AAWSAP DIRD, Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra Dimensions, April 2010

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Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra
Dimensions
Introduction
If one is to realistically entertain the notion of interstellar exploration in
timeframes of a human lifespan, a dramatic shift in the traditional approach to
spacecraft propulsion is necessary. It has been known and well tested since
the time of Einstein that all matter is restricted to motion at sublight velocities
(<< 3 x 108 m/s, the speed of light, or c), and that as matter approaches the
speed of light, its mass asymptotically approaches infinity. This mass increase
ensures that an infinite amount of energy would be necessary to travel at the
speed of light, and, thus, this speed is impossible to reach and represents an
absolute speed limit to all matter traveling through spacetime.
Even if an engine were designed that could propel a spacecraft to an
appreciable fraction of light speed, travel to even the closest stars would take
many decades in the frame of reference of an observer on Earth. Although
these lengthy transit times would not make interstellar exploration impossible,
they would certainly dampen the enthusiasm of governments or private
individuals funding these missions. After all, a mission whose success is
perhaps a century away would be difficult to justify. In recent years, however,
physicists have discovered two loopholes to Einstein's ultimate speed limit:
the Einstein-Rosen bridge (commonly referred to as a "wormhole") and the
warp drive. Fundamentally, both ideas involve manipulation of spacetime itself
in some exotic way that allows for faster-than-light (FTL) travel.
Essentially, the wormhole involves connecting two potentially distant regions
of space by a topological shortcut. Theoretically, one would enter the
wormhole and instantaneously be transported to the exit located in a distant
region of space. Although no observational evidence of wormholes exists,
theoretically they can exist as a valid solution to general relativity.
The warp drive-the main focus this paper-involves local manipulation of the
fabric of space in the immediate vicinity of a spacecraft. The basic idea is to
create an asymmetric bubble of space that is contracting in front of the
spacecraft while expanding behind it. Using this form of locomotion, the
spacecraft remains stationary inside this "warp bubble," and the movement of
space itself facilitates the relative motion of the spacecraft. The most
attractive feature of the warp drive is that the theory of relativity places no
known restrictions on the motion of space itself, thus allowing for a
convenient circumvention of the speed of light barrier.
An advanced aerospace platform incorporating warp drive technology would
profoundly alter the capacity to explore-and potentially to colonize-the
universe. Because a warp drive is not limited by the speed of light, one can
only guess the top speeds such a technology might be capable of achieving.
For the sake of argument, let's consider the duration of trips taken by a
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