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The Downside of Warp Drives: Annihilating Whole Star Systems When You Arrive
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."
It's not the destination that matters, it's how you get there. Nothing stresses this as much as blowing up your destination when you get there.
Downside? Sounds like a perfect weapon system for interstellar conflict.
This is old news, discussed in March:
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/03/02/1741252/warp-drives-may-come-with-a-killer-downside
That's why you drop to impulse _before_ you go into the star system
If we have enough tech to make a warp drive we can probably disperse energy on route as opposed to all of it at the end of the trip.
Sig. Sig. Sputnik
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....
This will GUARANTEE it will be made. It is now a military project, warp cruise missle, set it to the destination via a nice long route and have it drop out of warp near the other planet or star...... KABOOM!...
Freaking A, take that Omicron Persei 8!
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
BULLSHIT. Stop, I order you STOP!!!!
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
Advanced civilizations might have this drive, and prevent too much particle buildup. It might not be perfect though, so every once in a while a handful of particles come along for the ride. How else do you explain a proton with the kinetic energy of a pitched baseball?
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I swear there was supposed to be a planet here...
is a short story by Randall Garrett. The crew of the first starship narrowly escape the supernova from their destination star by escaping back into warp. They realize that this isn't a coincidence: their warp drive blew it up on arrival. (They eventually realize that it blew up their origin star too: the Sun.)
http://what-if.xkcd.com/
It talks about matter smacking into a planet at different energy levels.
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