Warp Engines

We have often wondered, what lies beyond our Solar System? Are there more Solar Systems out there? And more importantly, are there more planets like Earth, supporting life? Well, there’s no answer to this question as of now, thereby I often end up disappointed, and perhaps, so do you.

The reason we haven’t been able to explore the cosmos is our limited ability to travel. Since Einstein first proposed the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905, scientists have been operating under the restrictions imposed by a relativistic universe.

One of these restrictions is the belief that the speed of light is unbreakable and hence, that there will never be such a thing as FTL or (Faster Than Light) space travel or exploration.

But, I believe we are heading towards a solution to our problem.

This is an Alcubierre Warp Drive.

On paper, it is a highly speculative, but possibly valid, solution of the Einstein field equations, specifically how space, time, and energy interact.

To put it simply, this method of space travel involves stretching the fabric of space-time in a wave that would (in theory) cause the space ahead of an object to contract while the space behind it would expand.

An object inside this wave (i.e. a spaceship) would then be able to ride this region, known as a "warp bubble" of flat space.

This is what is known as the"Alcubierre Metric".

Interpreted in the context of General Relativity, the metric allows a warp bubble to appear in a previously flat region of spacetime and move away, effectively at speeds that exceed the speed of light. The interior of the bubble is the inertial reference frame for any object inhabiting it.

For better understanding let's draw an analogy, suppose the fabric of Space-Time is a leveled road, and there’s a giant ball placed on the road at point A. Now if we suddenly create a Depression just under the ball, the ball will move forward. 

Lets’s say along with the Ball, the Depression also moves and at the same rate as of the Ball. Then the ball will keep traversing forward but the relative speed of ball w.r.t. Depression is zero at all times.

Since the ship is not moving within this bubble but is being carried along as the region itself moves, conventional relativistic effects such as time dilation would not apply. Ipso facto, the rules of space-time and the laws of relativity would not be violated in the conventional sense.

However, there is no known way to make such a drive. Many scientists have suggested that this idea might be highly improbable but not impossible. 

In 2012, NASA's Advanced Propulsion Physics Laboratory (aka. Eagleworks) announced that they had begun conducting experiments to see if a "warp drive" was possible. 

This included developing an interferometer to detect the spatial distortions produced by the expanding and contracting space-time of the Alcubierre metric.

The team lead – Dr. Harold Sonny White – described their work in a NASA paper titled Warp Field Mechanics 101. He also explained their work in NASA's 2012 Roundup publication.

In the end, We would like to point, that a hundred years ago the idea of us posting this blog and you reading it at your home while being hundreds of kilometers away, would have been equally absurd!