Can the Alcubierre Drive Work Without Exotic Matter?

[TimDubya]

I didn't really know where to put this.

So a few months ago I was reading about the Alcubierre Drive and became fascinated with the prospects of this theory. However I was disheartened that so many felt it was unattainable due to the need for exotic matter. Recently I came across this paper:http://arxiv.org/abs/0908.1803v1"

My understanding of gravitational space distortion is limited. However optimistically, if my guess is within the ballpark, you could use micro black holes to condense space in front of a ship. As the MBH's are fired out the front and the ship approaches them I assume they would evaporate rather quickly, so as you approach each MBH you fired previously space far in front of the ship would be condensed by subsequent MBH's while space close in front of the ship would be uncurved. Locally you would be moving at sub light but you could traverse great interstellar distances in this fashion.

I understand the engineering requirements for such a ship would be astronomical, however in the paper it suggests a method for using the MBH's as a power source, If this is sound I suppose you could just have a few power generating MBH's on board operating the pressing lasers and other systems. You would need to carry a considerable amount of condensing material for the propulsion but theoretically couldn't these be anything from tungsten to bed sheets?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nabeshin]

The article you link and the theory you describe are completely different. Your "micro black hole propulsion system" is completely untenable as it violates the law of conservation of momentum. So, in reality, your starship will go nowhere. Furthermore, all you are using is gravitational acceleration to try to move. So even if you had a sister ship laying black holes out in front of you, you will never accelerate to faster than the speed of light.

 

[TimDubya]

Well the article was just for feasibility of producing black holes. I should clarify I did not mean to infer that the black holes would act as propulsion, rather you would use conventional means to propel your ship but would be moving into a gradient of condensed space.

 

[Dale]

Hi TimDubya, Welcome to PF!

Recently I came across this paper:http://arxiv.org/abs/0908.1803v1"

That is a really cool paper! Thanks for the link.

As the MBH's are fired out the front and the ship approaches them I assume they would evaporate rather quickly, so it would be like falling down a space hill instead of Alcubierres warp bubble.

AFAIK the center of mass of the BH, ship, evaporated radiation, would remain constant so the only way to actually propel the ship would be to induce some sort of asymmetry in the radiation.

 

[TimDubya]

Hi TimDubya, Welcome to PF!

That is a really cool paper! Thanks for the link.

AFAIK the center of mass of the BH, ship, evaporated radiation, would remain constant so the only way to actually propel the ship would be to induce some sort of asymmetry in the radiation.

I've been here awhile I just never posted but thank you xD

Ok it seems that line is the one that Is being misunderstood so I changed it, I don't mean that the BH's would act as propulsion but that they would distort space in such a way as to make the apparent distance to the destination less than it is relatively. You would be riding a wave as it were, the ship encompassed by flat space behind an area of large curvature. But I could be way off with my assumptions.

 

[mnielsen1]

what's to stop the ship being trapped and ripped apart instead of riding the wave?