Put a Alcubierre drive in your car and go faster than the speed of light...

[loliea]

This is from an article published in Daily Tech web site.

If you're not sure what the String Theory is have a look here and hold on tight or watch the movies on this page on Nova's web site. Personally I got lost around the 6th dimension...

Virtually all science fiction that involves intergalactic travel or convenient travel between planets in our own solar system revolves around faster than light travel. One problem with many theories for faster than light travel is the proposed methods would violate Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Two physicists from Baylor University have theorized what they believe to be a method of faster than light travel that would not break the Theory of Relativity. Einstein's Theory of Relativity states that objects accelerating to the speed of light require an infinite amount of energy. The physicists -- Gerald Cleaver and Richard Obousy -- have theorized a new idea for faster than light travel that involves manipulating dark energy to propel a spacecraft. According to Space.com the universe -- in theory -- moved faster than light for a short time after the Big Bang, propelled by dark energy which represents about 74% of the mass energy budget in the universe. Space.com goes on to say that, 22% of the mass energy budget consists of dark matter and what remains of the mass-energy budget in the universe being made up of stars, planets and other things we see. Some current evidence supports the theory that the fabric of space-time can expand faster than the speed of light. This is said to be because the reality which light travels is expanding itself. The Baylor physicists took a recent idea in string theory to devise a method of manipulating dark energy to accelerate a spaceship based on the Alcubierre drive. The Alcubierre drive works on the principle -- in theory -- that expanding space-time behind a ship and reducing space-time in front of the ship would result in propulsion at faster than light speeds. Cleaver said, "Think of it [faster than light travel] like a surfer riding a wave. The ship would be pushed by the spatial bubble and the bubble would be traveling faster than the speed of light." It is believed that 10 dimensions exist, with six of them being largely unknown. M-theory suggests that hypothetical one-dimensional strings vibrate in yet another dimension. Cleaver and Obousy theorize that manipulating the dimension the strings vibrate in would alter dark energy in height, width, and length to permit a spaceship to take advantage of dark energy's effect on the universe. Cleaver told Space.com, "The dark energy is simultaneously decreased just in front of the ship to decrease (and bring to a stop) the expansion rate of the universe in front of the ship. If the dark energy can be made negative directly in front of the ship, then space in front of the ship would locally contract." While the whole theory hardly sounds simple, one of the greatest problems is the amount of energy required to propel a ship using this method. The physicists estimate that to move a small ship -- measuring approximately 33-feet x 33-feet -- would require energy equivalent to the entire mass of Jupiter. Cleaver continued saying, "That is an enormous amount of energy. We are still a very long ways off before we could create something to harness that type of energy."

[Spiffu]

This theory is about 14 years old.

But his is a better read on it.

ALCUBIERRE WARP DRIVE
Tech Level: 19
In 1994, Miguel Alcubierre, a physicist at the University of Wales, described a means of space travel that bore an remarkable resemblance to the warp drive of science fiction.
In his paper published in the May 1994 issue of Classical and Quantum Gravity, Alcubierre described using large amounts of negative energy to create distortions of space/time around a spaceship. In front of the ship, the fabric of space is compressed, contracting the distance between the ship and its destination. In back of the ship, the fabric of space is expanded, increasing the distance between the ship and its point of departure. These distortions move along with the ship, creating a "wave", as some have described it, of distorted spacetime that the ship rides to its target. Because it is space/time itself which is moving and not any physical object within the "wave", this motion does not violate Relativity, even though to an observer outside it would very much appear that the ship was moving at FTL speeds.


Another way to think of Warp Drive movement is to visualize space as a stretched sheet of rubber, and the section of "normal" spacetime between the two extreme distortions created by the Alcubierre drive (referred to sometimes as a warp "bubble") as a marble resting on its surface. Instead of moving the marble directly, you push into the rubber sheet with your finger directly in front of the marble, while someone your finger on your other hand pushes up on the rubber directly behind the marble. By moving your fingers at a fast enough rate, you can move the marble all the way across the sheet, by creating a constantly-moving "warp" in the rubber the marble is continually trying to fall into. Extend this analogy into four-dimensional space and you have the basis for the Alcubierre warp drive.


http://orbitalvector.com/FTL/Warp%20Drives/Warp%20Drives.htm

The basic concept is that there is no speed limit for space time, which is why they are looking into warp drives.

I would imagine this will be the first forray into FTL drives for humanity provided we can make a proper power source for the ship. Not to mention several 1000 other factors that would have to be addressed for FTL flight.

[loliea]

The news here is that they used the string theory to find a method of manipulating dark energy to create conditions required for the Alcubierre drive phenomenon.

What is the "Tech Level: 19" in your article above? Is it some kind of DIY rating

[Spiffu]

Quoted from this site.

http://orbitalvector.com/Index.htm

It's one of my favorites. The guy who runs it has a technology scale for all the articles he writes.

http://www.orbitalvector.com/Essays/TECH%20LEVELS%20OF%20SCIENCE%20FICTION%20GROUPS%20 AND%20CULTURES.htm

They are based off of past history, present, and plausible science fiction novels/movies (as are most common for inspiration of today's technologies) i.e. Ghost in the Shell, Star Trek, etc.

Tech Level 0
This represents no technology.


Tech Level 1
This represents the slow climb of technology in Prehistory, from the time our pre-homo-sapiens ancestors first picked up a stick to dig for grubs until advancements in agriculture allowed for the formation of cities and recorded history.


Tech Levels 2-9
These represent actual historical eras (see chart)


Tech Level 10
This represents modern day Earth, today.


Tech Levels 11-15
These levels represent the near future, from tomorrow until about 100 years from now. Usual estimates for this period include steady refinements in electronic and computer technology, ever-increasing global connectiveness and travel, the advent of "base" cybernetics and genetic engineering, and a slow but steadily increasing human presence in space.


Tech Levels 16-20
This is the "far" future, representing up to 1000 or more years beyond Tech Level 15. These are the tech levels of most mainstream science fiction stories and tropes, such as starships, interstellar colonies, intelligent robots, death rays, alien contact, etc, etc.


Tech Levels 21-25
These levels represent the frontiers of the easily imaginable future, a great many thousands of years beyond today. Humankind opens up the secrets of the universe and creates ultra-sophisticated technology whose feats would seem to border on the magical to us today. Wormholes may connect distant parts of the galaxy. Black holes may be tapped for energy. Involuntary death may be unknown.


Tech Levels 26 and Beyond
Levels beyond 25 represent god-like technologies in power and reach. Cosmos-spanning networks, reality-altering machines, pocket universes, and more mind-boggling concepts inhabit these levels.