Well warp travel is reality now. But by accident.

[LegionAlpha]

 

They claim they accidentally discovered it. 

[kiramon]

Can I just say that Erik Lentz is the hottest physicist ive ever seen 

Edited February 13, 2022 by kiramon

[Clave Dark 5]

It's not reality, it's speculation, just a step along that road to such a thing, maybe.

[Luminara]

I'm reviewing the published paper, and from what I'm seeing, no, no-one's discovered anything.

 

First, it's a theoretical physics paper (and none of the authors are theoretical physicists), not an experiment.  Nothing was created, observed or discovered.  That's not to say that theoretical physics has to rely on anything but mathematics, but until some evidence is observed, properly analyzed and verified, it's just that, math and guessing.  The video is hype and click-bait.

 

Second, it's speculation on the Casimir effect and how it could be used to create a warp bubble-like effect at the nanoscale level, not a potentially applicable technology applied at the macroscale level.  It's doubtful this could be scaled up, even if it proved, experimentally, to be viable, as the Casimir effect is limited to a distance of a few billionths of a meter.  Not a few billion meters, a few billionths (nanometers).

 

Third, the lead author previously built an engine which was claimed to have violated the laws of physics.  That turned out to be a false positive in his team's measurements due to their improper accounting of variables.  With this paper, he declined to publish the data associated with it, offering only summaries and references.  That's sketchy, considering his past history of observational bias.

 

Lastly, wrong forum.  This belongs in Off-Topic.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Luminara
Physics - physicists

[Doomguide2005]

1 hour ago, Luminara said:

I'm reviewing the published paper, and from what I'm seeing, no, no-one's discovered anything.

 

First, it's a theoretical physics paper (and none of the authors are theoretical physics), not an experiment.  Nothing was created, observed or discovered.  That's not to say that theoretical physics has to rely on anything but mathematics, but until some evidence is observed, properly analyzed and verified, it's just that, math and guessing.  The video is hype and click-bait.

 

Second, it's speculation on the Casimir effect and how it could be used to create a warp bubble-like effect at the nanoscale level, not a potentially applicable technology applied at the macroscale level.  It's doubtful this could be scaled up, even if it proved, experimentally, to be viable, as the Casimir effect is limited to a distance of a few billionths of a meter.  Not a few billion meters, a few billionths (nanometers).

 

Third, the lead author previously built an engine which was claimed to have violated the laws of physics.  That turned out to be a false positive in his team's measurements due to their improper accounting of variables.  With this paper, he declined to publish the data associated with it, offering only summaries and references.  That's sketchy, considering his past history of observational bias.

 

Lastly, wrong forum.  This belongs in Off-Topic.

Well burst my bubble😛

[SuperPlyx]

1 hour ago, Luminara said:

theoretical physics paper (and none of the authors are theoretical physics

That's just hilarious.  

[Luminara]

8 minutes ago, SuperPlyx said:

That's just hilarious.  

 

Meant to type physicists.  Thanks for peer-reviewing!

[kiramon]

1 hour ago, Doomguide2005 said:

Well burst my bubble😛

But that one guy was hot, so there's that - though I dont think that video even used anything that guy came up with for the rest of the video? Just a random interjection? 

Edited February 13, 2022 by kiramon

[Black Talon]

I watched this video last night (and thank you for the inclusion, LegionAlpha), and while I certainly won't claim to have anything but a journeyman's background in (potential) FTL-hyperspace physics/potentials, I did get some red flags coming up while going through it, all of which have been covered very thoroughly by Luminara.  The mere fact that so much of the video was packed with filler Star Trek shots indicated, for me, that this was as much an infotainment piece as it was covering genuine theoretical physics territory. Yeah, there are some interesting points that indicate potential - potential - outcomes, but this is something that, in my opinion, stays on the theoretical back burner until there's actual, peer-reviewed evidence of an experiment pulled off with macroscopic material, and over macroscopic distances.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Black Talon

[GM Impervium]

Moved to Off-Topic.

Cool video, though, thanks for sharing!

[WanderingAries]

Didn't watch, but this was in a FB posted article sometime last year I believe when I Last saw it, but yeah, even then, it was all theory still, no testing.

[PeregrineFalcon]

7 hours ago, Luminara said:

Second, it's speculation on the Casimir effect and how it could be used to create a warp bubble-like effect at the nanoscale level, not a potentially applicable technology applied at the macroscale level.

Yeah. I've been following this for years. Everything I've read says that it's not possible to scale the Casimir Effect up. Which means that even if they can figure out a way to project and move a microscale Casimir warp-bubble, it will be useless unless they only want to move objects smaller than a grain of sand.

[Luminara]

39 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

Yeah. I've been following this for years. Everything I've read says that it's not possible to scale the Casimir Effect up. Which means that even if they can figure out a way to project and move a microscale Casimir warp-bubble, it will be useless unless they only want to move objects smaller than a grain of sand.

