Slashdot Mirror
Hyperdrive Propulsion Could Be Tested At the LHC
KentuckyFC writes "In 1924, the influential German mathematician David Hilbert calculated that a stationary mass should repel a particle moving towards or away from it at more than half the speed of light (as seen by a distant inertial observer). Now an American physicist has pointed out that the equal and opposite effect should also hold true: that a relativistic particle should repel a stationary mass. This, he says, could form the basis of a 'hypervelocity propulsion drive' for accelerating spacecraft to a good fraction of the speed of light. The idea is that the repulsion allows the relativistic particle to deliver a specific impulse that is greater than its specific momentum, an effect that is analogous to the elastic collision of a heavy mass with a much lighter, stationary mass, from which the lighter mass rebounds with about twice the speed of the heavy mass. Unlike other exotic hyperdrive proposals, this one can be tested using the world's largest particle accelerator, the LHC, which will generate beams of particles with the required energy (abstract). Placing a test mass next to the beam line and measuring the forces on it as the particles pass by should confirm the theory — or scupper it entirely."
It could be tested at the LHC if it ever manages to stay working for more than a month at a time, that is. :(
Apart from being a potential nifty space drive, it would also provide a new test of General Relativity. This is far more likely to get it done as a real experiment at the LHC, than a new space drive.
Unless we use a Bussard Ramjet to collect interstellar dust...
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
While testing this on the ground, just make sure you're not actually moving the Earth...
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
In fact, you could accelerate a million ton spacecraft up to .5 c with half a kilogram of propellent if you could put enough energy into it.
The question then becomes, how much does that amount of energy weigh?
When we get a "-1, Statement of the Bloody Obvious that Every 3rd Nerd Will Be Compelled to Make", we can use that.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.