Fly to the moon in 4 hours: British scientist who says he's found secret of Star Trek's 'warp speed'

The London Daily Mail ^ | May 14, 2015 | Tom Leonard in New York

[2ndDivisionVet]

* Nasa is thought to have successfully tested a revolutionary power source
* Claimed it could fly for eons at the equivalent of 450 million miles an hour
* It is powered by a device similar to that found in a microwave oven
* Invented by now retired British scientist Roger Shawyer a decade ago

Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Star Trek or a Star Wars film will know how it works.

The good guys are minding their business in outer space when suddenly the Klingons or the Dark Empire bear down on them out of nowhere.

There is only one way out. At the flick of a switch, our heroes are flashed — in a blur of passing stars — to safety elsewhere in the universe.

Call it warp drive or a hyper drive, it adds up to the same thing: a miraculous power source that allows a spacecraft to fly at unimaginable speeds.

But while it’s so far confined to the realms of sci-fi, the concept could become reality.

U.S. space agency Nasa is thought to have successfully tested a revolutionary new power source that could enable spacecraft to travel to the Moon in just four hours instead of more than three days and to Mars in two or three weeks instead of seven months.

Compact enough to fit into a suitcase, this whizzy new device could — it is claimed — keep flying for eons, at the equivalent of an astonishing 450 million miles an hour....

[Fai Mao]

Also think of the G forces while accelerating. The craft would have to limit its acceleration or people in the craft be a Flat Stanley.

That would slow the trip down

[mykroar]

Did they clear it with the muslims?

[needmorePaine]

I heard it will be named Ludicrous Speed.

[Gaffer]

I think somebody is just looking for investment money for a development effort that will prove infeasible at some point for one reason or another.

[BitWielder1]

What's the matter with science writers of today?
The first thing he does is to confuse Power Source and Propulsion.
Then throw in Warp Drive, while later in the article they're talking 2/3 light speed tops.
It sounds like a photon rocket using microwaves.
They have been known, theoretically, for many decades.
Anyone who studies rocket propulsion will quickly realize photon rockets would be ideal, is it wasn't for the small matter of a sufficiently powerful energy source.
Solar panels are wimpy in comparison, and won't do much for you in interstellar space.
You can make a science craft to coast the solar system for years, if it can accelerate at 0.0001 g, need much more for space tourism.

[MaxMax]

The nice thing about light speed is having an excuse for not pulling over.

[mountn man]

[Political Junkie Too]

You might get there in four hours, but can you stop? you will need quite a set of brakes on that ship.

-PJ

[mountn man]

[Flag_This]

"It is powered by a device similar to that found in a microwave oven"

How fast is "Timed Defrost"?

[fivecatsandadog]

LSD

Lunar Super Drive

[TheCipher]

[Celtic Conservative]

“’ello, ‘ello, ‘ello, wot we got here, sunshine!”

CC

[muir_redwoods]

A two gram speck of space rock impacted at 450 million miles an hour should make for an interesting accident report. Speed is one thing; surviving that speed is another thing.

[Celtic Conservative]

...And you need to find a way to accelerate and decelerate without as a side effect turning the crew into chunky salsa. Suppose we gotta wait for somebody to invent the “inertial compensator”.

CC

[lowbridge]

“Invented by now retired British scientist Roger Shawyer a decade ago”

Bull. This joker ripped off Gene Roddenberrys idea ;-)

[ExCTCitizen]

450 million miles an hour? I bet Congress will want the Space Speed Limit to be 55 million miles per hour... to save fuel.😊

[skinkinthegrass]

skeptical.. yhea"where no scriptwriter has gone before."

[Hot Tabasco]

I want one for my scooter!

While the cops can't keep up with you, they'll get you once you stop........

[BigCinBigD]

Zephram Cochran sez “I’ll drink to that!”

He’ll drink to anything!