 

Even if there were a development which allowed it to scale up, it would still require mass comparable to the object to be moved.  Particle density in deep space averages 1,000,000 per cubic meter.  There simply isn't enough mass available to move a spaceship through space this way, even if all of the nearby mass is collected, concentrated and confined near the ship.

 

Perpetual motion devices don't exist within the physical framework of this universe, and that's what this is, an attempt to create a perpetual motion device, like White's previous effort (the EmDrive).

 

I believe the Higgs field will be more promising for FTL, but we're still likely a quarter of a century away from verifying its existence, and probably twice as long before we figure out how to manipulate it.

[Oklahoman]

Party pooper.

[Cancrusher]

I once thought to overcome the FTL barrier by training my mind and body until I could enter my astral form and hurl myself across time and space.

 

Sadly, that hasn't panned out, so I'm thinking maybe I'll just take some mushrooms.

[Luminara]

56 minutes ago, Oklahoman said:

Party pooper.

 

In which you will be spending eternity.

 

My loathing for bad science is only equaled by my distaste for poor grammar.  😛

[PeregrineFalcon]

1 hour ago, Oklahoman said:

Party pooper.

 

 

[Haijinx]

The FTL barrier isn't really the barrier to Interstellar Travel.

 

Its getting anywhere Near the Speed of Light that is the barrier.  If you could Warp or change Space just to reduce the Energy (and ReMass) required to get to a useful fraction of C, the problem is solved.

  

I like the Higgs possibility too.  Of course it would also increase the likelyhood someone could blow up the planet with a RKV but hey you have to break some eggs to make an omlette.   

[Cancrusher]

Honestly, I'm torn on the idea of interstellar travel.  The sci-fi geek in me yearns to look upon the surface of an alien world.  🤓

 

But the misanthrope in me shudders at the thought of unleashing the human species on the rest of the galaxy.  😱

[PeregrineFalcon]

20 minutes ago, Cancrusher said:

Honestly, I'm torn on the idea of interstellar travel.  The sci-fi geek in me yearns to look upon the surface of an alien world.  🤓

 

But the misanthrope in me shudders at the thought of unleashing the human species on the rest of the galaxy.  😱

🙄

 

I swear, it seems like I'm the only sci-fi fan on the internet that actually wants humanity to survive. I often wonder why that is.

[Cancrusher]

12 hours ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

🙄

 

I swear, it seems like I'm the only sci-fi fan on the internet that actually wants humanity to survive. I often wonder why that is.

 

Well, the usual reasons: War, genocide, racism, ecological destruction, Imperialism, child sex trafficking, and all the other myriad forms of human greed and cruelty.

 

Basically, the Humanists and the misanthropes are both looking at the balance sheet and comparing the above to : Love, art, technology, creativity, exploration, and the other positive aspects of human society.

 

Humanists view the species as worth saving, for the latter reasons.  Misanthropes feel the cost (both to ourselves, and to any potential species we may meet among the stars) is too high.

 

 

[battlewraith]

The other outcome which seems more plausible to me is that our descendants will no longer be what we currently consider to be human. The solution to survival in other areas of the universe might be less about finding or creating earth like conditions than making future people less reliant on those conditions.

[Cancrusher]

Well, with advances in gene manipulation and cybernetics, this certainly seems possible (maybe even plausible).  Just a matter of civilization surviving and continuing to grow technologically from our current state.

[PeregrineFalcon]

1 hour ago, Cancrusher said:

Well, the usual reasons: War, genocide, racism, ecological destruction, Imperialism, child sex trafficking, and all the other myriad forms of human greed and cruelty.

 

Basically, the Humanists and the misanthropes are both looking at the balance sheet and comparing the above to : Love, art, technology, creativity, exploration, and the other positive aspects of human society.

 

Humanists view the species as worth saving, for the latter reasons.  Misanthropes feel the cost (both to ourselves, and to any potential species we may meet among the stars) is too high.

 And they say that I'm a pessimist.  😃

 

Having read a lot of history I see that, over the years, we've come to accept and allow the bad parts of human nature less and less and engage in the positive things more and more. This leads me to believe that by the time we have FTL travel we, or at least a large part of us, will believe in those positive aspects of humanity that you agree are good.

 

Plus, I have children. Anyone who thinks that humanity isn't worth saving also thinks that my children aren't worth saving. For obvious reasons I can't agree with that point of view.

[Cancrusher]

I've also read a lot of history, and I've come to a different conclusion than you. 

 

I have an 18 year old, myself.  He just started his first semester of college.  I love him, of course.  But is his continued (albeit, finite) existence worth the cost of the misery inflicted by humans, upon other humans, down through the centuries, just because I can't stand the thought of him dying (which will, of course, happen- whether I wish it to, or not)?  What about the other people I love- or even my own existence?

 

For me, the answer is no.

 

Believe me, it gives me no joy to view existence in this way.

 

The human race is stubborn and hardy, though.  I imagine we will continue along our miserable path for many long centuries to come, regardless of my gloomy world view.