Warp drives, ion propulsion engines, and future possibilities

 Science for imagination  Comments Off on Warp drives, ion propulsion engines, and future possibilities
Apr 272015
 
NASA: Warp drive image

Image from NASA: Status of Warp Drive

The ‘warp drive’ has been a staple of science fiction ever since Einstein put the kibosh on ‘faster-than-light’ travel with his theory of relativity.

But it might not only be science fiction anymore. NASA may have already developed a type of warp travel, though there is still a lot of research that needs to be done.

It’s amazing that this is even a possibility. And it all came about through the introduction of something else no one believed possible: an ion propulsion engine.

This imagination-stimulating information is from an IFLScience article: Has NASA really created a warp drive?

NASA is more cautious: Is warp drive real?

More information on NASA’s view on faster-than-light (or warp) travel: Status of “Warp Drive”

But they are optimistic about ion propulsion engines: NEXT provides lasting propulsion and high speeds for deep space missions

All in all, some lovely fodder for the science fiction imagination.