[Brilliant]

if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster...

I don't think it takes 3 hours for light to get from Earth to Mars.

[Dan Cooper]

I think the three hours includes waiting in line while security X-Rays your shoes.

[thoughtomator]

Well, there's the embarkation and arrival - acceleration and deceleration - that will consume most of that 3 hours.

[Junior]

I don't think that was implied. The speed of light may be faster, but nothing in the article says the vehicle will be travelling at light speed.

Indeed, from the travel times both to Mars and to the nearest star it appears the vehicle accelerates in this alternate universe to the halfway point, flips around and decelerates. While it would never break our lightspeed during a trip to Mars it would on the longer trip to Alpha Centauri.

[JimRed]

I don't think it takes 3 hours for light to get from Earth to Mars.

That's using impulse drive; warp drive is wasteful for short trips.

[Vinnie]

I don't think it takes 3 hours for light to get from Earth to Mars.

Yeah, but there's TSA security checks, waiting for baggage....

[68 grunt]

The distance between the earth and the sun is 93,000,000 miles. The time it takes light to travel this distance is 93,000,000 miles/186,000 miles/sec or 500 seconds. Hence the time is 500sec/60 or 8.333 minutes.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

You are right - the furthest point Mars is from Earth is about 150 million miles - you are only talking about 13 minutes!!