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The Downside of Warp Drives: Annihilating Whole Star Systems When You Arrive

Posted by Soulskill on from the minor-details dept.

MrSeb writes "The dream of faster-than-light travel has been on the mind of humanity for generations. Until recently, though, it was restricted to the realm of pure science fiction. Theoretical mechanisms for warp drives have been posited by science, some of which actually jive quite nicely with what we know of physics. Of course, that doesn't mean they're actually going to work, though. NASA researchers recently revisited the Alcubierre warp drive and concluded that its power requirements were not as impossible as once thought. However, a new analysis from the University of Sydney claims that using a warp drive of this design comes with a drawback. Specifically, it could cause cataclysmic explosions at your destination."

6 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Dupe story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is old news, discussed in March:
    http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/03/02/1741252/warp-drives-may-come-with-a-killer-downside

    1. Re:Dupe story by CohibaVancouver · · Score: 4, Informative

      discussed in March

      Also discussed on Star Trek:

      http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Force_of_Nature_(episode)

    2. Re:Dupe story by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 3, Informative

      While the parallels are amusing, the issue in Star Trek was that subspace itself got damaged because of warp engines. There doesn't seem to be word yet on whether or not Alcubierre drives make any equivalent damage to the fabric of the universe, such as leaving a permanent distortion in spacetime once they've passed. (But it might be hilarious if they did.)

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  2. Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's why you drop to impulse _before_ you go into the star system

  3. Duh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    FTA:

    "Although we often think of space as empty, there are loads of high-energy particles shooting through the void. The University of Sydney research [PDF] indicates that these particles are liable to get swept up in the craft’s warp field and remain trapped in the stable bubble."

    And

    "All the energetic particles trapped during the journey have to go somewhere, and the researchers believe they would be blasted outward in a cone directly in front of the ship. Anyone or anything waiting for you at the other end of your trip would be destroyed."

    Looks like SOMEONES never heard of Bussard collectors....

  4. "for generations" ? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Informative

    The dream of faster-than-light travel has been on the mind of humanity for generations

    I'm guessing that that's 1, 2, 3, or 4 generations, since we've only known that the speed of light is a problem for space travel for about 100 years.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade