Joyika
125276
2931
100
May 4, 2019 9:48 AM
Joyika
125276
2931
100
stopitcharlesgetoutofmyhead
This masks the fundamental problem that it requires "exotic" matter to work. Researchers basically going "matter that does what we want".
crimsonghost1
Um, yeah...Gellar fields. You need them. Ask the last crew of the Event Horizon why. https://youtu.be/xuJnIJHgQ44
GlobularCloyster
Old news
ParryLost
I think I may have seen this exact illustration in a Popular Science magazine like a couple of decades ago.
TommyWa
"Without breaking any physics laws" - Requires negative mass/energy. Choose one.
MichaelDeGregory
Ludicrous speed!
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
What do have on this ship, a Cuisinart?
MichaelDeGregory
Krups
retrohellix
Zeitryn
Eventful
JaTheRed
A wrinkle in time method?
lance415
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive
relpmeraggy
ronnyhugo
Aubrey de Grey PhD, the man who put together all the scientific knowledge on aging and realized we can live forever with youth and health1/2
ronnyhugo
Which therefore makes faster than light travel rather pointless, because even if you could do it, it would be cheaper not to. 2/2
TOOLfan303
Until we can shield ourselves from meteors and debris, this is kind of pointless...
Melondwarf
This sounds like when Brian Cox was describing wormholes, something like: It's easy to do, it just takes materials that doesn't exist
DevilishlySexyStarfish
That sounds exactly like my undergrad lab report conclusions
TheDanWithNoName
And just a smidge of...unobtanium
BlankMage
"I've invented a way to world end hunger, now all we need is an infinite food source to make it work."
jursamaj
Nah, ending world hunger is possible with the food we produce now. The problem is lack of food, it's how it's distributed.
in70x
Why make or distribute food when we can synthesize matter with a machine that doesn’t exist?? Check. Mate.
AOCsUnshavenChode
can you imagine what it would feel like? getting sucked off through a hole?
AOCsUnshavenChode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C95tIWOuss
Waaahmbulance
And then you’re born
TheStargateIsReal
Fools! Just use a Stargate!
v
ParryLost
You can go quite far, and you don't need a car, or even a ship!
ScottaHemi
it's all fun and games until someone gets possessed by a Goa'uld
AIComments
Except it requires things which don't exist according to current physical laws.
Amuzaulo
*things that should exist based on our current understand of physical laws, but that have not yet been observed
AIComments
There's nothing in our current understanding of physics that says that negative energy matter should exist.
Bantri
It’s like using a curved mirror to look outside when driving. The mirror shows you moving faster than you are... but you don’t arrive sooner
Bantri
You’re just moving the location of visible light. Actual objects or its origination would not move closer than the actual speed.
muhvitus
”Will” -> ”might”
jursamaj
"Will" -> "won't"
BobsAvatar
Really should have put a 'hypothetically' in there somewhere.
cleetdog101
Based on the description-I picture an inchworm crawling on a piece of paper & the paper moving instead of the inchworm.
hairytrigga
There aren't any space cops so we should break physics laws to go faster.
davdeMoonQueen
hemanwomenhatersclub
Sounds like Futurama when they discover that scientists increase the speed of light dunce you can’t go faster than that.
Noodle4Lyf
Is this legit or am I getting my hopes up for nothing
Colopty
It requires a type of matter that doesn't exist (matter with negative mass, in large quantities) in order to work. Theoretically legit tho.
LizardEnterprises
Its legit if you allow creative interpretations of Einstein's theories that invent particles we have no reason to believe exist, but could?
LizardEnterprises
It is, however, the absolute best option for FTL travel we currently have.
siler7
"Will" enable us to?
strideo
Pretty presumptuous considering the fairytale exotic matter that's supposed to make this thing work.
AIComments
If FTL was possible, it means it's very unlikely that anyone else in the entire universe has ever developed it, because where are they?
jursamaj
That assumes both that they'd want to come *here*, and that they've had time enough to go *everywhere*.
