Scientists produce Star Trek-like deflector device for cancer-free interplanetary travel

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by big_BHOY

 

In the case of the warp-drive, exotic matter which currently doesn't exist, has to be created somehow in a lab.

All you need is energy. Antimatter will do fine. Antimatter exists.

I agree with you that big_BHOY's use of the term "exotic matter" may not be appropriate in this case, but aside from that questionable terminology, I think I know what he's talking about. I've heard it called "negative mass", but NASA's researcher calls it "negative energy density".

You may want to read this NASA article and slideshow. The need for a negative energy density does seem to be an issue, perhaps a bigger issue than the need for lots of energy.

ntrs.nasa.gov...

Dr. White doesn't cite lots and lots of energy as the problem in his conclusion (though it may be an issue, as you suggest). He cites the challenge as a need for negative energy density:

While it would appear that the model has nearly all the desirable mathematical characteristics of a true interstellar space drive, the metric has one less appealing characteristic – it violates all three energy conditions (strong, weak, and dominant) because of the need for negative energy density. This does not necessarily preclude the idea as the cosmos is continually experiencing inflation as evidenced by observation, but the salient question is can the idea be engineered to a point that it proves useful for exploration.

The hypothesized "dark energy" presumably has negative energy density, but it's pretty weak and my take is we'd need something along those lines but stronger to engineer an Alcubierre drive, and we don't really even have a handle on dark energy yet, so we are a long way from engineering a similar but stronger form of negative energy density, if such a thing is even possible.

reply to post by Arbitrageur

Gamma and X-rays are not charged particles, they are forms of electromagnetic radiation.

You're right, of course, but it might be worth adding that 'electromagnetic radiation' consists of neutrally charged particles, namely photons of very high energy.

Shielding and propulsion can come from the same device as in M2P2 technology.

See this resource: engineering.dartmouth.edu...

And this one as well: www.sciencedirect.com...

Originally posted by nownow
reply to post by andy06shake

 

Just a cover. It's really for travel between Northern and Southern Japan.

Priceless! LMFAO!

reply to post by andy06shake


Hey, with this technology we might actually be able to go to the moon for real this time, what with being able to shoot right through the Van Allen belt and whatnot.

Originally posted by Arbitrageur
You may want to read this NASA article and slideshow. The need for a negative energy density does seem to be an issue, perhaps a bigger issue than the need for lots of energy.

You might find what I read in this article a few days ago a little interesting, then. It mentioned something about Ford-Svaiter mirrors, which is allegedly a scalable version of the casimir effect. I've never heard of something like this, so I did some research around on it and only found this paper that mentions Ford-Svaiter mirrors passingly. The paper was published in 2004, though.

Personally, I don't see any type of space warp or wormholes coming out of this. But if it is really scalable, it would be a great way to test whether the weak energy condition incorporated into modern GR is really just a "hack" by theorists who don't want to deal with solutions of the Field Equations that seem utterly nonphysical or they were on the right track by dismissing such solutions. Also, a great way to test the predictions of quantum inequality calculations, which suggest that larger negative energy densities can exist for equally short periods of time, which essentially rules out the construction of wormholes or warp drives for any practical use.

reply to post by andy06shake


Surely they already have something like this which they used to go to the moon? Unless... They didn't really go?

Originally posted by UKLionheart
reply to post by andy06shake

 

Surely they already have something like this which they used to go to the moon? Unless... They didn't really go?

Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary? LoL

If you ask me they went to the Moon, that's just my opinion.

The topic has been covered time and time again here on ATS if you look i think you will find the general consensus is that the NASA Apollo Moon missions happened.

The real question is why they never pursued the endeavour, why we never returned or colonized???

The weight of such would be prohibitive .

Who do they think they are fooling ?They don't want to give up their cash cow!