Space & Astronomy

Has NASA just discovered warp drive ?

By T.K. Randall
April 28, 2015 ·  70 comments

An artist's concept of a warp drive spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA / Mark Rademaker The concept of warp drive might seem like something firmly rooted in the science fiction TV series Star Trek, but back in the 1990s physicist Miguel Alcubierre actually put forward the idea of a 'warp bubble' which could be formed around a spaceship by using a special wave to contract the space in front of the vessel and expand the space behind it.

By riding inside this bubble the spacecraft would be able to travel long distances without passing through the space in between.Fast forward to the present day and NASA may have found the first evidence of a real-life warp field being produced by a new type of engine known as the EmDrive, something that itself remains a focus of significant intrigue. Developed by American scientist Guido Fetta, this peculiar new propulsion system can allegedly produce thrust without the need for any type of propellant.

Now however there are reports suggesting that when laser beams are fired through the EmDrive's resonance chamber they actually travel faster than the speed of light, a discovery that could indicate that the drive is producing some sort of warp field or bubble.

The findings have still to be corroborated but if the effect is confirmed then it could mean that not only is warp drive possible but that NASA may have already invented it, albeit by accident.

Source: Sputnik News | Comments (70)

Tags: Star Trek, Warp Drive, NASA, EmDrive