AIComments
They don't have to come here. Unless there is some trick for entropy, their power consumption will be visible.
kadaeux
Now, this may come as a shock. But space is REALLY fucking big. So mind bogglingly big. Asking why an alien race with FTL has not been 1.
kadaeux
here is like asking why you haven't been to see grain of sand five trillion six hundred and thirty two billion and nine.
AIComments
Second: Time is really long. An FTL civilization would cover the universe in a cosmic blink of an eye. Even if civilizations are unlikely to
AIComments
colonize, it only takes one.
kadaeux
It also takes that one being anywhere near us. Surviving long enough to develop such technology and Survive having developed it.
AIComments
First: Space is really big, but FTL travel would use an enormous amount of energy. It's not something you could hide.
kadaeux
Assuming our current assumptions hold weight. Or that the energy would be emitted in a form we recognise.
tburkz
Frontlines book series
Kargathia
Love those. Sci-fi is built by the lowest bidder and taken for granted. Cafetaria food is still shit, but now on a space ship. Feels real.
socalistar83
Pretty sure they made a documentary about this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119081/
watchesyouwhileyousleep
Im down
DarthPreator
What’s the matter compressor?
jimmyhowlett
Which is why, in 2208, scientists increased the speed of light
WhatFuckingNameIsntTaken
It came to him in a dream, and he forgot it in another dream.
iChangeMyNameToBeRelevant
"Good timing! I just finished turbo charging the matter compressor!"
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
What's the matter compressor? ...
iChangeMyNameToBeRelevant
"Nothings the matter Fry now that I've turbo charged the matter compressor!"
METDeath
Matt Groening is a time traveler.
mountainofpuppies
*adjusts glasses* actually the planet express ship moves the universe around it and doesn't have any warp capabilities.
yzark01
By contracting and expanding space behind and in front of it, like the above picture. Its called bubble theory
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
pineapplesonimgur
SirSlurmsMcKenzie
It’s funny I read this in the professors voice but this is like episode 2
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
ApocalypseFitness
I'll take things that will never exist for 400 Alex.
InsertNameHereIGuess
I would not be so sure. Who knows what is possible in 200 years or even 2000 years.
ApocalypseFitness
They will never create tech that could actually allow all the worker bees to escape.
Amuzaulo
Who's they?
DonaldTrumpsFlaccidHairpiece
Time travel has always been possible, but we can only go 1 way, and as of yet, we can't survive the trip. Thats the key.
bripi
Thank you. Came here to say exactly this...and downvote idiocy.
AIComments
We all travel through time, none of us survive the trip. Dude.....
kadaeux
*Points at Keanu Reeves* Somebody has figured it out.
youwontlikewhateveriwrite
This is how good old fashioned regular warp drive works. No need to add silly names to it.
Amuzaulo
It's named after Miguel Alcubierre. A Mexican physicist who was inspired by Star Trek to create a mathematical framework for warp travel.
SpecialProjectY
So, Alcu Drive it is.
d20money
alcuhaul
evilmonkeyjoe
Bierre drive?... Beer Drive.
mybigbadself
Wiki: "Alcubierre stated in an email to William Shatner that his theory was directly inspired by the term used in the show". Has Citation
youwontlikewhateveriwrite
Well that doesn't explain anything at all. Thanks for nothing!
Outlavv
Probably the name of the theorist
Fifthwall
That's been the name for a pretty long time
Voltair
It's the name of the guy who proposed it as an actual scientific theory.
CrazyEarl
I thought star trek warp driver reduced the mass of the ship in question. They extended warp field to push a moon.
LizardEnterprises
Alcubierre gets his name on it cause he did the math.
MrsRodriguez
Lol. The guy who created the idea was inspired from star trek.
clawthewolf
Alcubierre was the IRL scientist who presented the first mathematics that it might be possible
AOCsUnshavenChode
unless you're watching the last jedi. in which case you just go really really fast
Zigor22
I prefer Fujikawa myself
ElectricStormCat
I think I got that reference.
Zigor22
Shaw Fujikawa. I forgot the first part. And if you did, then well met.
pleaseconsiderthatImightbejoking
If you come up with a way to stick it to the universe you can name it whatever you want.
APackOfExcitedGingers
Warp drive is the silly name.
in70x
Warp drive is quite fitting. As they are literally warping space-time to travel infinitely fat distances.
