Melvin Hoyer III

Senior Seminar

THEORETICAL SOLUTIONS TO INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL

INTRODUCTION

Biology on planet earth is driven by the evolution and Adaptation of life forms to an environment in order to secure survival of the next generation. While the Human race has only been around on this planet for a tiny fraction of it’s entire history, we have continually grown into an apex species like none seen on this planet previously. All great inventions and innovations of the human mind have been in the pursuit of breaking bonds with our current surroundings in order to maximize survival. This insurance of survival for our Species lies in breaking the bonds of our solar system and making interstellar space travel achievable within the next 100 years.

• The space in between stars are on the order of light years, which makes travel between them by current means nearly impossible. One light year is the distance light travels in one year, with a single photon moving at 186,282 mi/s, and the nearest star system 4.3 light years away Voyager 2 would take 500 years to arrive by conventional means.

• Only by achieving a significant fraction of the speed of light will manned travel between the stars become attainable in a single human lifespan. However due to time dilation predicted by Einstein’s Theory of relativity the closer an object approaches to luminal speed the slower its clock moves relative to another slower object.

RELATIVITY AND LUMINAL SPEED PHYSICS

THEORETICAL INTERSTELLAR PROPULSION SYSTEMS

In order for interstellar travel to be possible new and exotic ways of travel must be proposed that are practical and efficient. Three possible interstellar propulsion systems are the

• Fusion Drive

• Solar Sail

• Warp Drive

All of which present their own advantages and disadvantages

FUSION DRIVEThe Fusion Drive uses the raw kinetic energy of nuclear fusion as an exhaust to propel the ship.

Should conceivably be able to reach speeds of the order of 10-20% of that of light

Advancement in magnetic confinement and Sustainability of the fusion reaction required before drive can be developed

Low fuel consumption

Reasonable for interstellar missions up to 20 light years within one human lifespan

SOLAR SAILRadiation exerts a pressure on the sail due to reflection and a small fraction that is absorbed. The absorbed energy heats the sail, which re-radiates that energy from the front and rear surfaces.

Using Lasers or Masers at GigaWatt Strength A ship using this sail can reach a significant fraction of the speed of light

Practical with existing technology and will likely be first method of interstellar travel developed .

If 60% of light speed is achieved due to relativistic effects a seven year mission experienced by the crew, ten years would pass on earth

http://youtu.be/JmxFzzlPi6s

WARP DRIVE• Completely Theoretical form of Faster than light travel but plausible and within the laws of

physics.

• Nothing can move faster than light however shortly after the big bang space itself expanded faster than light travels

• The drive would work by contracting the space in front of the craft and expanding the space behind it the ship would then ride this wave of space-time

• Because the ship itself is not moving but space is moving around the ship faster than light no acceleration or extreme tidal forces are felt by the crew

• This drive could theoretically reach the nearest stars in mere weeks however this faster than light travel may leave the door open to time travel to the future

• This technology would require a truly exotic fuel either dark matter that has properties of negative mass or by harnessing the “dark energy” that has been accelerating the expansion of the universe since the big bang.

• http://youtu.be/_fPmCKt48Zw

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT • Developments in pure fusion cores (TokoMaks)

(Inertial Confinement Fusion) are being made today allowing for more contained more sustained reactions for energy needs here on earth

• Solar sail technology already exists and has already been deployed however the lasers required to accelerate them to very high velocities are still in development

• Developments are being made in detecting negative mass and negative energy required to operate a theoretical warp drive in the Casimir effect experiment aimed at detecting the spontaneous creation of negative virtual protons between two closely placed mirrors in a vacuum.

CONCLUSION

Although this research is more speculation than applicable with today's technology with enough time and effort the stars could become the next great exploratory period in human history. Most great scientific discoveries began as simple conjecture and were laughed upon as impossible. However the reward of developing this technology will far outweigh the risk in undertaking. Once bounds are broken from this solar system just how far will humanity spread ?

REFERENCES• "What Is the Casimir Effect?" Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-casimir-effec/>.

• "The Planetary Society." The Planetary Society Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://www.planetary.org/explore/projects/lightsail-solar-sailing/what-is-solar-sailing.html>.

• Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, 23 Nov. 2004. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/warp/warpstat_prt.htm>.

• "Alcubierre Drive." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive>.

• "Fusion Power." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_power>.

• Singh, Jasprit. Modern Physics for Engineers. New York: J. Wiley, 1999. Print.

• Burns, Marshall L. "Basic Concepts of Einstien Relativity." Modern Physics for Science and Engineering. First ed. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. N. pag. Print.