[IP] Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: January 8, 2006 11:53:46 AM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Note: Brings to mind that infamous 'three hour tour' that is now a
part of TV history. <g> DLH]
Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip
IAN JOHNSTON
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT
<http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006>
AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar
space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being
investigated by the United States government.
The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is
based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe,
could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours
and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according
to a report in today's New Scientist magazine.
The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field
that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist
Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and
result in thrust for a spacecraft.
Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would
slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster,
allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic
field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.
The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea and scientists
working for the American Department of Energy - which has a device
known as the Z Machine that could generate the kind of magnetic
fields required to drive the engine - say they may carry out a test
if the theory withstands further scrutiny.
Professor Jochem Hauser, one of the scientists who put forward the
idea, told The Scotsman that if everything went well a working engine
could be tested in about five years.
However, Prof Hauser, a physicist at the Applied Sciences University
in Salzgitter, Germany, and a former chief of aerodynamics at the
European Space Agency, cautioned it was based on a highly
controversial theory that would require a significant change in the
current understanding of the laws of physics.
"It would be amazing. I have been working on propulsion systems for
quite a while and it would be the most amazing thing. The benefits
would be almost unlimited," he said.
"But this thing is not around the corner; we first have to prove the
basic science is correct and there are quite a few physicists who
have a different opinion.
"It's our job to prove we are right and we are working on that."
He said the engine would enable spaceships to travel to different
solar systems. "If the theory is correct then this is not science
fiction, it is science fact," Prof Hauser said.
"NASA have contacted me and next week I'm going to see someone from
the [US] air force to talk about it further, but it is at a very
early stage. I think the best-case scenario would be within the next
five years [to build a test device] if the technology works."
The US authorities' attention was attracted after Prof Hauser and an
Austrian colleague, Walter Droscher, wrote a paper called "Guidelines
for a space propulsion device based on Heim's quantum theory".
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/