APackOfExcitedGingers
As I told the other guy, it's still the nickname for the real title
Valondra
Like your mum's waistline?
in70x
Naw she’s fat as hell. Not fitting anything on her. She so fat Thanos had to snap twice.
Mithi
Because the drive warps the space-time-continuum?
APackOfExcitedGingers
I mean, that's true, but Alcubierre drive is the real name, so warp drive is therefore the layman term
captainjuicynipples
Then name it Mcfattypattygogowarpydriver?
ButtsMcGee86
Warpy McWarp Face.
youwontlikewhateveriwrite
Valondra
And if I remember correctly, converting mass into energy to hit warp 2 would require more than 10 times the mass in the known universe.
Valondra
From Science of Disc world 2.
JHawke
Fun fact, discworld is sorta... discworld 2. Terry Pratchett wrote another book featuring a flat planet... ish before them.
Valondra
Science of discworld is a semi separate spinoff though, hence my specificity
JHawke
I know I own literally everything he ever wrote. It just reminded me of it.
youwontlikewhateveriwrite
That data is outdated. We're on the new scale now.
WikusVanDerMemer
They can just use your mum
bradleyus
kodiak931155
A very common plan but the line is usually too long
yeager99
Some guys at NASA redid the math and brought that number down significantly
ALLofTHESEnamesCANTbePOSSIBLYbeTAKEN
Fuzzy math
WhatzitTooya
Down to what? Only half the mass of the Universe?
twozerooz
Few tonnes
WhatzitTooya
That sounds much more feasible, until further reading told me it needs to be some whack exotic matter with negative mass...
B0bbyBiceps
With numbers please dont throw around the word significant unless we got some more numbers
vorodar
15
AntiProtonBoy
Half of infinity is still infinity.
ImTheGodOfHellfire
Just the small problem of wiping out all life when you arrive at a location with a massive radiation blast from particles collected en route
HocusPenis
Well time is a variable so just arrive @ your destination before you leave and there’ll be no “along the way” to accumulate particles during
TheNextHafthorBjornsson
This is a jump not a time travel.
captjackvane
Only a problem for poor people who can't afford Warp drives.
Yasumibi
Ez, arrive next to your destination instead of pointing straight at it
FatassNoodleDog
If its contracting and expanding space then its not collecting anything, am I missing something?
BurtMaklinFBI
Details, details
melwil
And that peski energy requirement.
siler7
Problem? Have you not met people? Hell, I hope somebody's bringing one of these things here right now.
angrytaco
Particles collected? Wouldn't they just pass through the warp bubble like it was regular spacetime? Why would they ever collect?
WalkerLillard
Unless you can reabsorb the radiation and covert it to power for your next jump... Don't know how, but could be awesome.
Hardstylelover
He look! A planet with... BOOOM.. well without life
Zetor
It's now a free real estate
MyNameIsDende
Haha, I imagine Capt Donald Trump saying all this.
Bot125
5GFPLaqZ4nAy2QwrqOEI
makes for nice weapon for exterminating life on large scale. world rebelling against your empire? send an alcubierre drive missile at em
ParryLost
Want to wipe out all life in the universe? Build von Neumann probes with warp drives, and send them out to spread through the stars...
5GFPLaqZ4nAy2QwrqOEI
wont there be a need for a drive as the rate they cover a given volume increases exponentially?
BenSnow97
*muffled "fucking heretics" in the distance*
mormacil
Faster but vastly more expensive then a relativistic ballistic missile, perhaps also easier to detect. But it should work.
NacLac
Much harder to intercept and to mitigate the effects
mormacil
How does one mitigate the effect of impact from a RKM? Something that is near invisible on approach.
NacLac
Time. A RKM is not moving that fast. The amount of time difference between a warp missile and a RKM is on the order of years. 1/2
BenSnow97
Also, it requires negative energy, that makes it kinda hard to build
5GFPLaqZ4nAy2QwrqOEI
won't it mean energy traveling back in time?
clawthewolf
Nah, just a lower energy state than vacuum energy.
BronzeLeaguePro
If you build colony ships, that's not a bug, but a feature.
