Hyperdrive in five years?

I am a nerd. Despite being up to my eyeballs in science on a daily basis, I spent free time reading the book "Hyperspace" by Michio Kaku on string theory and higher dimensions. It's just enough knowledge to be dangerous... the best kind, really. Might have blogged this book, but I can't find it :( (Update: Ah, yes, mentioned here)

Anyway, the RSS feed for this silly webcomic linked to an article in the Scotsman (reprinting from Sci-Tech Today) about US Air Force and DOE interest in a theoretical propulsion system that could get us to Mars in three hours:

The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft.

Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.

This is all based on a recent paper by physicists Dröscher and Häuser [pdf] describing an implementation of Heim Quantum Theory. It's an admittedly controversial approach, but fun to think that there are groups willing to test this stuff.

More on Burkhard Heim and the debate on his science at Wikipedia.

Posted by rick at January 5, 2006 09:50 AM | More Geeky Stuff