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Alcubierre drive

Index Alcubierre drive

The Alcubierre drive or Alcubierre warp drive (or Alcubierre metric, referring to metric tensor) is a speculative idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (that is, negative mass) could be created. [1]

73 relations: ADM formalism, Casimir effect, Chronology protection conjecture, Classical and Quantum Gravity, Closed timelike curve, Conformal gravity, Deneb, Einstein field equations, Energy condition, Energy density, Exact solutions in general relativity, Exotic matter, Faster-than-light, Foliation, G-force, General relativity, Geraint F. Lewis, Harold G. White, Hawking radiation, Hypersurface, Inertial frame of reference, Interferometry, Io9, Jupiter, Krasnikov tube, KU Leuven, Length contraction, Light cone, Local reference frame, Mass–energy equivalence, Metric tensor, Michelson–Morley experiment, Miguel Alcubierre, Naked singularity, NASA, Negative mass, Observable universe, Physical law, Physical Review, Physical Review Letters, Planck length, Pseudo-Riemannian manifold, Quantum gravity, Quantum inequalities, Semiclassical gravity, Serguei Krasnikov, Shape of the universe, Shock wave, Solar mass, Sonic boom, ..., Space.com, Spacecraft propulsion, Spacetime, Special relativity, Speed of light, Star Trek, Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, Starship, Stress–energy tensor, Tachyon, Tensor, Theoretical physics, Tidal force, Time dilation, Time travel, Torus, Tufts University, Universe Today, Vega, Voyager 1, Warp drive, William Shatner, Wormhole. Expand index (23 more) »

ADM formalism

The ADM formalism (named for its authors Richard Arnowitt, Stanley Deser and Charles W. Misner) is a Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity that plays an important role in canonical quantum gravity and numerical relativity.

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Casimir effect

In quantum field theory, the Casimir effect and the Casimir–Polder force are physical forces arising from a quantized field.

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Chronology protection conjecture

The chronology protection conjecture is a conjecture first proposed by Stephen Hawking which hypothesizes that the laws of physics are such as to prevent time travel on all but submicroscopic scales.

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Classical and Quantum Gravity

Classical and Quantum Gravity is a peer-reviewed journal that covers all aspects of gravitational physics and the theory of spacetime.

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Closed timelike curve

In mathematical physics, a closed timelike curve (CTC) is a world line in a Lorentzian manifold, of a material particle in spacetime that is "closed", returning to its starting point.

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Conformal gravity

Conformal gravity are gravity theories that are invariant under conformal transformations in the Riemannian geometry sense; more accurately, they are invariant under Weyl transformations g_\rightarrow\Omega^2(x)g_ where g_ is the metric tensor and \Omega(x) is a function on spacetime.

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Deneb

Deneb, also designated α Cygni (Latinised alpha Cygni, abbreviated Alpha Cyg, α Cyg), is the brightest star in the constellation of Cygnus.

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Einstein field equations

The Einstein field equations (EFE; also known as Einstein's equations) comprise the set of 10 equations in Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity that describe the fundamental interaction of gravitation as a result of spacetime being curved by mass and energy.

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Energy condition

In relativistic classical field theories of gravitation, particularly general relativity, an energy condition is one of various alternative conditions which can be applied to the matter content of the theory, when it is either not possible or desirable to specify this content explicitly.

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Energy density

Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume.

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Exact solutions in general relativity

In general relativity, an exact solution is a Lorentzian manifold equipped with tensor fields modeling states of ordinary matter, such as a fluid, or classical nongravitational fields such as the electromagnetic field.

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Exotic matter

In physics, exotic matter is matter that somehow deviates from normal matter and has "exotic" properties.

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Faster-than-light

Faster-than-light (also superluminal or FTL) communication and travel are the conjectural propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light.

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Foliation

In mathematics, a foliation is a geometric tool for understanding manifolds.

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G-force

The gravitational force, or more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of acceleration that causes a perception of weight.

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General relativity

General relativity (GR, also known as the general theory of relativity or GTR) is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics.

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Geraint F. Lewis

Geraint F. Lewis (born 14 March 1969) is a Welsh astrophysicist, who is best known for his work on dark energy, gravitational lensing and galactic cannibalism.

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Harold G. White

Harold G. "Sonny" White is a mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer and applied physicist who is the Advanced Propulsion Team Lead for the NASA Engineering Directorate and is known for proposing new Alcubierre drive concepts and promoting advanced propulsion projects, under development at the NASA Johnson Space Center, including the first practical experiment to test the existence of Alcubierre drive effects.

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Hawking radiation

Hawking radiation is blackbody radiation that is predicted to be released by black holes, due to quantum effects near the event horizon.

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Hypersurface

In geometry, a hypersurface is a generalization of the concepts of hyperplane, plane curve, and surface.

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Inertial frame of reference

An inertial frame of reference in classical physics and special relativity is a frame of reference in which a body with zero net force acting upon it is not accelerating; that is, such a body is at rest or it is moving at a constant speed in a straight line.

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Interferometry

Interferometry is a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic waves, are superimposed causing the phenomenon of interference in order to extract information.

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Io9

io9 is a blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media, which focuses on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas.

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Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System.

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Krasnikov tube

A Krasnikov tube is a speculative mechanism for space travel involving the warping of spacetime into permanent superluminal tunnels.

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KU Leuven

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (in English: Catholic University of Leuven), abbreviated KU Leuven, is a research university in the Dutch-speaking town of Leuven in Flanders, Belgium.

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Length contraction

Length contraction is the phenomenon that a moving object's length is measured to be shorter than its proper length, which is the length as measured in the object's own rest frame.

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Light cone

In special and general relativity, a light cone is the path that a flash of light, emanating from a single event (localized to a single point in space and a single moment in time) and traveling in all directions, would take through spacetime.

