Can the Alcubierre Drive Overcome Quantum Mechanics Challenges?

[huginn]

I am in a discussion with someone about the Alcubierre drive. I have doubts about it and he seems to think that Harold White experiments shows it can be built
I am trying yo get an idea what current thought is on the drive. I know the drive does not violate general relativity but what about quantum mechanics or quantum gravity

 

[phinds]

I am in a discussion with someone about the Alcubierre drive. I have doubts about it and he seems to think that Harold White experiments shows it can be built
I am trying yo get an idea what current thought is on the drive. I know the drive does not violate general relativity but what about quantum mechanics or quantum gravity

He can believe what he likes, the question is do serious physicists think so, and the answer is no. It requires exotic matter (negative mass) that is not believed to exist, and that's just the first of several major problems. It is a sci-fic pipe dream based on math that is not believed to be physically realizable. Google "Sean Carroll Alcubierre drive"

To summarize his comments (his words):

A bit ago, the news streams were once again abuzz with claims that NASA was investigating amazing space drives that violate the laws of physics. And it’s true! If we grant that “NASA” includes “any person employed by NASA,” and “investigating” is defined as “wasting time and money thinking about.”

 

[Dale]

Harold White experiments

I don't know which specific experiment is being referenced here. The only experiment I have read of his showed a blatant misuse of statistics in order to get a significant result from a data set that did not appear to support the conclusion.