SomeSortaPsycho
forreal... wont even need to take blankets with us
FerengiCommerceAuthority
Glynn Stewart's Space Carrier Avalon books take care of that issue with the Alcubierre-Stetson drive. Uses two bubbles of 1/2
FerengiCommerceAuthority
Warped gravity to capture and then slow bleed the particles collected as part of the deceleration process. In an emergency decel
FerengiCommerceAuthority
The computer forces the "KILLALLTHINGS" pulse on a vector with no life for thousands of light years by collapsing outer bubble from 1 point
nafun
Step 1: Convert matter equal to the mass of Jupiter to energy to form the field Step 2: Figure out a way to shut it off when you arrive.
hughesybooze
We worked out how to build heavier than air flying machines just over 100 years ago, give us some time to work on it dude. We got this.
adezio
It took us 200,000 years to get to that point, though.
hughesybooze
Technology advances exponentially. Computer power literally doubles every 18 months, look at the change that's happened since we created 1
hughesybooze
engines for cars etc, then look at how incredibly the Internet's changed things in the last 30 years. By the time I die our way of life 2
hughesybooze
will be unrecognisable to that of today. Not saying we'll have warp drives by then but I bet they're not really that far off.
cameroncar1
That's only 2 things!
BoneyBob
igotthatreference.gif
FuzzyX
They usually say it requires exotic matter which is better known as matter that is not known to exist.
itisblue
This will take a long time for scientists to figure out. - Captain of the Enterprise: Scotty, you have two hours to find a solution!
Skuggen
Reminds me of the later stages of the Bugatti Veyron. "Ok, so all that's left is figuring out the steering and brakes."
Nuclearun
I think you'd probably want to figure out how to shut it down at least a little before you arrive....
fnxweb
Step 3: wipe out all life at the destination on arrival with the bow wave of radiation it accrues.
Hudson3205
Don’t you need exotic matter with negative mass for the other end?
10tacles
Yes, and we don't know if it exist.
thatGuyChris
It used to start with "Convert matter equal to the mass of our sun." So. You know, progress
FunAlternativeFact
You forgot Step 1.5: Create a means of generating negative energy, which we aren’t sure if even possible.
needtwoknow
Nibblers poop dark matter
GoldFrieza
also, figure out how to create negative energy. assuming it is possible
dreamweaver35
Also need an antigavity particle, which may or may not exist
neil137
it's down to a couple hundred pounds
Anonymous0199846
Step 3? Wouldn’t that ship be going through spaghettofocation? So I think survive that?
weerdo
Pull the plug?
captjackvane
Just shunt in all into the nearest planet. That should hold it.
hikarimono
Let's say we could "stop", I'd question how you return. I mean one calculation off and you shot past your goal.
LizardEnterprises
That part's true even for conventional rockets. Thats why we let supercomputers do most of the calculations these days.
Lightslinger42
Yeah, but FTL? better have a few super duper computers. And even then you might end up off a light year or two.
cepacolusmaximus
All of the people pointing out hurdles: you do realize that's exactly what people have said about every scientific breakthrough ever, right?
cepacolusmaximus
Flight: step 1: build a craft out of metal that floats in the air! Step two make your own wind! What idiots!
cepacolusmaximus
Internal combustion: step one, build something that can create and contain explosions. Step two, make it more reliable than a horse. Hahaha!
Pishposhbingbong
Yup, but if someone doesn’t point out the hurdles, you run right into them. Doesn’t mean don’t get on your horse, just be ready to jump.
10tacles
Sort of. Flying things existed in the world for millions of years but we have never seen an object move faster than light. This concept
10tacles
depends on things like exotic matter with negative energy but we don't even know if it actually exist.
Xerxes4242
Just because we have technology doesn't mean we shouldn't be skeptical of grandiose claims.
cepacolusmaximus
Nor should we be dismissive of ideas that lay groundwork, waiting for practical science to catch up.
cepacolusmaximus
Discovery of the New World: step one, sail your ship over the edge of our flat planet. Impossible!
ParryLost
Not the best example, as the fact that the Earth is round was known to scientists since the days of ancient Greece.
