A hypothetical engine based upon a controversial theory could enable humanity to travel to the stars--and beyond.
(Scotsman.com News) The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft.
Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.
If this theory is proven to be sound, a trip to Mars could be reduced to about three hours as well as a journey to a star 11 light years way could take place within 80 days. The US Air force along with the Department of Energy have expressed interest in this new theory, with the latter having the tools able to create the magnetic field for this new "warp engine."
(Scotsman.com News) "It would be amazing. I have been working on propulsion systems for quite a while and it would be the most amazing thing. The benefits would be almost unlimited," [Professor Jochem Hauser a physicist at the Applied Sciences University in Salzgitter, Germany, and a former chief of aerodynamics at the European Space Agency] said.
"But this thing is not around the corner; we first have to prove the basic science is correct and there are quite a few physicists who have a different opinion.
"It's our job to prove we are right and we are working on that."
Dramatically shortening the time period of space travel is critical if humanity is ever going to populate the neighboring star system. Such a feat would ensure the survival of the species, as a super nova could wipe out our entire race, regardless of how many worlds we colonized.
If engines like these can be completed in the next several decades, colonizing worlds as far way as Pluto (and even farther) will not be a question of "how," but of "when." If proven to be cost effective and feasible within two decades, we may find our children viewing worlds we only dreamed of viewing through a telescope.
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You can either visit the stars or watch them from afar.
But if you choose the former, you'll definitely get a better view.
~Darnell Clayton, 2007
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