Dec 17, 2021 08:00:00

Astrophysicists refute the claim that 'the warp bubble was successfully created'

Harold White, the founder

of the 'Eagleworks Institute ' at NASA's Johnson Space Center, has announced that he 'successfully created a warp bubble' based on his paper. Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel said that 'scientific proof is insufficient' in response to the claim that he created a subspace warp bubble that enables 'warp' as in science fiction movies. It points out the problem of the claim.

I wrote the book on warp drive. We didn't make a warp bubble. --Big Think
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/no-warp-bubble/

White said he was funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to study a structure called the 'Kashmir Cavity' and accidentally discovered a warp bubble in his research.

Succeeded in generating 'warp bubble' for the first time in the world-GIGAZINE

However, Mr. Siegel pointed out that Mr. White had insisted on the content of the spacecraft engine called EM Drive that contradicts the laws of physics in the past, and pointed out that he is 'a person who makes a grand claim without sufficient support'. He also points out that there are some problems with the claim that 'the warp bubble was successfully created'.

◆ What are Warp Bubbles and Warp Drives?
Warp bubble is an element to realize warp drive , and Mr. Siegel explains from 'What is warp drive in the first place'.

Warp Drive, a technology that enables space navigation at speeds exceeding the speed of light, is based on the general theory of relativity rather than the special theory of relativity. Special relativity recognizes space as flat, while general relativity recognizes space as distorted. The special theory of relativity thinks that 'an object can approach the speed of light, but cannot reach or exceed it', but in the general theory of relativity, where space is distorted, paper is available if there is sufficient material and energy. I think you can 'distort' the space between any two points, like when you fold. However, spacecraft using this mechanism will be torn by large gravity.

In 1994, physicist Miguel Alcubiere proposed 'Alcubierre Drive' as a solution to this problem. Alcubierre creates 'positive distortion' where matter and energy are outside the black hole, while 'both positive and negative energy' when negative mass and energy create 'negative distortion'. By manipulating it, the spacecraft can move without being restricted by the light speed without a wormhole. ' Specifically, 'when there is the same amount of positive and negative energy, it is possible to move the spacecraft by compressing the space in front of the spacecraft and at the same time diluting the space behind it.' Is Alcubierre Drive. At this time, the spacecraft is wrapped in a 'warp bubble' and escapes from the distortion of the space, so it is thought that it is possible to go straight through the compressed space.

Without warp drive, space travel would be limited to special relativity.

For example, if you move to the red dwarf TRAPPIST-1 at 99.992% of the speed of light, it will take one year to make a round trip in the sense of a traveler, but 81 years will pass in the time of the earth. This is because as the spacecraft approaches the speed of light, the flow of time inside the spacecraft slows down. However, the so-called Urashima Taro phenomenon does not occur because the warp drive does not mean 'moving in space at the speed of light' but distorts the space to create a shortcut.

◆ Alcubierre drive and Casimir effect
Alcubierre Drive as described above presupposes the existence of 'negative matter' and 'negative energy', but negative energy is still hypothetical. On the other hand, what Alcubierre thought was necessary for warp drive was 'the opposite type of distortion to what ordinary matter and energy produce', and the way of thinking about the energy of the universe itself changed between those days and the present. From what has been said, it is possible that negative energy is not always necessary.

Of particular note was the Casimir effect , proposed by the physicist Hendrik Casimir in 1948. The Casimir effect has long been theoretical, but in 1997, 'when two flat metal plates are placed in a vacuum at very small distances, the energy outside the plates becomes greater than the energy between the plates and the plate becomes The existence was confirmed by the experiment of 'inquiring'. In response to this, it was thought that the negative energy that was thought to be necessary for the warp drive could be replaced by the Casimir effect. However, Siegel cautions that 'the Casimir effect can be used to create warp space, but it is not equivalent to a warp bubble,' which is beyond speculation.

What did Mr. White write in his dissertation?
According to a published paper, White et al.'S research team

used electrical conductors of various shapes on the micron scale to generate potentials (or voltage changes) of hundreds of microvolts. The content of the experiment was consistent with past experiments and predictions about the Casimir effect, while Siegel said, 'The mathematical calculations described in the paper are different from the experiments conducted by the research team on the Casimir effect. It's a thing. ' It also raises questions about the fact that the dissertation is not about experiments, but about theory, and nevertheless, theoretical physicists have not participated in the study. The paper was to clarify the energy density of the space created by the Casimir effect, using a dynamic vacuum model that is usually applied to a single atom. The research team is also observing how the vacuum is affected by changing conditions.

The researchers showed that 'the three-dimensional energy density produced by the Kashmir cavity showed some qualitative correlation with the energy density required by Alcubierre Drive, quantitatively. There was no agreement in that sense, 'said Siegel. Also, the content is not experimental, it is only numerically calculated, 'it is limited in microscopic scale and very slight energy density, there are many speculations and speculations, everything. It has not been proven. ' While White's claim is an interesting idea that may be proved in the future, Siegel said, 'The more you want to get closer to the truth, the more skeptical you should be.'