A study raises the basis for a theoretical model of a distortion propulsion warp engine, similar to Star Trek’s Enterprise ship.
Physicists have created what they describe as the first general model for a warp drive, which would allow a spacecraft to travel faster than the speed of light, without actually breaking the laws of physics. .
These researchers, belonging to the Applied Physics group, made this theoretical model based on a mathematical concept that maintains that it is possible to travel faster than light, developed by Miguel Alcubierre in 1994.
In short, this concept proposes that space-time can be contracted in front of the ship and expanded from behind to move at superluminal speeds (superior to light)
However, the problem with this theory is that it could not be applied in reality, since it would require a large amount of negative energy to occur, a phenomenon whose existence lacks scientific evidence.
The study, which has been published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, lays the foundation for a feasible theoretical model of a distortion-drive bending engine.
“Many people in the field of science know the metric and believe that warp pulses are not physical due to the need for negative energy,” said Alexey Bobrick, an astrophysicist at Lund University and author of the study, according to a press release. . “This, however, is no longer correct.”
“We went in a different direction than NASA and others, and our research has shown that there are actually several other kinds of warp impulses in general relativity,” Bobrick said. “In particular, we have formulated new classes of warp impulse solutions that do not require negative energy and therefore become physical.”
In a bulletin published in Applied Physics they indicate that they developed a model of a general distortion momentum spacetime in classical relativity, which includes all existing distortion impulse definitions and allows new metrics without the more serious problems present in the solution. of Alcubierre.
“We present the first general model for spherically symmetric warp pulses of subluminal positive energy”, which offer “superluminal distortion impulse solutions that satisfy quantum inequalities and provide optimizations for the Alcubierre metric that reduce negative energy requirements”, they detail .
While it is an important theoretical finding, the authors of the paper admit that it is not yet known how to do this, since an energy source capable of accelerating a spacecraft must be found to speed enough to reach speeds beyond light, between other things.
Although there is no technology to build a spacecraft capable of moving at superluminal speeds, more research related to this topic could bring humanity closer to the future that is seen in works of science fiction.