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Local reference frame

In theoretical physics, a local reference frame (local frame) refers to a coordinate system or frame of reference that is only expected to function over a small region or a restricted region of space or spacetime.

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Mass–energy equivalence

In physics, mass–energy equivalence states that anything having mass has an equivalent amount of energy and vice versa, with these fundamental quantities directly relating to one another by Albert Einstein's famous formula: E.

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Metric tensor

In the mathematical field of differential geometry, a metric tensor is a type of function which takes as input a pair of tangent vectors and at a point of a surface (or higher dimensional differentiable manifold) and produces a real number scalar in a way that generalizes many of the familiar properties of the dot product of vectors in Euclidean space.

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Michelson–Morley experiment

The Michelson–Morley experiment was performed between April and July, 1887 by Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and published in November of the same year.

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Miguel Alcubierre

Miguel Alcubierre Moya (born March 28, 1964) is a Mexican theoretical physicist.

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Naked singularity

In general relativity, a naked singularity is a gravitational singularity without an event horizon.

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NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

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Negative mass

In theoretical physics, negative mass is matter whose mass is of opposite sign to the mass of normal matter, e.g. −1 kg.

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Observable universe

The observable universe is a spherical region of the Universe comprising all matter that can be observed from Earth at the present time, because electromagnetic radiation from these objects has had time to reach Earth since the beginning of the cosmological expansion.

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Physical law

A physical law or scientific law is a theoretical statement "inferred from particular facts, applicable to a defined group or class of phenomena, and expressible by the statement that a particular phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions be present." Physical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and observations over many years and which have become accepted universally within the scientific community.

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Physical Review

Physical Review is an American peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1893 by Edward Nichols.

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Physical Review Letters

Physical Review Letters (PRL), established in 1958, is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that is published 52 times per year by the American Physical Society.

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Planck length

In physics, the Planck length, denoted, is a unit of length, equal to metres.

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Pseudo-Riemannian manifold

In differential geometry, a pseudo-Riemannian manifold (also called a semi-Riemannian manifold) is a generalization of a Riemannian manifold in which the metric tensor need not be positive-definite, but need only be a non-degenerate bilinear form, which is a weaker condition.

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Quantum gravity

Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics, and where quantum effects cannot be ignored, such as near compact astrophysical objects where the effects of gravity are strong.

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Quantum inequalities

Quantum inequalities are local constraints on the magnitude and extent of distributions of negative energy density in space-time.

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Semiclassical gravity

Semiclassical gravity is the approximation to the theory of quantum gravity in which one treats matter fields as being quantum and the gravitational field as being classical.

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Serguei Krasnikov

Serguei Vladilenovich Krasnikov (Серге́й Владиле́нович Кра́сников; 1961) is a Russian physicist.

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Shape of the universe

The shape of the universe is the local and global geometry of the universe.

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Shock wave

In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance.

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Solar mass

The solar mass is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately.

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Sonic boom

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created whenever an object traveling through the air travels faster than the speed of sound.

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Space.com

Space.com is a space and astronomy news website.

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Spacecraft propulsion

Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites.

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Spacetime

In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum.

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Special relativity

In physics, special relativity (SR, also known as the special theory of relativity or STR) is the generally accepted and experimentally well-confirmed physical theory regarding the relationship between space and time.

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Speed of light

The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted, is a universal physical constant important in many areas of physics.

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Star Trek

Star Trek is an American media franchise based on the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry.

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Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual

The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual (Ballantine Books 1975, reprinted 1986, 1996, 2006) is a fiction reference book by Joseph Schnaubelt Franz, about the workings of Starfleet, a military, exploratory, and diplomatic organization featured in the television series, ''Star Trek''.

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Starship

A starship, starcraft or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems, as opposed to an aerospace-vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel.

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Stress–energy tensor

The stress–energy tensor (sometimes stress–energy–momentum tensor or energy–momentum tensor) is a tensor quantity in physics that describes the density and flux of energy and momentum in spacetime, generalizing the stress tensor of Newtonian physics.

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Tachyon

A tachyon or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always moves faster than light.

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Tensor

In mathematics, tensors are geometric objects that describe linear relations between geometric vectors, scalars, and other tensors.

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Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena.

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Tidal force

The tidal force is an apparent force that stretches a body towards the center of mass of another body due to a gradient (difference in strength) in gravitational field from the other body; it is responsible for the diverse phenomena, including tides, tidal locking, breaking apart of celestial bodies and formation of ring systems within Roche limit, and in extreme cases, spaghettification of objects.

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Time dilation

According to the theory of relativity, time dilation is a difference in the elapsed time measured by two observers, either due to a velocity difference relative to each other, or by being differently situated relative to a gravitational field.

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Time travel

Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically using a hypothetical device known as a time machine.

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Torus

In geometry, a torus (plural tori) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle.

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Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university incorporated in the municipality of Medford, Massachusetts, United States.

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Universe Today

Universe Today (UT) is a popular North American-based non-commercial space and astronomy news website.

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Vega

Vega, also designated Alpha Lyrae (α Lyrae, abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr), is the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra, the fifth-brightest star in the night sky, and the second-brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus.

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Voyager 1

Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977.

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Warp drive

A warp drive is a fictitious faster-than-light (FTL) spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek.

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William Shatner

William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor, author, producer, and director.

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Wormhole

A wormhole is a concept that represents a solution of the Einstein field equations: a non-trivial resolution of the Ehrenfest paradox structure linking separate points in spacetime.

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Albucurrie drive, Alcubierre Drive, Alcubierre Warp Drive, Alcubierre metric, Bubble velocity, Warp field, Warp fields.

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive

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