When we talk about light years away, we realize that these interstellar journeys will never be possible, in light of the technology we have today. However, the technological leap may soon allow human beings to travel at the speed of light. This type of technology is no longer an impossible theoretical idea, but the real hope for interstellar travel.
One of the craziest ideas in science fiction is to have ships that can travel faster than the speed of light. However, many astrophysicists say that, in addition to being crazy, these ideas will be viable.
Universe: The speed limit is 300,000 km / s
A new study lays the foundations for making it a reality and brings us closer than ever to interstellar travel. Ships like the Millennium Falcon from 'Star Wars' or the Enterprise from 'Star Trek' reach superluminal speeds without problems. However, in the real world, the laws of physics are stubborn and since Einstein, there is a speed limit in the universe that cannot be exceeded: 300,000 km / s, the speed at which light moves.
The group of independent researchers Applied Physics presented an article in which it proposes a mathematical model that makes a distortion drive theoretically viable, without breaking with Einstein's theory. That is, it can make us travel at speeds greater than the speed of light.
NASA has worked in the past on similar theories and has even developed prototypes that show what a spacecraft with similar technology would look like. However, this new discovery makes it physically possible for the first time.
A warp propellant is a form of propulsion different from that of space rockets initially proposed by the Mexican astrophysicist Miguel Alcubierre, in 1994, which is based on the expansion and contraction properties of the space tissue to reach superluminal speeds.
To understand Alcubierre's theory, nothing better than watching the lecture given by the researcher himself at TED. In this event, the researcher explains in a very simple way the physical foundations of this theory. However, basically what he says is that space-time can contract in front of the spacecraft and expand behind it to move at speeds faster than the speed of light.
The notion of curved space-time
Space can be warped, curved, twisted, or expanded. These movements may seem counterintuitive to our experience here on Earth, but the Mexican scientist explains it this way:
You have certainly heard of the expansion of the universe, at some point, the galaxies are all moving away from each other and this is not because they are moving away from a central point where there was an explosion, it is not so, the galaxies are standing still, and the space between them is growing. Space is expanding. So, I can use this idea and make it smaller.
Alcubierre explains that it is not the ship, nor the passengers inside, that travel at the speed of light. No, not least because this would contradict Einstein's general theory of relativity. In fact, it is the space itself that contracts or expands around that object. And since this can happen at any speed, in theory, it would have no limit.
 |
| The flatter the ship's geometry, the less energy it will need. (Sabine Hossenfelder) |
The big problem with this theory is that such a move would require a lot of negative energy to occur and there is no scientific evidence that such a phenomenon exists today.
The article published by Alexey Bobrick and Gianni Martire comes to solve this problem and proposes a new approach that does not require the use of negative energy. In addition, it describes the geometry of such an interstellar spaceship as a teardrop with a flat rather than rounded base. The flatter the shape in the direction of travel, the less energy is needed.
For researchers, the biggest obstacle in this theory is to find a source of energy capable of accelerating a ship fast enough to reach superluminescent speeds. In addition, it remains to be seen what the teardrop-shaped spaceship would have, but as Alcubierre himself says:
Today, we don't have all the information, hopefully, someone will come in 20, 30 or 100 years and find the answer and tell us definitively if we can reach the stars faster than the light.
Discoveries like those of Alexey Bobrick and Gianni Martire bring us closer and closer to the universe. Habitable planets that will be 30,000 or 40,000 light-years away, or even more distant, could be a short trip in a few decades. Even Mars, which is 7 months away, can be a quick trip.
0 Comments