Hyperdrive Theory Could be Tested at the LHC

[Loop Stricken]

Anything that gets us off this rock, the better.

Don't get too jumpy guys. We still need a space elevator before we can start thinking hyperdrives.

Yesssssss.

Even if we could travel at the speed of light, it would still take years to reach another system. And besides, what would we do when we got there?

Same thing we've always done - fuck like rabbits and ruin the planet.

 

[Tolerant Fanboy]

Huh. Relativistic pinball theory. Neat.

There is the matter of inertia, though. Getting brought up to a significant fraction of c from a standing start will result in the crew turning into a red stain on the rear of the ship without some form of inertial dampener. That, or a tedious, prolonged period of acceleration, which doesn't seem likely if this is all packed into one moment of impulse.

 

[Grayjack]

Haha! Take that, Einstein!

 

[Rodger]

You know, I just took a quick look at the 'theory' being referenced, and...you don't need an LHC. You need a vacuum, a flashlight, and some sort of reflective 'sail'. The theory works, and we usually call them "solar sails". They're capable of going pretty fast too, potentially reaching 1/10th the speed of light if I'm not mistaken. Of course, the biggest problem with the theory if it doesn't specifically reference a solar sail? Think bullet. Now think FTL/near light speed bullet. Best case scenario, the particles just go through. Worst, they'll make a mess of it.

Of course, if you could get access to actual FTL particles, you could probably gain a bit more momentum by virtue of said particles actually having mass. But if there's already particles of matter moving faster than the speed of light then we're probably better off just figuring out how, since this particular theory achieves, and I quote "a sizeable fraction of the speed of light". That specifically means you are NOT going faster than the speed of light, you're going slower. You're just going through space pretty damn fast and could possibly reach Alpha Centauri, our closest neighbouring system, in slightly less than a decade depending on what's meant by a "sizeable fraction". So you should probably be thinking less "warp drive" and more the difference between driving the family sedan (current rocket technology) and a Formula 1 racer.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

this is pretty cool, maybe the vulcans will come visit us then if we develop the technology

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Doesn't this go against Einsteins theory of relativity??

It's all about bending the rules, not breaking them. And I have the impression anyway that this would accelerate you up to relativistic speeds, but not above light speed.

yeh your right about the relativistic speed it says a fraction of the speed of light not the speed itself.

Just for your amusement

Spoiler

News Fail.
Anyways, sounds cool!

 

[Anachronism]

a good fraction of the speed of light.

Since that's the case, I can't help feeling that this isn't a big deal as some people seem to think it is. Unless we can actually achieve FTL travel, this doesn't really benefit us much. Even travelling at the speed of light, it would still take us four years to get to Alpha Centauri, and a hell of a lot longer to get anywhere else. It's useful for exploring our own solar system, but if we want to get to others without having to go into cryosleep for the journey, it's not that big a deal.

Besides, there are better things we could do with the LHC. We should be putting people into it in an attempt to create Dr. Manhattan!

 

[Gerazzi]

Wouldn't this create some sort of black hole?

I did my research and that's what the consensus seems to be.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Oh no... not the Large Hadron Collider... I don't think that hyperdrive could be worth the chance of us all getting sucked into a black hole.

Natural forces have bigger chances of destroying us than the LHC. Trust me, you're safe. Also, it would be so worth it anyway. Travel in space, how awesome wouldn't that be?

Natural forces have already destroyed the LHC. I think we're a long way off Starships quite yet.

 

[toapat]

Neat. Can't wait for it.

Did they end up finding what they made the LHC for in the first place though?

i dont think so, as its what? 3 miles in diamiter? it would take a very long time for it to accelerate the particles to the desired speed, and 9 days after completion isnt long. they probebly turned it on, got it working for a few minutes, and it broke

one of those situations where the highest bidder should have been hired

1. Show me the paper this guy's wriiten on the Hyperdrive thingy.
2. Show me that 1 has been printed in a respected journal.
EDIT: This has happened
But I still think it's crap. Also read the first comment on the source

Oh no... not the Large Hadron Collider... I don't think that hyperdrive could be worth the chance of us all getting sucked into a black hole.

