Space science & general science ...

What is the Alcubierre "warp" drive? By Balbeer Singh Danu Visualization of a warp field, according to the Alcubierre Drive.  It's always a welcome thing to learn that ideas that are commonplace in science fiction have a basis in scientific fact. Cryogenic freezers, laser guns, robots, silicate implants… and let's not forget the warp drive! Believe it or not, this concept – alternately known as FTL (Faster-Than-Light) travel, Hyperspace, Lightspeed, etc. – actually has one foot in the world of real science. In physics, it is what is known as the Alcubierre Warp Drive. On paper, it is a highly speculative, but possibly valid, solution of the Einstein field equations, specifically how space, time and energy interact. In this particular mathematical model of spacetime, there are features that are apparently reminiscent of the fictional " warp drive " or "hyperspace" from notable  science fiction  franchises, hence the association. Backgr...

Tachyons, hypothetical sub-atomic particles which travel faster than light, once attracted a lot of publicity yet we do not hear much discussion of them today. Whatever happened to tachyons? An artist’s impression of the planet Dagon in the Fomalhaut system, some 25 light years from the Sun. Could tachyons take us there in less than 25 years? (Image credit: NASA) Over a century ago, Albert Einstein anticipated odd things happening on a spaceship travelling at speeds close to that of light (roughly 300 000 km/s) and impossible things happening when travelling at more than the speed of light. It is not necessary here and now to go into why this should be, but these predictions are enough to convince much smarter people than me that the speed of light is a fixed, fundamental speed limit in the Universe and that no material objects can ever attain or exceed this crucial speed. However, some theoretical physicists have gone for a walk on the wild side by speculating on the poss...