Free Republic

DVDs are set to explore new dimensions.Punchstock Spreading into extra dimensions could help next-generation DVDs to store even more data than they currently do. The new technique could squeeze around 140 times the capacity of the best Blu-rays into a standard-sized disk. Traditional DVDs and Blu-ray disks store data in two dimensions, and there's been a recent push to increase their capacity by creating multi-layered disks that store data across three dimensions. But, asks James Chon at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, why stop there?Chon and his colleagues are stepping into hyperspace, by encoding information in two...

The mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. The idea would explain how these dimensions remain stable - a big problem for the unified scheme of physics called string theory... quantum vibrations in the vacuum of space (called vacuum energy or the cosmological constant) that could produce repulsive gravity... should either possess a ridiculously high energy density - 122 orders of magnitude larger than are observed - or cancel out to exactly zero. To make them almost-but-not-quite cancel, in agreement with astronomical observations, means fudging...

Scientists at Duke and Rutgers universities have developed a mathematical framework they say will enable astronomers to test a new five-dimensional theory of gravity that competes with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Charles R. Keeton of Rutgers and Arlie O. Petters of Duke base their work on a recent theory called the type II Randall-Sundrum braneworld gravity model. The theory holds that the visible universe is a membrane (hence "braneworld") embedded within a larger universe, much like a strand of filmy seaweed floating in the ocean. The "braneworld universe" has five dimensions -- four spatial dimensions plus time -- compared...

What: A spacecraft that travels at faster-than-light speeds by distorting, or “warping,” the fabric of spacetime. Instead of trying to move through space, the warp drive moves space itself. The ship sits inside a bubble of spacetime bound by a negative energy field that races across the cosmos. Why: Chemical and nuclear propulsion, solar sails and ion thrusters all are too slow to reach the nearest star systems within a human life span. At faster-than-light speed (more than 186,000 miles per second), a warp-drive ship would travel 4.5 light-years to Alpha Centauri, the closest sun to our own, in about...

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006 Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar space travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being investigated by the United States government. The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in today's New Scientist magazine. The theoretical engine works by...

A Look at the Scaling The ideal interstellar propulsion system would be one that could get you to other stars as quickly and comfortably as envisioned in science fiction. Before this can become a reality, three scientific breakthroughs are needed: discovery of a means to exceed light speed, discovery of a means to propel a vehicle without propellant, and discovery of a means to power such devices. Why? - Because space is big, really, really, really big. Space takes up a lot of space! Interstellar distances are so astronomical (pun intended) that it is difficult to convey this expanse. Consider...

"Antimatter men" haunted comic books and TV science-fiction shows such as "Lost in Space" in the 1960s. On the TV show, the fictional Professor Robinson encountered little more than a nonsensical "antimatter" version of himself.

NASA officials hope the door to a solution for a cheap round-trip ticket to Mars was opened at Marshall Space Flight Center on Thursday. The center's new $32 million Propulsion Research Laboratory was built to help local researchers unlock the secrets of efficient, cheaper spaceflight. "This is an important cornerstone" of propulsion research, said Marshall Director Dave King. "We are unveiling our future here."