FrankTheCube
wafflesnaffle
Why not add brakes ????
pelskedyr
We brake for nobody
thisiscatman
"Air brakes". It works for Bugs Bunny.
ThatShiftyMonkey
Parachute maybe?
laddercrash
Step 3: Locate sexy alien princess and teach her about this thing human's call, "love."
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Crazy little thing called love.
Plasmabunny
Discover too late that she is the princess of space praying mantises
laddercrash
Worth it...
AIComments
There's no such thing as an unarmed spaceship.
TheWorldNeedsMoreCookies
step 0: figure out how to make negative mass. after figuring out if that actually exists.
LizardEnterprises
Damnit I was gonna comment this. Take your upvote!
TheWorldNeedsMoreCookies
normal matter won't do the trick. this drive has more problems than this little info graphic wants to make you belive
Havok707
It makes a several ton object move faster than light.. Its problems have problems !
zykelator
Only relatively speaking though.
Eramik
You hit it with a hammer
MakeItBackAlright
Just jump out, like bailing out of a sled at the bottom of a hill.
WizBardBarian
That's kinda what they're working on
LeftRightThere
Why not just use coal? It’s the miracle energy source, good for the planet and now spacetime!
mikeatike
Now I want to know how much coal it would take to get into orbit.
LeftRightThere
Tsiolkovsky rocket equation
mikeatike
Yeah, yeah, there is no amount of coal that would get you there, it weights too much.
shawnemack
Beautiful clean coal!
laddercrash
Good idea, in the empty blackness of space no one will even notice the coal dust!
DeckardB26354
And the coal miners will look up with pride at the night sky and marvel that their efforts are propeling us across the galaxy.
ParryLost
Trump was a steampunk fan all along? If he promised us steam-powered starships, he might get my vote.
ThatOneGuyFromKYinND
If by magic coal could be used somehow, there really wouldnt be much of a downside to using it in space, would there?
LeftRightThere
Weight and energy density. Plus, you probably need air to burn it.
mikeatike
Hell, Project Orion was seriously considered. Nuclear bomb propulsion. 100 tons to Saturn's orbit by 1970.
mikeatike
The Apollo+Service Module was about 30 tons. Granted this would include liftoff from earth with nuclear bombs, which may have some.. fallout
jenniferlawrenceisabear
I3zx
Or use antimatter
kodiak931155
When they talk about "using the mass of x" they aren't talking about a chemical reaction. They are talking about antimatter annihilation
SquatchesRreal
I believe he was making a futurama reference, as the delivery ship functions similarly to the above.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Well, we are celebrated prodigious poopers.
Colopty
Doesn't require antimatter, but does require matter with negative mass (which as far as we know doesn't exist). Also it would isolate the
Colopty
section of spacetime you're in so there's no way to know where you are until you turn the field off, making it hard to know where to stop.
mormacil
I thought the bigger issue was dissipating the generated force when stopping as to not blow up your destination.
Coofk
Yup, arriving at the destination would cause such a massive gravitational wave that it would actually rip apart any planet you arrive at.
Styxwash
Here's hoping Aliens won't arrive at earth in one of these
parismaker
So why not use warp-torpedos on comets/asteroids with a critical course towards earth or alien ships/planets?
parismaker
Or against Bob? I don't like him, by the way...
verukt89
Why not form a field around an object, and move space around it? Same premise, but no accel/decel
clawthewolf
That's literally what the Alcubierre drive is
verukt89
Then why does it need to be in space?
verukt89
I'm talking something similar but it's the same as what they are imagining. A sphere, instead of a front and a back. And it wouldn't need
verukt89
Acceleration or decel, it would basically just re-locate based on coordinates. A series of 7 points like stargate for example
ThatShiftyMonkey
Is that not what this whole post is about?
verukt89
No, I don't think so. I believe they are still thinking in terms of linear movement instead of 4th dimensional travel.
bot1010011010
There isn't a fourth spatial dimension. If there were, all the inverse square laws (gravity, EM, etc.) would be inverse cube.
verukt89
4th spacial dimension is the space between spaces. Think about a stationary object, put a box around it, and move the box to get the object