'Any such risk was ruled out in a 2003 safety review. It pointed out that any black hole the LHC might cook up would evaporate almost instantly, and that its gravity would be too puny to gobble up anything, let alone a planet.'
From http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826503.300-no-danger-of-particle-collider-triggering-doomsday.html

minature blackholes have crashed into earth before. one of the major theorized causes of ball lightning are them.

 

[Ryuk2]

Oh no... not the Large Hadron Collider... I don't think that hyperdrive could be worth the chance of us all getting sucked into a black hole.

Can't we all stop that nonsense?
First of all - the chances of that happening are something like 0,000001% (or less, really)
Secondly - that's a theory, not a fact, maybe LHC can't make a black hole after all.
I think we can risk to die. If it works, we could go to Mars, colonize it and go further in space to find any signs of life.
People started panic when they said there's a possibility of making a black hole.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

Oh no... not the Large Hadron Collider... I don't think that hyperdrive could be worth the chance of us all getting sucked into a black hole.

I was just about to say that I could hear the end-of-the-world theorists screaming with glee...

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Cool! Where can I pre-order myself a starship?

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Ah FTL travel.

Einstein's theory of special relativity states that it is impossible to accelarate an object of non-zero mass to FTL speeds because it requires infinite energy.
Not that it would be a bad thing for somebody to work out how to make something go FTL.

I'm aware of this. The second line says that I know it's not possible.

 

[DC_Josh]

Right...

I love space. I love space ships and the prospect of meaningful and manned space exploration. I honestly think the future of mankind does lie in the colonisation of other planets and solar systems. Which is why this article intrested me so much.

However, I am absolutly rubbish at science and maths and alot of the above article didn't really make much sense to me. Wikipedia tried its best to help, but sadly I am still confused on what this new theory actually is.

Can any of you science boffins explain it in "Captain Dummy" language (firefly referance!)? Thanks ahead of time if you can.

 

[Quadtrix]

Oh no... not the Large Hadron Collider... I don't think that hyperdrive could be worth the chance of us all getting sucked into a black hole.

Unless you have to live in America, in which case you'd probably want to devote your entire life into creating a large black hole on Earth.

 

[maxusy3k]

Can any of you science boffins explain it in "Captain Dummy" language (firefly referance!)? Thanks ahead of time if you can.

As I understand it, the theory is basically an analogy to golfing.

Small ball, hit it really hard with a golf club, ball goes flying, much faster than the club was moving.

 

[MasterSqueak]

Right...

I love space. I love space ships and the prospect of meaningful and manned space exploration. I honestly think the future of mankind does lie in the colonisation of other planets and solar systems. Which is why this article intrested me so much.

However, I am absolutly rubbish at science and maths and alot of the above article didn't really make much sense to me. Wikipedia tried its best to help, but sadly I am still confused on what this new theory actually is.

Can any of you science boffins explain it in "Captain Dummy" language (firefly referance!)? Thanks ahead of time if you can.

It's a theory that could-COULD-allow for fast interplanetary travel within our solar system.

Unless you're asking for the mechanics behind it.

 

[samsonguy920]

Sounding like the tidal effect might mean if it is implemented for star travel, you couldn't use it too near gravity wells, much like the hyperdrive in Isaac Asimov's stories. Though other parts of the theory are separate from that. I'm no physics master, but it feels to me he does have something here. Would be nice to see the collider used for this, instead of the scientists just turning it on to play with it and make mini-black holes. If this works, then those scientists can go into deep space and make all the mini-black holes they want.

Can any of you science boffins explain it in "Captain Dummy" language (firefly referance!)? Thanks ahead of time if you can.

Sounds to me like you take a stationary particle, and infuse it with energy so that when it is touched by another particle, it kicks that particle away with tremendous force. Think the round bouncers in your average pinball machine, only increase the power done to the ball exponentially. This is just an amateur guess.

 

[CUnk]

Doesn't this go against Einsteins theory of relativity??

I don't know. Does it? And so what if it does?

Science is always evolving and adapting. Nothing is written in stone. If you want rules and laws that can't been toppled by new evidence and understanding turn to religion.