Radical space propulsion: warp drive for real?
An odd story. The New Scientist is fairly well respected, so I
would guess that somebody is at least looking into it. What is the
chance that one discarded theory from the 1950's---well string
theory and even quarks---and undoubtably far outside the mainstream
of physics is correct?
In truth, the chance is extremely low. But the import is
sufficiently high to look.
I looked on the New Scientist web site: the hyperdrive story is
available only to paid subscribers.
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http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006
Welcome to Mars express: journey time three hours
IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT
AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar
space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being
investigated by the United States government.
The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but
is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the
universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in
three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80
days, according to a report in today's New Scientist
magazine.
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.
The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea and
scientists working for the American Department of Energy - which
has a device known as the Z Machine that could generate the kind of
magnetic fields required to drive the engine - say they may carry
out a test if the theory withstands further scrutiny.
Professor Jochem Hauser, one of the scientists who put forward the
idea, told The Scotsman that if everything went well a working
engine could be tested in about five years.
However, Prof Hauser, a physicist at the Applied Sciences
University in Salzgitter, Germany, and a former chief of
aerodynamics at the European Space Agency, cautioned it was based
on a highly controversial theory that would require a significant
change in the current understanding of the laws of physics.
"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," he 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."
He said the engine would enable spaceships to travel to different
solar systems. "If the theory is correct then this is not science
fiction, it is science fact," Prof Hauser said.
"NASA have contacted me and next week I'm going to see someone from
the [US] air force to talk about it further, but it is at a very
early stage. I think the best-case scenario would be within the
next five years [to build a test device] if the technology
works."
The US authorities' attention was attracted after Prof Hauser and
an Austrian colleague, Walter Droscher, wrote a paper called
"Guidelines for a space propulsion device based on Heim's quantum
theory".
