Engines creating shortcuts in space-time are the stuff of science fiction. But this strange study would have found a more realistic solution.
It’s a great classic of science fiction films: spaceships that travel at the speed of light but also, sometimes, even faster than light. Often, these fictional ships operate using a “warp engine” (wrap drive in English).
Hypothetically, these engines would make it possible to resolve the fact that it is difficult to reach 300,000 kilometers per second – the speed of light – and that it is impossible to exceed it (so-called superluminal speed). The idea is based on the Alcubierre metric. This propulsion would distort space-time to create a sort of shortcut. The object (ship) located at the center of this distortion would not technically travel at superluminal speed, since it would take a shortcut in space-time; but from an external point of view, it would indeed transit from point A to point B faster than if it had traveled at the speed of light.
No warp drive exists. The concept does not belong to a physics compatible with what we master today. However, physicists do not despair. And a study published in April 2024 sought a model compatible with the laws of physics. “ By introducing a one-of-a-kind model, we showed that warp drives might not be relegated to science fiction “, says co-author Jared Fuchs.
No more need for “exotic material” for a warp engine?
Its model is based on the creation of a powerful gravitational field, into which the transported object – the ship – would be immersed. It would thus be like in a bubble. And above all: on paper, this would only involve ordinary matter. It’s anything but a detail.
In the traditional concept of the Alcubierre metric, such propulsion requires “exotic matter” to function. This matter, made up of particles different from ordinary matter, is a pure hypothesis, which could justify dark matter, for example. But, once again, it is a hypothesis (not yet directly observed). This is of course an obstacle to seeing the emergence, one day, of a real warp engine.
“Although we are not yet ready for interstellar travel, this achievement opens a new era of possibilities”
This is therefore where this study is interesting: the proposed model does not need this hypothetical exotic material. “ Although such a concept would still require a considerable amount of energy, it demonstrates that distortion effects can be achieved without exotic forms of matter », indicates Christopher Helmerich, co-author of the study.
The limitation of this model is that it cannot exceed the speed of light. In idea, it would therefore not be a potential superluminal distortion engine; but a sublight warp drive — limited by the speed of light. Which would remain, in itself, a feat of pure science fiction these days.
“ Although we are not yet ready for interstellar travel, this achievement opens a new era of possibilities », Adds Gianni Martire, CEO of Applied Physics, the laboratory which supervises this study. According to him, humanity could one day enter into “ the era of distortion “. Despite everything, these advances still remain on paper, and in the domain of theory. But scientists are seeking to push the limits of physics to their limits, to find even theoretical solutions.
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