Topic: advancement on alcubierre warp drive theory

[Stormbringer]

http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Star_Trek-like_warp_drive_theorized_999.html

however the newspaper article does not provide details of the advance.

[Stormbringer]

but i found other references: 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/1251197/Warp-Drive-A-New-Approach

[Stormbringer]

http://www.baylor.edu/pr/news.php?action=story&story=52090

he method is based on the Alcubierre drive, which proposes expanding the fabric of space behind a ship and shrinking space-time in front of the ship. The ship would not actually move, rather the ship would sit in a bubble between the expanding and shrinking space-time dimensions. Since space would move around the ship, the theory does not violate Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which states that it would take an infinite amount of energy to accelerate a massive object to the speed of light.

String theory suggests the universe is made up of multiple dimensions. Height, width and length are three dimensions, and time is the fourth dimension. String theorists use to believe that there were a total of 10 dimensions, with six other dimensions that we can not yet identify because of their incredibly small size. A new theory, called M-theory, takes string theory one step farther and states that the "strings" that all things are made of actually vibrate in an additional spatial dimensional, which is called the 10th dimension. It is by changing the size of this 10th spatial dimension that Baylor researchers believe could alter the strength of the dark energy in such a manner to propel a ship faster than the speed of light.

The Baylor physicists estimate that the amount of energy needed to influence the extra dimension is equivalent to the entire mass of Jupiter being converted into pure energy for a ship measuring roughly 10 meters by 10 meters by 10 meters.

"That is an enormous amount of energy," Cleaver said. "We are still a very long ways off before we could create something to harness that type of energy."

The paper appears in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.

[Sirgod]

Argh I have to pick up my new monitor. Can't read that second link on the tv.
Very cool stuff Storm.

Stephn

[Vipre]

...the Alcubierre drive, which proposes expanding the fabric of space behind a ship and shrinking space-time in front of the ship. The ship would not actually move, rather the ship would sit in a bubble between the expanding and shrinking space-time dimensions. Since space would move around the ship, the theory does not violate Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which states that it would take an infinite amount of energy to accelerate a massive object to the speed of light.

Did Trek "steal" their warp concept from this or the other way round?

[Stormbringer]

...the Alcubierre drive, which proposes expanding the fabric of space behind a ship and shrinking space-time in front of the ship. The ship would not actually move, rather the ship would sit in a bubble between the expanding and shrinking space-time dimensions. Since space would move around the ship, the theory does not violate Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which states that it would take an infinite amount of energy to accelerate a massive object to the speed of light.

Did Trek "steal" their warp concept from this or the other way round?

the basic idea has been around a longtime but alcubierre created the first theoretic framework mathematically that allowed it to potentially be science rather than science fiction.

[Nemesis]

Did Trek "steal" their warp concept from this or the other way round?

 the basic idea has been around a longtime but alcubierre created the first theoretic framework mathematically that allowed it to potentially be science rather than science fiction.

The use of space warps for FTL travel goes back to at least the 1950's.  John W. Campbell used it in his Arcot, Morey and Wade stories.

From "Islands of Space" 1956:

"Oh," said Fuller softly. "I get it. By changing the curvature of the space surrounding you, you could get any velocity you wanted. But what about acceleration? It would take years to reach those velocities at any acceleration a man could stand."

Arcot shook his head. "Take a look at the glass of water again. What happens when the light comes _out_ of the water? It speeds up again _instantaneously_. By changing the space around a spaceship, you instantaneously change the velocity of the ship to a comparable velocity in that space. And since every particle is accelerated at the same rate, you wouldn't feel it, any more than you'd feel the acceleration due to gravity in free fall."

[Nemesis]

Its been a long time since I read it but Campbell had another one that might quailify in 1934.  The Mightiest Machine.  If I recall correctly the hero warps space for STL flght, hits an asteroid and gets knocked into another universe.  While there he makes a bubble of space time around his ship and propagates it at FTL speeds.