00:00Alright, so our universe is four-dimensional.
00:04Three dimensions are for space, and one is for time.
00:07Now let's mix them together.
00:09Ah, we're getting a nice dough called space-time.
00:13This dough has one amazing feature.
00:16Even though you can't use it to bake a pie, you can bend and tear it.
00:20Now forget about our culinary analogy, we're going to space!
00:25Waves traveling through space-time can travel at speeds much greater than the speed of light.
00:30Now when it comes to propulsion, or simply put, moving forward, traveling through space
00:35by ejecting hot gas from the back of your spacecraft is not the most efficient approach.
00:42But a much more elegant way is to manipulate the fabric of space-time around your ship.
00:48That's how we get to the topic of the Alcubierre warp drive.
00:52So far it's just a hypothetical concept, but who knows, maybe in 10 or 20 decades we'll
00:58use this device to visit our relatives who have moved to the other side of the Milky
01:02Way.
01:03Anyway, the warp drive theoretically contracts the space-time in front of a spacecraft, simultaneously
01:11expanding the space-time behind it.
01:13It allows the ship to move from one point to another at an insanely fast speed.
01:19While the spacecraft would be distorting space-time, someone outside the ship's warp bubble would
01:24observe it moving faster than the speed of light.
01:27At the same time, if you were that lucky traveler inside the ship, you'd feel no acceleration
01:33whatsoever.
01:34If we could make such a superluminal warp drive a reality – superluminal, which is
01:40a fancy word to describe something faster than the speed of light – it would change
01:44our lives for good.
01:46It would enable us to travel all over our solar system and, perhaps, help us reach neighboring
01:51star systems as well.
01:52For example, we could get to Alpha Centauri, the closest to a star system located a bit
01:58more than 4 light-years away, within days or weeks instead of thousands of years.
02:04Unfortunately, I gotta quench your enthusiasm, my friend.
02:08The warp drive has a huge problem.
02:10The force behind its operation, which is called negative energy, involves pretty exotic particles.
02:17Even worse, they're completely hypothetical and, as far as we know, don't exist in our
02:22universe.
02:23Scientists have only managed to describe them in mathematical terms.
02:27These exotic particles behave in unexpected ways.
02:31For example, they have negative mass – boy, I wish I could pull such a trick after a big
02:35family dinner! – and they work in opposition to gravity.
02:40But wait, there's still some hope left!
02:42A new discovery might solve this seemingly unmovable roadblock.
02:47Researchers from New York City have envisioned a positive energy system that does not mess
02:52with the known laws of physics.
02:54The authors of the study claim that it's a game-changer and could be the first chapter
02:58in the manual for interstellar travel.
03:01You see, this positive energy makes all the difference.
03:05Now let's say you're an astronaut on a spacewalk and you decide to play tennis out
03:09there.
03:10So, you push the ball away from you.
03:13But instead of floating away, the ball pushes back.
03:16And this confrontation can continue to the point that it might take your hand off if
03:20you apply enough force.
03:22Now that's a quality of the negative energy the warp drive needs.
03:27But as you can see, there's no way to harness this energy, and it sounds rather dangerous.
03:32That's why we should probably turn to good old positive energy for the construction of
03:38the warp bubble.
03:39This bubble is a spherical structure surrounding a spacecraft using a shell of regular, albeit
03:45super-dense, matter.
03:47The bubble propels the spacecraft forward using the powerful gravity of the shell.
03:52But the passengers inside the ship don't feel any acceleration.
03:56An elevator ride is apparently more eventful than hurtling through space in such a bubble.
04:03All because of the immense density of the shell and the pressure it would exert on the
04:07interior if controlled properly.
04:10And since nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, according to the theory of
04:14general relativity, the bubble is designed in a way that those inside could experience
04:20normal time.
04:23At the same time, the bubble compresses the space-time in front of it and expands it behind
04:28the ship, just like that warp drive that uses negative energy.
04:32It allows it to ferry itself and the craft unbelievably fast.
04:36The walls of the bubble produce the necessary momentum, just like the momentum of balls
04:41rolling.
04:43If you decided to take up the task of controlling a warp bubble, it would require a great deal
04:48of coordination.
04:50Such bubbles need enormous amounts of matter and energy to keep passengers safe and maintain
04:55the correct passage of time.
04:57Plus, communication between people inside and outside the bubble would become super-distorted
05:03during the passage through the curvatures of warp space.
05:06Now, of course, there are still tons of problems researchers need to deal with before finally
05:12building a working warp drive.
05:14But some of them claim that the model should eventually get close to the speed of light.
05:19But even if it remains below the speed of light, it'll still be a great improvement
05:23compared to our today's technologies.
05:26Hey, see for yourself.
05:28Traveling at even half the speed of light to Alpha Centauri would take 9 years.
05:33In contrast, Voyager 1, which is currently traveling at 38,000 mph, would need around
05:3975,000 years to reach our neighboring star system.
05:44There are some more things to consider.
05:46As you approach the speed of light, things get really weird.
05:49For example, the faster an object moves, the greater its mass becomes.
05:54And this mass can increase infinitely, so that the object will need an infinite amount
05:59of energy to maintain its speed.
06:01Another issue?
06:02Current models allow a stable warp bubble only for a constant speed.
06:07But then, how are you supposed to accelerate at the beginning of your journey?
06:11And what should you do when you eventually need to slow down and stop?
06:16Experts claim that the process of the creation of the warp drive is like trying to figure
06:20out the concept of the automobile for the first time.
06:24We can compare the stage at which the warp drive technology is with the car technology
06:29at the end of the 19th century.
06:31At that time, automobile travel was possible, but it looked like a tricky process not everyone
06:37could deal with.
06:38Now, the whole warp drive idea is to stretch and squeeze space to zip around the Universe.
06:44Well, there's a theory that's even wilder.
06:47What if, instead of bending space-time, we just ripped it?
06:52Think about it like this.
06:54When you bend space-time, you still have to deal with all the stretching and compressing.
06:58It's like folding a paper map.
07:00You still have to drag your finger across the folds.
07:03But try ripping the paper in half and slapping the two ends together.
07:07Bam!
07:08You're already at your destination.
07:11So how can we rip space-time?
07:14We might not need to.
07:16Black holes may already be doing it.
07:18At the center of a black hole, gravity goes nuts, everything compresses into an infinitely
07:24small point, and time itself stops.
07:27This point, called a singularity, might be that very rip in space-time.
07:33And if you could ride your spaceship into a large enough black hole, gravity might be
07:37smooth enough for you to survive the journey.
07:40Maybe.
07:41And then, some scientists think you might pop out the other side of the Universe through
07:45a white hole.
07:47Okay.
07:48Now, another type of rip is called a wormhole.
07:51Unlike a black hole, wormholes have both an entrance and an exit.
07:55They're like a cosmic tunnel shortcut.
07:58If we could figure out how to find them, open them, and keep them from closing again, we
08:03could get the key to intergalactic travel.
08:07And now, get ready for a twist – quantum tunneling!
08:10Now, let's say you're playing a video game, and your character can magically walk
08:15through walls.
08:16It's kind of what particles do in quantum tunneling.
08:21Particles can tunnel through barriers, even if they don't have enough energy to go over
08:25them, thanks to their wavy quantum nature.
08:29But what if particles could quantum tunnel through connected wormholes?
08:34Instead of just sneaking through a wall, they'd be taking cosmic shortcuts through space-time,
08:39zipping from one part of the Universe to another instantly.
08:43In theory, this could open up totally new possibilities for how we understand the Universe
08:48and travel across it.
08:49That's it for today!
08:51So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:55friends!
08:56Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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