Experts: Warp Drive Is Possible

Physicists theorize warping space could allow faster-than-light travel
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 16, 2008 5:20 AM CDT
Experts: Warp Drive Is Possible
A scientist who examined the physicists' findings noted that the dark matter would still need to travel faster than light in the part of space it occupied, an impossibility under the laws of physics.   (Getty Images)

Two physicists believe the fictional "warp drive" of Star Trek fame could someday become a reality, the Daily Telegraph reports. The scientists theorize that a mysterious cosmic force called dark energy could be harnessed to warp space around a vessel, allowing a spacecraft to travel faster than light—"like a surfer riding a wave."

The laws of physics which say faster-than-light travel is impossible would be circumvented by warping the fabric of space itself, the men write in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. The physicists admit that creating such a drive is light years away—and that triggering it would require converting a mass equivalent to 300 Earths into energy. (More spacecraft stories.)

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