What we consider to be space travel today, that is, our current usage of chemical rockets, is nowhere near the propulsion technology that is required if we are to actually make a voyage outside of our own solar system. Even if we managed to propel a spaceship to near, or even at the speed of light, it would still just take way too long to make it to another star.

If you would want to learn about some very interesting concepts regarding future propulsion systems, as well as some other really exotic space travel ideas, here is a good website: Space travel

Thanks for the Link

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli S@h Berkeley's Staff Friends Club m7 ©

> Thanks for the Link
>
> Greetings from Germany NRW
> Ulli [img]http://home.teleos-web.de/ubrinkschmidt/smile/xyxwave.gif [/img]
>

You're welcome Sir Ulli, hope you enjoyed the information.

> > Thanks for the Link
> >
> > Greetings from Germany NRW
> > Ulli S@h Berkeley's Staff Friends Club m7 ©

> > > Thanks for the Link
> > >
> > > Greetings from Germany NRW
> > > Ulli [img]http://home.teleos-web.de/ubrinkschmidt/smile/xyxwave.gif [/img] height="20"
>

Thanks for posting that at your forum Sir Ulli, I appreciate it. Thanks also for the link about the Heim Theory. I enjoyed reading about Heim's geometrization version of a unified field theory, even though it goes extremly deep into particle physics. Hmm, It will take me some time to decipher the formulas for that complex theory.

I've found slightly more information and explanation of the possiblities of wormhole and warp drive concepts. This information adds a little more from the Paper by Marc G. Millis that I provided as a link on my first post.



Toward Goal 2 - Achieving the Ultimate Transit Speed

Special relativity states that the speed of light is an upper limit for the motion of matter through spacetime. Recently, however, theories using the formalism of general relativity have suggested that this limit can be circumvented by altering spacetime itself. This includes wormhole and warp drive theories. A wormhole is a shortcut created through spacetime (Morris 1988 and Visser 1995), as illustrated in Figure 3, where a region of spacetime is warped to create a shorter path between two points. A warp drive involves the expansion and contraction of spacetime to propel a region of spacetime faster than light (Alcubierre 1994). Figure 4 illustrates the Alcubierre warp drive, showing the opposing regions of expanding and contracting spacetime that propel the center region.



FIGURE 3. Wormholes - Spacetime Shortcuts.
Note: Figure did not transcribe correctly from original report.



FIGURE 4. The Alcubierre Warp Drive
Note: Figure did not transcribe correctly from original report.


It has also been suggested that the light speed limit could be exceeded if velocities could take on imaginary values (Asaro 1996). In addition, there are theories for nonlocality from quantum physics that suggest potentially superluminal effects (Cramer 1986). These theories not only present challenging physics problems, but are intriguing from the point of view of future space travel. Do these theories represent genuinely possible physical effects, or are they merely mathematical curiosities?

In addition to theories, there are some intriguing experimental effects. Photons have been measured to tunnel across a photonic band-gap barrier at 1.7 times the speed of light (Chiao 1994). Even though the author concludes that information did not travel faster than light, the results are intriguing. During the workshop several suggestions were made to conduct similar experiments using matter rather than photons to unambiguously test the information transfer rate. In addition, recent experiments of the rest mass of the electron antineutrino have measured an imaginary value (Stoeffl 1995). Even though this result is attributed to possible errors, an imaginary mass value is a signature characteristic of a tachyon. Tachyons are hypothetical faster-than-light particles. In the workshop it was suggested to revisit this and other similar data to determine if this can be credibly interpreted as evidence of tachyons. It was also pointed out that other experiments have been suggested to search for evidence of tachyons (Chiao 1996).

The notion of faster-than-light travel evokes many critical issues. These were summarized in the presentation by Kheyfets. Issues include causality violations, the requirement for negative energy, and the requirement for enormous energy densities to create the superluminal effects. Suggestions were made during the workshop for a number of theoretical approaches to address these issues, including the use of quantum gravity to study the wormhole and warp drive concepts.

Source: NASA, GRC

A Pennsylvania State University space vehicle propulsion research idea that would use antiproton-catalyzed microfission/fusion (ACMF) as a means to propel a space vehicle is an interesting concept for a mission to explore the regions that are close to our own solar system. Although it would not be enough to get us to another star system in a short amount of time, the resulting technology may be very important for our understanding of antimatter reactions for power.

