Astronauts will one day be able to travel from planet-to-planet Star Trek-style – at warp speed.
Super-fast engines that whisked Captain Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew across the galaxy in the sci-fi TV and movie series could be made for real. Boffins have created a “warp bubble” which wraps around an object and can “transport it at high speeds within the bounds of known physics.”
Lead author Jared Fuchs said: “This study changes the conversation about warp drives. “By demonstrating a first-of-its-kind model we’ve shown that warp drives might not be relegated to science fiction.”
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Trekkies have long been familiar with warp drives – hypothetical engines that manipulate the fabric of space-time itself compressing the stuff in front of a spaceship and expanding it behind.
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This created a “warp bubble” that allowed craft to travel at incredible velocities – many times faster than the speed of light.
The new paper published in Classical and Quantum Gravity has brought Alcubierre’s theory into the real world by adopting existing known power sources.
Jared’s team from the University of Alabama in the US used a “sophisticated blend of traditional and novel gravitational techniques to create a warp bubble that can transport objects at high speeds within the bounds of known physics.”
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The proposed engine could not achieve faster-than-light travel but would come close. Jared said craft could reach “high but subluminal speeds”.
Other research teams now plan to study the concept.Jared reckons his researchers’ work could be a stepping stone on the road to efficient interstellar flight.
Gianni Martire , chief executive officer of think tank Applied Physics, said: “While we’re not yet preparing for interstellar voyages this research heralds a new era of possibilities.“We’re continuing to make steady progress as humanity embarks on the Warp Age.”
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