reply to post by Outrageo
Interesting article and postulates, thanks for sharing (S/F...). There have been and continues to be a decent bit of research into super-advanced
propulsion technology, with some being FTL (faster than light). In fact from the late 90's to 2002 NASA had a
Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program, but it was subsequently shut down due to budget constraints,
although research carries on, just on more individual levels. There is some promising research, here is a few more technologies that aliens may use or
that we may be able to use to explore our universe someday....
The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement. The scale is only theoretical and in terms
of an actual civilization highly speculative; however, it puts energy consumption of an entire civilization in a cosmic perspective. It was first
proposed in 1964 by the Soviet Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. The scale has three designated categories called Type I, II, and III. These are
based on the amount of usable energy a civilization has at its disposal, and the degree of space colonization. In general terms, a Type I civilization
has achieved mastery of the resources of its home planet, Type II of its solar system, and Type III of its galaxy.[1]
wikipedia.org
wikipedia.org
So we can see from the above graph that it is perfectly reasonable to assume that a civilization in the range of a BILLION years more advanced could
develop this type of technology(and its energy requirements).
For a brief reference lets look at our closest star and assume these reported creatures come from there( they are believed to come from Zeta
Reticuli,a
much furtherstar system that is almost ten times as far).
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our own, and it is roughly 4
lightyears away(a lightyear is the time it takes light, the fastest known speed, to travel one year).So lets hypothetically try to make the journey on
a spacecraft that is capable of our own space shuttles speed. While the space shuttle can travel at an astounding 17,580 mph(in orbit) it would take
175,000 years(well beyond 100’s of life times and thus unfeasible) to reach Proxima Centauri!
Warp Drive
Warp drive is popularly shown in the
Star Trek series. This type of propulsion however is not sci-fi and is being seriously researched by many
theoretical physicist,including ones at NASA’s
Breakthrough Propulsion Labs.This type of drive while requiring a very large energy source is
feasible according to our current understanding(limited) of physics and the Universe. The principle is simple; you contract space in front of the
craft then expand it behind and thus you ride a ‘wave’ of space –time while not physically moving the craft itself and thus not violating
relativity’s causality.The most important breakthrough that I know of in the warp drive field was made in the early nineties by Dr. Alcubierre,a
theoretical physicist.The math is there, the mechanics is there, but the main thing needed; an understanding of how to build a engine capable of doing
such a thing and how it would warp space-time is still far out of reach as is known today.
An FTL propulsion system - based on Alcubierre’s warp drive - that utilizes dark energy to propel a spacecraft faster than light has been
proposed, and could revolutionize space travel according to an article on the website of Cosmos Magazine [4]. The concept is supported by the
calculations of several physicists at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Comparable to the warp drive concept of Star Trek, their theory states that a
spacecraft could travel at warp velocity in a bubble of space-time, by manipulating dark energy — the mysterious invisible force allegedly
responsible for the observed acceleration in the expansion of the universe. Essentially, the spacecraft would remain in the same place, while
space-time ahead of the craft would shrink, expanding again behind it.
wikipedia.org
wikipedia.org
In 1996, NASA established the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program, which sponsored some speculative work on warp drives. This program was
discontinued in 2002{curiously IMO).
While thought experiments on the wilder shores of theoretical physics continue to be formed, no scheme that may allow travel at warp velocity has yet
been devised that has also been accepted by mainstream science. Some physicists have proposed a model of FTL travel, formulated in the context of
Lorentzian manifolds, which are used in general relativity to construct space-time models. However, contrary to a common misconception, these models
are in no sense solutions to the Einstein field equation, and they give no knowledge as to how a warp bubble might actually be established.
”Hyperdrive/Wormhole Tunneling”
“Hyperdrive” or more precisely “wormhole tunneling” is a very common form of travel in the sci-fi Universe. Hyperdrive is the slang term for
either an extremely fast form of propulsion or a form of propulsion that allows a craft to enter a “sub or hyperspatial” realm. As is common real
science has taken these terms from sci-fi for the real thing that is being researched. The principle behind a hyperdrive(this word is also much
shorter than ‘wormhole tunneler’,lol) is that you can bend and curve space-time, since space-time itself is curved and mallable.
The principle uses the postulation that two conjoined throats of black holes with a one way matter stream can be used to travel possibly infinite
distance in a matter of minutes or seconds. In this way you are temporarily leaving our ‘real space’ and entering a ‘corridor’ in-between our
space-time, commonly referred to as “subspace,hyperspace”,or a newer,more original term being used by the physics community;”space-time
foam.”You can look at it like this:
Instead of the shortest distance between point A and B being a straight line it is actually the conjoining
of the two points by bending the space between them.
This too will take an even more massive amount of energy than the warp drive but could result in much faster travel times. The technology required to
even achieve this or what is even conceivable(engine and mechanics wise) is extreme at the least to comprehend, and at current is far off and needs
major breakthroughs in physics(more so than the warp drive).The only schematic that has received any attention is a very, very massive star size
device that still isn’t possible in the conceivable future unless there is a breakthrough. Some main theories are as follows:
Can we ever achieve speed faster than light? Yes, say contemporary physicists disagreeing with Einstein’s theory of relativity. Advanced
alien civilizations are tunneling through with speed much faster than light all the time. The problem is skeptics question such happenings with old
non-contemporary Physics.
In recent years, some physicists have conducted experiments in which faster-than-light (FTL) speeds were measured. On the other hand, Einstein's
theory of special relativity gives light speed as the absolute speed limit for matter and information.
The Berkeley group gives a general overview of their research at
physics.berkley.edu .
In one of the experiments, where a single photon tunneled through a barrier and its tunneling speed (not a signal speed!) was 1.7 times light speed,
is described in Steinberg, A.M., Kwiat, P.G. & R.Y. Chiao 1993: "Measurement of the Single-Photon Tunneling Time" in Physical Review Letter 71, S.
708—711.
Scientists in recent days are finding that exceeding speed of light through wave propagation in a tunneling experiment is nothing new. The scientific
think tanks are now confident that advanced alien civilizations are constantly speeding through the wormhole tunnels with speeds exceeding 100 times
that of light.
That is how the intergalactic travel across 100 light years can take place in less than a day and may be in a few hours. Of course the wormholes
themselves bend time and space. The tunnel speed of 100 times faster than light is fast speed when you consider that time and space is attached to
each other as evident in our physical universe. But that speed is easy to achieve once you can detach time from space and learn to speed in space
slightly above the speed of light. Fast forwarding detached time spatial creates the final magic – it provides the ultimate speed multiplier and one
achieve the speed faster that 100 times that of light.
There is another trick to the whole thing. Extraterrestrial aliens of advanced order can utilize the wave propagation for linear transportation of an
entity from the physical universe or the parallel universe through the wormhole. The biggest challenge for them is not the speed but keeping track of
space and time spatial characteristics.


Good video on some theorized technologies...
Taken from www.abovetopsecret.com...
[edit on 11/26/2009 by jkrog08]