Having opened its way to the stars, humanity almost immediately began to dream of interstellar and interplanetary flights. However, time passes, and the man never flew beyond the Moon. To overcome vast interplanetary distances, mankind needs more advanced engines and spaceships that could move at the speed of light. So far, such devices can be found only in the works of science fiction writers, but time does not stand still. The most daring ideas of science fiction writers often find their graphic and scientific embodiment. This happened with the concept of a spacecraft that could travel through the vastness of the Universe at a speed exceeding the speed of light. The project was presented by NASA scientist Harold White and graphic designer Mark Reidmaker.
In theory, traveling at this speed is possible by using a so-called warp drive that generates a whirp field that bends the space-time continuum. This is what sets such a spaceship in motion. Harold White is a physicist who has been working for many years to overcome the speed of light using spaceships. Back in 2011, he published his scientific report, in which for the first time he presents to the public his concept of movement in space with superluminal speed. However, now a team of like-minded people working with him have presented a project of a spacecraft, which in practice embodies the indicated concept.
It is worth noting that the Dutch artist Mark Reidmaker is already quite well known. He became famous for his series of graphic works based on the television series Star Trek. Raidmaker told NBC News that he was closely acquainted with the work of Harold White, which was made at the NASA Johnson Space Center. According to the artist, the work on the graphic embodiment of the ideas of the physicist from NASA took him 3 months.
According to the presented concept, the space behind the starship will expand at a rapid speed, pushing the ship forward in a straight line. Using this method of travel in space, it will be possible to reach Alpha Centauri in just 14 days. Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth, but even it is located at a huge distance from our planet - 4, 3 light years (1 light year is about 9, 5 trillion kilometers). White himself says that what was possible in Star Trek may not be as distant as many think.
Work on an apparatus that could move through the Universe at a speed exceeding the speed of light (299 792 458 m / s) has been fascinating White for a long time. He is engaged in research in this direction together with members of the special scientific group of the NASA Space Center. Johnson. The possibilities of warp engines are explored here. With the help of such an engine, the spacecraft, designated IXS Enterprise, would be able to travel in space at a speed exceeding the speed of light.
Based on White's concept, which he dreams of translating into reality, Mark Redmaker presented a three-dimensional graphic concept of the future interstellar spacecraft. After a rather long study of White's works, the artist presented to the public a spaceship of relatively small size, which is located inside two fairly large rings. These rings in the vast expanses of space should serve for the correct deformation of time and space. At the same time, work in this direction does not end with the creation of a graphic concept of a spacecraft. The research group of the American Space Agency recently presented 12 innovative technologies at once, which are planned to be implemented in the very near future - within 2 years. And although the IXS Enterprise project is currently mostly at the stage of theoretical development, experiments and research, the research team sincerely believes that such a ship can be launched on an interplanetary journey. Researchers believe that such a flight could take place sooner than many think.
An ambitious, if somewhat fantastic, program for the design of spaceships capable of traveling at speeds exceeding the speed of light, also known as Project Speed. The goal of the project is to develop engines that would allow humans to travel at superluminal speeds. At the heart of this ambitious project was the concept of space deformation, which follows from the equation of the famous physicist Miguel Alcubier. This equation provides for the creation of such a mechanism that would be able to "deform" the space. We are talking about a space curvature engine that would expand the space in front of the ship, and, on the contrary, compress it at the back. Thanks to this, a space-time "Alcubiere bubble" would form around the spacecraft. Inside this "bubble", the ship could move in space with superluminal speed.
It is assumed that this engine will have a spherical shape. It is planned to influence time and space with the help of very strong electrostatic fields. Scientists are currently measuring the degree of deformation of the space-time continuum during experiments using a laser interferometer. Their main task for the near future is the development of a microscopic "bubble" in laboratory conditions. In the future, scientists are going to use the dark energy of the universe as energy used to manipulate space. According to Harold White, the spaceship of the future will resemble the shape of an American football ball, surrounded by a torus.
