Scientists moot gravity-busting hyperdrive Mars in three hours - theoretically

The Register ^ | Friday 6th January 2006 15:03 GMT | Lester Haines

[ApplegateRanch]

No, The Infinity Improbabilities Drive is what Zaphod Beeblebrox used in his yacht.

Mannshen Drive uses infinity precessing gyroscopes, constined to NOT precess in the normal 3 spacial dimensions.

This is something entirely different than either.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

The only fine point left out may be the human body's ability to withstand the G-Forces.

What kind of Gs would you pull in zero gravity? It seems that is what this is talking about from ground up.

[RHINO369]

Even if your in a zero gravity environment you still feel acceleration.

The next real leap in space travel is going to be fusion powered rockets. They are still theoretical because controlled fusion reactors still take more energy to run than they produce but within 50 years they'll be able to turn that around.

I'd imagine that in any future space vehicle you'd want to accelerate at 9.81 m/s for a very long time. If you could figure out a way to accelerate 9.81 half the distance to mars and then accelerate the other way, slowing you down as you approached, you could fake gravity on the ship.

[Son Of The Godfather]

Screw all this, I'm going back to my flux capacitor.

(and Dallas59 - warning next time! lol)

[R. Scott]

a magnetic coil several metres in diameter capable of sustaining an enormous current density" - something which the majority of engineers say is "not feasible with existing materials and technology".*

…"not feasible with existing materials and technology"… at this time.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

a huge rotating ring above a superconducting coil

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Ya gotta watch out for Hasslien Curves though...

[FreedomNeocon]

Well the science is based on the idea of gravity.

The idea that the 'gravity' effect we have defined as coming from a 'mass' of objects is the SAME force that holds an atoms together as their 3 distinct parts.

The sumbling block has been that the force that holds atoms together ('weak' nuclear force, I think) attenuates MUCH faster than the 'gravity' ('strong' nuclear force).

That is it drops off faster than 1/2r^2 by many factors of 10.

This was why Einstien said he could not rectify his 'unified field theory' and gave up on it calling it his biggest blunder.

Anyway, the 'new' science basically says that it is the SAME force. They say at the 'quantum' level, at the center of an atom, the mass/gravity effect is strong enough, that in its perspective it warps space time, and thus makes it SEEM that the 'weak' electromagnetic force drops off so much faster viewing from our space-time perspective.

You can prove alot of that (atmoic clocks WILL move faster at higher altitudes further from Earth's "gravitational" field) and all.

Anyway... interesting stuff.

[Steveone]

Right my mistake.

[Bender2]

Re: The problem is, as New Scientist explains, it's entirely theoretical and many physicists admit they don't understand the science behind it.

I'll explain it in a moment. Right now I need to get these circuits fixed!

[no-to-illegals]

ah...I wonder...the theory on paper would be, but with the unknown comes the unknown. So will the theory rise up off paper to become a known or constant? Truth is if the magnetism would be able to condense or fold, I agree would be grand, but with the universe electrically charged the answer would most likely be magnetism or some similar form, again I agree. Can the theory be made to rise up off of paper? Don't know if anyone has tried.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

A thought I have had for years but don't have the knowledge backround to discuss, much less pursue, is to use the natural magnetism of the universe, even if it is gravity, much like this prcess proposes. It seems to me we should be able to use the attraction/repulsion forces of the planets to power and guide a vehicle. Attraction forces in the direction of travel would be amplfied and employed as well as the repulsion forces of the planets behind.

Just a thought.

[no-to-illegals]

I saw the sub today being tested for magnetic propulsion via no moving parts simply sea water to set up the magnetic field to propel the sub test.

fascinating stuff....distortion field would then need to be directed, towards a stronger energy field to generate momentum. I'm certain there are 10s of millions, 100s of millions, nearly 10s of billions of people smarter than I am. I simply wish one of us would solve the momentum, steering, decreasing and increasing the momentum questions. Then there may be a material capable of withstanding the friction from acceleration, normal flight, to deceleration.

[no-to-illegals]

that has always been a thought process of mine also, but the attraction or detraction of a magnetic field, as Einstein predicted would be so infinitely small as the formula of E=mc^2 states the force would be nil. Maybe the better thought would be to take the closest magnetic field and bounce through the varying wave lengths or light waves which make up the universe to begin the process of acceleration.

Heck to be completely honest.... I don't know.

For a theory to rise up off paper isn't simply the easiest means of proving a fact, yet I perceive the acceleration to intensify through short bursts of energy with enough force that a human would survive simply by having increased the velocity over a period of bursts over a period of hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then if those bursts of energy did accelerate a craft with humans inside allowing those human to stay alive, then may be, just maybe light travel would be possible. On paper is bears itself to be time travel in reverse. If time travel, in reverse, is possible, then there is no doubt time travel forward would also be possible. The propulsion maybe could take the form of a magnetic wave possibly hooked with a laser or fuel of maybe water. Something is going to have to power the laser. I did watch the last bit of info, but nothing leads me to believe such an engine would ever make it off of paper. Maybe I'm wrong, Maybe I'm not.

[Vinnie]

The grays already gave us this technology 40 years ago....

But Texaco bought the patent so we would dependent on their oil.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Heck to be completely honest.... I don't know.

By the nature of the subject matter, if we limit ourselves to what we know there will be no discussion. :-)

[Tench_Coxe]

Sounds more like the Kzinti Gravity Planer from Larry Niven's 'Known Space' stories.