Next stop Mars. ETA 3 hours... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Windbreaker · 01-05-2006, 03:40 PM

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006

Quote:

Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip
IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

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".

And people think the US Gov having the ability to control weather is absolutely absurd but watch as they try to enter a new dimension and travel faster than the speed of light...

This stuff fascinates me. I wish I didn't have to wait to see what comes of this project.

ObieX · 01-05-2006, 04:34 PM

This exact type of engine has been talked about and speculated about for quite some time now. Many many people have said that the US already has craft like this and has had them for many years now, if not decades.

Of course all those people were labeled crackpots, conspiracy theorists, and tinfoil hat wearers.

Keep in mind the US government would do/has done everything in it's power to keep this kind of technology out of the public eye until they have it already, know exactly why and how it works, and have already implemented it. ..national security, you know.

Ustwo · 01-05-2006, 04:40 PM

Hyperspace engine?

We already got one!

Willravel · 01-05-2006, 04:42 PM

Me: "If we shoot tachions at the quasar, it can thrust us away from the black hole!"
Geordi: "Like firing a flare into a pool of gasoline!"

/end sarcasm

I'd love to believe it, but I'll believe it when I see it (or see the math).

Ustwo -

ObieX · 01-05-2006, 04:48 PM

From what i understand, an intense electro-magnetic field is supposed to eliminate or greatly reduce the effect of gravity (from sources outside the field) on the object within the field. This "dimension shift" must occur with an even stronger field. This means the craft would have to produce a large amount of power and would have to be rather big. That is, unless, we already have some access to a new power source that no on wants anyone to know about (other than the countless forms the oil companies have bought up and wont release.)

Edit: Also, this is pretty much how the engines on star trek are supposed to work. Those engines supposedly create a bubble of "subspace" around the starships, thus removing them from any limitations real space would place on the ship. The ship itself is notwhat moves when at warp but the bubble itself that cuts it's way through real space by pinching the forward end of the field.

Kinda interesting how acurate star trek is turning out to be. Next thing you know we'll be bouncing a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish.

TexanAvenger · 01-05-2006, 04:58 PM

This is an amazing idea, if actually based in fact. I too would love to see the math behind it if I can't see it in use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windbreaker

I wish I didn't have to wait to see what comes of this project.

I would genuinely question whether you would be able to see what comes of this project either way if it is controlled by a military study. It's more likely, I think, for the technology to be deemed too advanced for the general public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ObieX

Kinda interesting how acurate star trek is turning out to be. Next thing you know we'll be bouncing a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish.

You know... I've got a Heisenburg compensator for sale if you're interested.

Martian · 01-07-2006, 12:55 AM

I feel obligated to post in this thread. Mars isn't all it's cracked up to be. All red dust and mountains.

On a more serious note, I'd like to see the power source capable of generating the sort of magnetic field required for something like this. Even if the theory is sound (which is what they're testing, not the device itself) it would require an amount of energy that's an order of magnitude more than we're capable of generating right now. Show me a cold fusion reactor and then I'll believe this is feasible.

feelgood · 01-07-2006, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Hyperspace engine?

We already got one!

No kidding!
5 points to whoever gets the reference

ObieX · 01-09-2006, 04:27 AM

The ship?

Stargate looks like.

Is there a place to turn these points in to for a prize? Plush toy or perhaps a superball?

Hmm?

Destrox · 01-09-2006, 07:08 AM

Remember what happened last time when we messed with this stuff....

Yeah...

Rodney · 01-09-2006, 09:13 AM

There've been rumors about electomagnetic drives of various kinds since the '40s, when apparently the Germans were working on one; and I've also seen pictures of some sort of EMG-driven craft that the Soviets were working on.

I'm better that there's something to this idea, and always has been, but nobody's been able to make it practically work. And knowing the U.S. gov, we may well have already spent millions or billions trying.

01-05-2006, 04:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
ObieX Pickles Location: Shirt and Pants (NJ)	This exact type of engine has been talked about and speculated about for quite some time now. Many many people have said that the US already has craft like this and has had them for many years now, if not decades. Of course all those people were labeled crackpots, conspiracy theorists, and tinfoil hat wearers. Keep in mind the US government would do/has done everything in it's power to keep this kind of technology out of the public eye until they have it already, know exactly why and how it works, and have already implemented it. ..national security, you know. __________________ We Must Dissent.

01-05-2006, 04:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	Hyperspace engine? We already got one! __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

01-05-2006, 04:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
ObieX Pickles Location: Shirt and Pants (NJ)	From what i understand, an intense electro-magnetic field is supposed to eliminate or greatly reduce the effect of gravity (from sources outside the field) on the object within the field. This "dimension shift" must occur with an even stronger field. This means the craft would have to produce a large amount of power and would have to be rather big. That is, unless, we already have some access to a new power source that no on wants anyone to know about (other than the countless forms the oil companies have bought up and wont release.) Edit: Also, this is pretty much how the engines on star trek are supposed to work. Those engines supposedly create a bubble of "subspace" around the starships, thus removing them from any limitations real space would place on the ship. The ship itself is notwhat moves when at warp but the bubble itself that cuts it's way through real space by pinching the forward end of the field. Kinda interesting how acurate star trek is turning out to be. Next thing you know we'll be bouncing a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish. __________________ We Must Dissent. Last edited by ObieX; 01-05-2006 at 04:54 PM..

01-07-2006, 12:55 AM	#7 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	I feel obligated to post in this thread. Mars isn't all it's cracked up to be. All red dust and mountains. On a more serious note, I'd like to see the power source capable of generating the sort of magnetic field required for something like this. Even if the theory is sound (which is what they're testing, not the device itself) it would require an amount of energy that's an order of magnitude more than we're capable of generating right now. Show me a cold fusion reactor and then I'll believe this is feasible. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

01-09-2006, 04:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
ObieX Pickles Location: Shirt and Pants (NJ)	The ship? Stargate looks like. Is there a place to turn these points in to for a prize? Plush toy or perhaps a superball? Hmm? __________________ We Must Dissent. Last edited by ObieX; 01-09-2006 at 04:29 AM..

01-05-2006, 04:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Me: "If we shoot tachions at the quasar, it can thrust us away from the black hole!" Geordi: "Like firing a flare into a pool of gasoline!" /end sarcasm I'd love to believe it, but I'll believe it when I see it (or see the math). Ustwo -

01-09-2006, 07:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
Destrox Metal and Rock 4 Life Location: Phoenix	Remember what happened last time when we messed with this stuff.... Yeah... __________________ You bore me.... next.

01-09-2006, 09:13 AM	#11 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	There've been rumors about electomagnetic drives of various kinds since the '40s, when apparently the Germans were working on one; and I've also seen pictures of some sort of EMG-driven craft that the Soviets were working on. I'm better that there's something to this idea, and always has been, but nobody's been able to make it practically work. And knowing the U.S. gov, we may well have already spent millions or billions trying.