The USS Enterprise crew embarks on new adventures in every episode of Star Trek , using a car-like ease to travel at speeds several times faster than the speed of light. This science fiction concept of interstellar travel, first introduced to television audiences in 1966, inspired Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre Moya to explore the possibility of a real propulsion method capable of achieving light-speed. Decades later, he shared his innovative findings with a stunned community of theoretical physicists. The eponymous Alcubierre warp drive proposes that the spacetime in front of a spaceship would contract while the spacetime behind it would expand, allowing the ship to reach “arbitrarily fast” speeds from Point A to Point B. Through the manipulation of spacetime, which encompasses the three dimensions of space and time, observers outside the ship’s “warp bubble” would perceive it to be moving faster than the speed of light, even though those inside the craft would experience no acceleration.
Should Alcubierre’s warp drive, which is faster than the speed of light, actually operate, it could potentially bring about a significant transformation in our pursuits throughout the universe. This could potentially enable us to reach our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, within a matter of days or weeks, despite it being four light years away.
One major issue with the Alcubierre drive is the use of “negative energy” as its driving force, which involves hypothetical particles that do not exist in our known universe. These particles, described only in mathematical terms, exhibit peculiar behaviors such as possessing negative mass and counteracting gravity (referred to as “anti-gravity”). Over the past three decades, researchers have continuously published studies aimed at overcoming the obstacles to achieving light speed, as highlighted in Alcubierre’s seminal 1994 paper published in the reputable peer-reviewed journal, Classical and Quantum Gravity.
According to a think tank called Applied Physics based in New York City, there is a potential solution to the main obstacle of the warp drive. The team, along with researchers from other institutions, proposed a system that follows the known laws of physics and uses “positive energy.” This discovery is significant, as stated by Gianni Martire, the CEO of Applied Physics, and Jared Fuchs, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the organization. Their findings were recently published in Classical and Quantum Gravity in April, which could serve as a starting point for interstellar travel.
According to Martire from Popular Mechanics, having positive energy can greatly impact the outcome. For instance, if one were to imagine themselves as an astronaut in space and were to push a tennis ball away from them, instead of simply moving away, the ball would push back with such force that if one were to apply enough pressure, it could potentially harm them. This is an indication of negative energy, which is necessary for the Alcubierre drive design, but unfortunately cannot be harnessed.
Instead of using complex forms of energy, it is more practical to utilize regular positive energy in the creation of a “ warp bubble.” This bubble, as its name implies, takes on a spherical shape and encompasses space for a passenger ship by utilizing a layer of dense matter. The bubble utilizes the immense gravitational force of the matter to propel the spaceship, while ensuring that the passengers experience no sense of acceleration. According to Martire, a ride in an elevator would be more eventful than traveling in this bubble.
The field of Applied Physics is exploring the concept of an Alcubierre drive model. This model involves manipulating the momentum flow to achieve faster-than-light travel.
The Alcubierre warp bubble’s computational model relies on negative energy in order to achieve speeds faster than light. However, negative energy is a theoretical concept and does not adhere to the principles of physics in reality. As a result, the traditional model of warp drives remains a mere speculation. The visualization was generated using Applied Physics’ Warp Factory technology.
Research in Applied Physics
Theoretical research has been conducted by the Applied Physics team to create a computational model of a stable warp bubble that maintains a constant velocity. This model utilizes the concept of “positive mass” and “positive energy” in order to adhere to the laws of physics. Within this bubble, passengers would travel in a ship and achieve speeds that are less than the speed of light, thanks to the Warp Factory software toolkit.
Based on their 2021 publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity, which discusses the previous research of the same team on physical warp drives, the researchers have progressed their study by utilizing their own computational program, Warp Factory. This software toolkit enables scientists to analyze Einstein’s field equations and determine the necessary energy conditions for different warp drive configurations. The program is available for free download and use to anyone. Through these experiments, Fuchs and his team have developed a miniature model, which is the first comprehensive model of a positive-energy warp drive. Their previous research also revealed that the energy required for a warp bubble depends on its shape; a flatter bubble in the direction of travel requires less energy.
Achieving control over warp bubbles demands a significant level of coordination due to the substantial quantities of matter and energy required to ensure the safety of passengers and maintain a comparable passage of time to the destination. Lentz suggests that it is possible to manipulate spacetime in a way that alters the passage of time inside the passenger compartment compared to the outside, which could potentially result in missing scheduled appointments at destinations like Proxima Centauri if not managed carefully. However, even when traveling at speeds slower than the speed of light, there is still a risk involved. Furthermore, communication between individuals inside and outside the bubble may also experience distortion as it travels through the curved space, according to Lentz.
Although the current method of Applied Physics requires a warp drive that operates under the speed of light, it also needs to include a mass equivalent to two Jupiters in order to generate enough gravitational force and momentum for a significant warp effect. However, the origin of this required mass is currently unknown. Some studies suggest that utilizing dark matter, a mysterious and rare particle, could potentially enable light-speed travel. However, both Fuchs and Martire have doubts about this possibility.
Despite the numerous challenges that scientists must overcome in order to create a functional warp drive, the Applied Physics team affirms that their model has the potential to approach the speed of light. Even if their model falls short of this ultimate goal, it would still be a significant advancement compared to current technology. For instance, a journey to Alpha Centauri at half the speed of light would still take nine years, whereas our current fastest spacecraft, Voyager 1, which travels at a speed of 38,000 miles per hour, would take 75,000 years to reach the nearest star system.
According to the concepts of Einstein’s special relativity, as one approaches the speed of light, strange phenomena occur. The mass of an object would continuously increase and would eventually need an endless amount of energy to sustain its velocity.