Faster than light: a special project of NASA

NASA researchers have been able to circumvent the special theory of Einstein
 
For the definition of motion with a speed exceeding the speed of light, invented by a variety of names - "hyperspace motion," "motion in a curved space," but to carry out the concept in real life scientists have not yet succeeded. Today, many of us believe that travel faster than light possible: after all, what was once invented in his mind science-fiction writers, sooner or later it becomes a reality.

And now we come to a new milestone - movement through space or motion faster than light. At the time, mankind has been able to overcome the sound barrier, and even then, scientists have believed in themselves and began to strive for more - to overcome the speed of light. Until recently, the problem seemed unsolvable. What is the difference between overcoming the speed of sound and the speed of light?

But the difference is huge. Sound is able to overcome the barrier object consisting of any material, substance, rather than sound. In order to overcome the speed of light, it must be composed of the same particles as the light itself. To overcome the light barrier must be moving at a speed exceeding the speed of motion of the particles of light that seems to be impossible. In addition, in order to develop such a speed, we need energy, equal to which humanity does not know.

On the way to overcome the speed of light is the theory of relativity. That it maintains that travel faster than light, it is impossible. If that happens, we will be dealing not only with the movement in space, and with the movement of the time.

In the special theory of relativity, there are two basic rules. First, the path traveled by the object, determined by the rate and duration of its movement. That is, if we travel at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour, then an hour we will overcome 55 kilometers. It's simple. Second, no matter how fast you move, you will still observe the constant speed of light, such as it is in reality.

And if we try to combine these two rules, we can go further. Imagine if you had all of the senses was only a rumor, and you determine the location of objects around you coming from these sounds. If you pass you will pass the train, you will be able to understand it at the sound of zoom in and out. That is the very sound of the train whistle remained unchanged until you have heard, and determine that the train drove past you, you were only able to because of his movement. The situation is similar with light. Only because of his unwavering we can correctly determine the place around us events and phenomena. This occurs under the influence of common physical laws: in the case of the sound emitted by the particles of sound reached our ears, in the case of the light emitted by the light particles reach the outskirts of our eyes. Now imagine that we can move at a speed that is greater than the velocity of light particles reaches us. In this case, we can not perceive the events and phenomena, as we did before. That is, we will change our perception of the surrounding events, not be able to cross space and time.

In the described examples, we have tried to increase his speed. Researchers have gone some other way, pushing a variety of possibilities to deceive light: using tachyons tunnels in space, the space-time deformations and so on. Today, NASA researchers seem to have found the right approach. They were able to bypass the special theory of Einstein.

Fooling special theory?

Ideas, actively developed today by scientists from NASA, invented by physicist Miguel Alkyuberre. In May 1994, he presented his article "Movement, distorting space: ultra-fast movement in the framework of the theory of relativity," which laid out and its decision.


Bubble Alkyuberre distorting space, extending its behind the spaceship and narrowing it to the ship.

In terms of Alkyuberre, the spacecraft can travel at arbitrarily high speeds if distort the space around it. Expanding space-time behind the ship and narrowing it to the ship, it is possible to achieve such a high speed that the human eye simply can not catch. This is a recent and proposed science fiction writers - the deformation space.

By placing an object between two regions of space-time - opens and closes Alkyuberre proposed the creation of a kind of three-dimensional bubble in which and maybe moving at a speed exceeding the speed of light.

But the distortion of space-time requires a special "exotic matter" (the substance with special properties), as well as the amount of energy equal to the energy of the mass of the planet Jupiter. Again insoluble problem.

However, a physicist at NASA's Harold White does not think so. In his view, the energy problems can be solved by reconfiguring the spatial geometry of the bubble in the drive.

White shared his idea with the scientific world in the public symposium on space matters in the summer of 2012. According to him, if the designers will adjust the shape of a ring surrounding the object, making it more broad and winding, we can send to hyperspace object similar in size to the probe "Voyager 1" by NASA.

In other words, the energy demand will fall to a very considerable extent. Whereas previously it was thought that for such an experiment requires energy, which is equal to 300 Earth masses of energy, the White believes that after adjusting ring forms will need energy from the mass slightly less than 1,600 pounds. And if they continue to develop the optimal question for the movement form, the energy costs can also be reduced.

White himself in an interview with space.com said: "The findings of the experiments, the results I presented to the public and received approval. Additional further reduction of the energy will be carried out by optimizing the shape and intensity of the ring, changing space-time. For the results of future experiments we will see in the specialized laboratory ».

During the experiments, the expected White with his research team plan to simulate the optimum drive Alkyuberre in miniature with lasers.

The device will be able to perturb one million particles of space-time. Of course, we do not expect in the near future flights to Alpha Centauri, but the scientist is planning to create an apparatus capable of leaving Earth and traveling at a predetermined distance by means of conventional engines and making hyperspace jumps with the new technology. And in case of success, according to White, instead of to get to Alpha Centauri decades and centuries, we will be there in a few months or even weeks.

Then mankind will take another huge step forward. But all of this in the future, but for now is wait for the results of experiments.