final NASA contribution was to assist in the compilation of a graduate-level technical book, Frontiers of Propulsion Science, which is due out in early 2009. This book (750 pages, hardback) will be volume 227 of the series, Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series, which will be published by American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Prior to this point, the project's leader, Marc G. Millis, continued to monitor and assess a variety of ongoing research with the assistance of an informal network of volunteers scattered across academia, industry, various NASA Centers, and other Federal labs. During that time, several publications were completed to document the progress made. When funding for active research was available, which ran from 1996 to 2002, the project oversaw research into 8 different approaches, produced 16 peer-reviewed journal articles, and an award-winning website (Warp-When), all for a total investment of less than $1.6M. Also during that funded time, the BPP Project coordinated with related research funded at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. With the implementation of the 2003 Federal Budget (p.325), all advanced propulsion research was deferred, including these research efforts.

Accordingly, this web site will no longer be updated.

grc.nasa.gov

I am highly angered at this, and the website was just updated because that information about the book wasn't on there last week.


[edit on 5/6/2009 by jkrog08]

reply to post by jkrog08


ARGH! Perhaps they arent worried about this because they've figured out enough about propulsion methods, 1.6mill isnt a lot per annum for such an important world related research topic. Kind of like they weren't too bothered about it?




[Mod Edit: replaced quote with Reply to tab]


[edit on 7/5/2009 by Sauron]

reply to post by jkrog08


Why would NASA even need these programs if there supposedly have been many ufo recoveries and back engineering of them? If that even happened then i'm sure we have this kind of technology anyway..

reply to post by bl4ke360



and olihill


Yes that is my speculation, there is no need for the research because our government already has them I believe. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Wow!great post man,starred and flagged,looks like we can manipulate space and time now,phew the power of knowledge, man.

reply to post by Okiminletsdoit!

looks like we can manipulate space and time now

We are not quite there yet, there is still a long way and/or a few major breakthroughs to go before we can achieve that.

But the best part of Star Trek is not the warp drive, IT'S THE HOLODECK! Then the transporter, then the food replicators.

Why aren't there a lot of robots in Star Trek?

Reality Check: The Science of 'Star Trek'

Transporters

As fantastic as teleportation seems, an extraordinary amount of research has led to great strides in the field over the past decade or so. However, when scientists talk about teleportation, they don't typically mean teleporting matter from one place to another. Rather, teleportation involves capturing the essential information about something — its "quantum state" — to recreate it exactly someplace else.

Universal Translators

On Google, links displayed next to search results offer users automatic translations of Web pages in foreign languages. However, these translations are often less than perfect. "You can get a reasonable although rather amusing translation," Krauss quipped. "If on 'Star Trek' you tried to have such translation verbalized rather than typewritten, the end result could have been some interesting diplomatic snafus."

I think warp-drive may remain a theoretical possiblity. It just seems completely impractical. How do we travel from point A to point B using a warp drive? We begin at point A creating a source that warps the space inbetween point A and B. What happens to everything in between A and B? Is that warped as well?

[edit on 6-5-2009 by Indigo_Child]

Damn, I tried to make this thread, but my browser crapped out, hehe...
Anyway, there are many aspects to faster-than-light speed than just the speed...
I don't think they apply to THIS case (according to the article, for they are talking about moving space AND time), but one huge problem would be:

Inertia - big one to get around...

...And many more...

Just flapping my gums. Peace.

Edit for spelling. Whoopsie.

[edit on 5/6/2009 by impaired]