The trick is finding a way to compress a planet-sized mass to a manageable spacecraft-module size in order to use its gravity. Bobrick and Martire suggest instead that a massive gravitational force could be used to bend space time. But such a craft would require a massive amount of negative energy, which would not be feasible for a real spacecraft. In this new effort, the researchers have taken a previous idea based on warping space-time a step further to create a model for a warp drive that they believe could be feasible in the future.īobrick and Martire start with the idea of an Alcubierre warp drive, a concept developed by Miguel Alcubierre in 1994-he envisioned it as spacecraft that could contract space time in front of the vehicle while expanding it behind the craft. But what if you folded the napkin in half and moved through and across the folds? You could get to your destination in almost no time.

If you had to traverse its entire surface, it would take a certain amount of time. But in actuality, as the name of the drive suggests, such an engine did not actually push the craft faster than the speed of light instead, it simply warped space time in a way that allowed for using a shortcut. Physicists have scoffed at the idea of a real warp drive, however, because it suggests travel faster than light. The Phoenix warp ship was the first man-made, manned spacecraft to achieve light speed using warp drive that was constructed during the mid-21st century. Sulu, execute'), and the ship was pushed swiftly to another distant destination. Back in the '60s, television viewers became familiar with the idea of a warp drive courtesy of the television show 'Star Trek.' When the crew needed to get somewhere fast, Captain Kirk gave his famous command ('Mr.

Real warp drive ship gif