Warp drive is possible...

[Kylon]

Okay, what's the main problem with warp drive?

What is warp drive?

compressing space/time then going over it, then decompressing space time, so you can move faster than the speed of light.

How can we effect space time?

Gravity-

Currently, nobody knows how to minipulate gravity other than moving things, but I have an idea.

In "The universe in a nutshell", Stephen Hawking describes how time travel is impossible except on a microscopic levels in certain conditions where electrons have been known to go back in time in some specific conditions(although I forgot what those conditions were). Anyway, the important part is that something can go back in time.
If this is true, that means that it could be possible to temporarily increase the amount of mass/gravity in a specific period of time, by barrowing(or taking) an electron from the future and placing him back in the past, so that there would be two/more electrons at a given place in time for what would have been one electron.
That would increase the amount of gravity, and once one can manipulate gravity, so long as someone has a sufficient power source, one could(my opinion) easily create a warp drive, as well as a number of other interstellar gizmos.

My thoughts

[m021]

Interesting!

Maybe you should study science or something, and after that go work for NASA.

[voyager123456789]

OH, warp drive: they will create a warp field that shoots them into subspace.....

[EnsignChris]

can u tell me how impulse engines work im confused about them

[Mustkillbret]

[Whitehero]

Warp drive is based on the idea that you create a warp field or bubble around the ship/object and thisin turn allows space to be bent around the bubble. Ex: Think of a golf ball as the bubble and a hose as space. When you try and force the golf ball through the hose, the hose has to 'warp' or deform around the ball inorder for it to pass through. Except with space, when it slides off the back end of the bubble, it produces a thrusting effect, like if you were to take the same golf ball and squeeze it between your finger and thumb at the bottom of the ball, it would be squeezed from your grasp.

ex:


At least, that's how I see it. I could be wrong and probably am.

[Mustkillbret]

The Space Infront Of The Ship is Squashed (ill try and make an illustration using symbols) and the space behind the ship is streched, the space infront is sucked behind the ship, and the ship is pushed forwards, propelling it through space


________ -------- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
________ -------- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
_[space]_ [SHIP] /\/\/\[space]\/\/\
________ -------- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
________ -------- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

[starnova]

well one of the rules in phyics is as mass altcerates mass requires more energy and since warp one is the speed of light then that would mean the you would need infinate energy just for warp one

[Five - seveN]

Actually Mustkillbret is right. The space in front of the ship is compressed and the space behind it is stretched out so that it seems to go forward. But it can travel above c because it's not actually moving! It's only pushed "forward" by a deformation in space time! If you would be right next to the ship when the warp drive is energized, you wouldn't see it moving. I hope this explains things abit.

[Solitary Poet]

Yes, I read about this in Popular Mechanics and Science Magazine.

[starnova]

uhh.......
i like how you used symbols to show the ship.

[The_Sisko]

[starnova]

how does it get propelled in space?
FYI i mean like a rocket it uses fire what do implues engines do?

[webtaz99]

Both rockets and "impulse engines" work by shooting mass out in one direction at high speed in order to create thrust in the opposite direction. A basic rule of rocketry is that both the efficiency of your engines and their maximum speed goes up with exhaust temperature. "Impulse engines" would use fusion to create really hot exhaust (a billion degrees or more).

NASA is developing a plasma engine which already operates at around 180 million degrees.

[Solitary Poet]

Remember when NASA tested that new Ion-Drive on the probe Deep Space 1 and the entire thing was foiled because of a single piece of dust that got between the ionization plates short-circuiting the whole thing. Of course the sun had to go and screw things by fixing the problem. As Deep Space 1 rotated the suns heat caused the plates to expand and contract with each rotation thus working the piece of dust out so the next day when they decided to give it one last go before abandoning the project it worked perfectly (Drat!) and they had to call everybody back to work. They�re even planning to use Ion-Drive on Deep Space 4.

[gamma flyer]

warp drive would be possable but fist u would have to be able to contain the anti matter so that it don't distroy all the mater

[Solitary Poet]

You don't actually need anti-matter for warp-drive just a powerful energy sorce. The Warrantor Ship Zingara used a fusion-reactor and the Romuluns use sustained temporal anomalies to power their warp-drives.

[webtaz99]

[m021]

[webtaz99]

I haven't found a web site inside of nasa.gov following day-to-day activities, but here is a good overview.


http://www.nasatech.com/Briefs/Sep01/MSC23041.html

[m021]

Hmm, that's a complicated story. But very interesting! Thanx.

[webtaz99]

Search on "vasimr" and "plasma engine" and you can find sites with pictures and stuff.

Try

http://www.ae.utexas.edu/design/phoenix/vasimr.html

[starnova]

but how would a ship turn into a star trek one with that fancy warp drive