ABSTRACT

Production and trapping of small numbers of antiprotons for space applications are reviewed, setting the stage for
antiproton-catalyzed microfission/fusion (ACMF) reactions as a source of propulsive power. A spacecraft designed around
an ACMF engine has been designed. Details, including Isp, thrust, structural features, power systems, radiation shields, ion
drivers, payload and system masses, are reviewed. Staging of the spacecraft in space, including requisite propulsion and
trajectory parameters and scientific goals for aggressive (Isp=13,000 sec, thrust=180 kN, DV=100 km/sec) outer solar system
and extraplanetary missions, is discussed...

Read the full explanation

Toward Goal 1 - Eliminating Propellant Mass

It is known that gravity, electromagnetism and spacetime are coupled phenomena. Evidence includes the bending of light, the red-shifting of light, and the slowing of time in a gravitational field as illustrated in Figure 1. This coupling is most prominently described by general relativity (Misner 1973). Given this coupling and our technological proficiency for electromagnetics, it has been speculated that it may become possible to use electromagnetic technology to manipulate inertia, gravity, or spacetime to induce propulsive forces (Millis 1997b). Another phenomena of interest is the Casimir Effect, Figure 2, where closely spaced plates are forced together, presumably by vacuum fluctuations (Lamoreaux 1997). One explanation is that this force is the net radiation pressure of the virtual vacuum fluctuation photons, where the pressure is greater outside the plates than within, since wavelengths larger than the plate separation are excluded. The force is inversely proportional to the 4th power of the distance. Even though this effect can be explained by various theories (Milonni 1994), the idea that the vacuum might create these forces leads to speculations that an asymmetric vacuum effect, if possible, could lead to a propulsive effect (Millis 1997b). There are many unsolved issues regarding these speculations, including whether these phenomena can lead to controllable net-force effects and whether such effects can be created, even in principle, without violating conservation of momentum and energy (Millis 1997b).
Although it is presently unknown if such propellantless propulsion can be achieved, several theories have emerged that provide additional research paths. It should be noted that all of these theories are too new to have either been confirmed or discounted, but their potential utility warrants consideration. This includes negative mass propulsion (Bondi 1957), theories that suggest that inertia and gravity are affected by vacuum fluctuations (Puthoff 1989 and Haisch 1994), and numerous other theories about the coupling between matter, electromagnetism, and spacetime (Dinowitz 1996, Froning 1997, Ringermacher 1994, Vargas 1991, Woodward, 1992, and Yilmaz 1992). Another recent development, which has yet to be credibly confirmed or discounted, is where anomalous weight changes are observed over spinning superconductors (Podkletnov 1992).
During the workshop these possibilities were discussed with an emphasis on experimental verification. A poster by Forward suggested a search for evidence of negative mass based on recent astronomical data (da Costa 1996). The posters of Dinowitz, Froning, Ringermacher, and Woodward all offered experiments to test their theories. Several experiments were suggested to test the theories linking inertia to vacuum fluctuations, including experiments described in existing literature (Forward 1996). And interest was expressed in continuing the experiments to test the claims of weight changes over spinning superconductors (Li 1997).

Author: Marc G. Millis

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Toward Goal 3 - Discovering New Modes of Energy Production

Since the first two breakthroughs could require breakthroughs in energy generation, and since the physics underlying the propulsion goals is closely linked to energy physics, it is also of interest to discover fundamentally new modes of energy generation. The principle phenomena of interest for this category is, again, the vacuum fluctuations. It has been theorized that this energy can be extracted without violating conservation of energy or any thermodynamic laws (Forward 1984, Cole 1993). It is still unknown if this vacuum energy exists as predicted, how much energy might be available to extract, and what the secondary consequences would be of extracting vacuum energy.

At the workshop, the techniques described in the posters of Maclay (Serry 1995), Erickson, and Sen were suggested to investigate the energy extraction concepts described in the poster of Erickson and by the presentation by Forward. These techniques involve the use of micromechanical structures. Not only are micromechanical structures an emerging technology, but the dimensions of such structures are similar to the dimensions required for Casimir effects. Also, should any viable device be engineered, these methods hold promise for high-volume manufacturing.

On a more conventional vein, ideas were raised at the workshop by Tipler and others for seeking alternative methods of antimatter production. Also, the poster by Seward presented a novel energy storage device involving toroidal plasmas (Seward 1996).

Author: Marc G. Millis

Sorry folks. I forgot to provide the actual source page for the last three propulsion ideas. Well, here it is:

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop Preliminary Results

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