Is Warp Drive Possible and What Power Would It Require?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the feasibility of warp drive technology, specifically the theoretical underpinnings and the power requirements necessary for its operation. Participants explore concepts related to the Alcubierre drive and its implications within the context of general relativity, while also addressing the speculative nature of such technology.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question how a warp drive would function and the immense power it would require, seeking specifics on the type and amount of energy needed.
  • One participant asserts that since warp drive is largely a science fiction concept, definitive answers to these questions are elusive.
  • Another participant introduces the Alcubierre drive as a speculative mathematical model, noting its reliance on negative energy and the vast amounts required for practical implementation.
  • A participant describes the theoretical operation of a warp drive, mentioning the creation of a subspace bubble and the energy produced from deuterium and antideuterium interactions, while also expressing skepticism about the plausibility of these ideas.
  • There is a suggestion that some phenomena, like short-duration Gamma Ray Bursts, could potentially be linked to advanced civilizations utilizing warp drive technology.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with some supporting the theoretical aspects of warp drive while others remain skeptical about its feasibility. No consensus is reached regarding the practicality or the specifics of the energy requirements.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the speculative nature of the discussion, highlighting the challenges in defining energy within general relativity and the lack of concrete calculations regarding the energy needed for warp drive technology.

QAT
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How would a warp drive work, and it is also that it would need tremondous power to operate, how much power, and what kind of power?
 
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Since it's science fiction, there's no good answer to your questions.
 
I don't think this is what you had in mind - a "warped" drive?

http://www.wlky.com/r/24644744/detail.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What about the Alcubierre drive (also known as the Alcubierre metric or Warp Drive). A speculative mathematical model proposed by the Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre.
 
A warp drive works by creating a subspace bubble around a spacecraft , contracting spacetime directly in front of that bubble and expanding it around it so that you essentially shorten the distance between the spacecraft and its destination, allowing it to travel faster than light.

The amount of energy needed is never specified, but it's created by bringing deuterium and antideuterium into direct contact, creating electromagnetic radiation.

Believe it or not, the writers were geeky enough to explain this in a decent amount of detail, mostly by releasing bits and pieces during episodes that fans collated into engineering manuals and even diagrams of the warp core and warp drive. It's all complete nonsense, of course.
 
How is this in General Physics?
 
QAT said:
What about the Alcubierre drive (also known as the Alcubierre metric or Warp Drive). A speculative mathematical model proposed by the Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre.

It's a bit tricky to universally define energy in GR, but the answer is a whole lot of negative energy. Let's say you want to create an alcubierre bubble around, oh I don't know, your house. Now I don't have any hard calculations (I could probably dig them up if you really wanted me to), but assuming you want to move at 1c, you're looking at (negative) energies on the order of the mass energy of a planet. At any rate, it's absolutely absurd how much exotic energy is required.
 
loseyourname said:
It's all complete nonsense, of course.

The big question is how many times did you try to build it your garage before settling on this conclusion?
 
  • #10
Some short-duration Gamma Ray Bursts may be civilizations that just invented Warp Drive.
 

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