The thread for space cadets!

Winner said:

Have you seen the new Interstellar trailer?

Is it just me, or are they trying to present a semi-accurate picture of a 'warp bubble' at the end? Even with a pit stop at Saturn, presumably to harvest anti-matter from the magnetic field.

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ArneHD said:

It kinda looked like a black hole to me, a tiny one albeit.

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uppi said:

Adaptive optics and big lasers to create a reference "star" make is possible to correct for the effects of the atmosphere. Once these effects are eliminated, ground based telescopes have an advantage, because you can build them much larger.

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The best thing about the future of astronomy is that it starts with a bang. Today, you can watch as the European Southern Observatory takes the first step in building the world’s biggest ground-based telescope—the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT)—by blowing up the top of a mountain in Chile. The blasting event will start at 9:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. ET.

It’s not just a name—the E-ELT is going to be humungous. The telescope’s main mirror will be nearly 128 feet in diameter. The current crop of really big telescopes pale in comparison. The Keck telescopes in Hawaii, for instance, have mirrors about 33 feet wide.

What do you get for all that light-gathering power? For one thing, the ability to see back to the beginning of the universe, watching the first stars and galaxies form. Researchers will also use the E-ELT to help them figure out the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. But the thing that has astronomers more excited about right now is the telescope’s ability to discover and characterize new planets around other stars.

“We want to get direct images of an Earth twin,” said astronomer Jochen Liske, who works on the E-ELT.

Though thousands of extrasolar planets have been found in recent years, scientists still know little about most of them beyond their size and the length of their year. The E-ELT will be large enough to peer at the nearest stars to our sun and directly spot tiny planets in orbit around them. From this light, astronomers should be able to determine the types of chemicals and gases that exist on the planets’ surfaces, which in turn could help them figure out whether or not any of them are capable of hosting life as we know it.

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Winner said:

BTW, here's a concept art for a hypothetical "realistic" warp ship (EDIT: slight crosspost, took a while assembling the links ):

Construction:

Spoiler :

and final:

Spoiler :

[/IMG]

And a video description of what this is supposed to show:


Link to video.

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Winner said:

Well, they should use it in a proper Star Trek reboot series Like, humanity builds the first Warp Ship, goes to the stars for the first time, discover all these humanoid-looking aliens, space anomalies, ancient mysteries, etc.

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PlutonianEmpire said:

Aha, yes! Now THIS is rocket porn!

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The research team claims the "Q-thruster" utilizes the quantum vacuum fluctuations of empty space as a "propellant". The existence of quantum vacuum fluctuations is not disputed, because experiments with the quantum mechanical Casimir effect have unambiguously demonstrated that quantum vacuum fluctuations do exist. What remains to be proven is that these fluctuations can be utilized for this practical purpose.[4]

The Q-thruster operates on the principles of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the same principles and equations of motion used by a conventional plasma thruster. The difference is that the Q-thruster uses the atomic particles spontaneously produced by quantum vacuum fluctuations as its propellant. The atomic particles produced by the fluctuations are subsequently electrically ionized to form a plasma. The now electrically charged plasma is then exposed to a crossed electric and magnetic field, inducing a force on the particles of the plasma in the E×B direction, which is orthogonal to the applied fields. The Q-thruster would not technically be a reactionless drive, because it expels the plasma and thus produces force on the spacecraft in the opposite direction, like a conventional rocket engine. However, this action does not require the spacecraft to carry any propellant. This theory suggests much higher specific impulses are available for Q-thrusters, because they only consume electrical power and thus are limited only by their power supply's energy storage densities. Preliminary test results suggest thrust levels of between 1000–4000 μN; specific force performance of 0.1 N/kW, and an equivalent specific impulse of ~1x1012 s.[5][6]

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Abstract: This paper describes the eight-day August 2013 test campaign designed to investigate and demonstrate viability of using classical magnetoplasmadynamics to obtain a propulsive momentum transfer via the quantum vacuum virtual plasma. This paper will not address the physics of the quantum vacuum plasma thruster, but instead will describe the test integration, test operations, and the results obtained from the test campaign. Approximately 30-50 micro-Newtons of thrust were recorded from an electric propulsion test article consisting primarily of a radio frequency (RF) resonant cavity excited at approximately 935 megahertz. Testing was performed on a low-thrust torsion pendulum that is capable of detecting force at a single-digit micronewton level, within a stainless steel vacuum chamber with the door closed but at ambient atmospheric pressure. Several different test configurations were used, including two different test articles as well as a reversal of the test article orientation. In addition, the test article was replaced by an RF load to verify that the force was not being generated by effects not associated with the test article. The two test articles were designed by Cannae LLC of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The torsion pendulum was designed, built, and operated by Eagleworks Laboratories at the NASA Johnson Space Center of Houston, Texas. Approximately six days of test integration were required, followed by two days of test operations, during which, technical issues were discovered and resolved. Integration of the two test articles and their supporting equipment was performed in an iterative fashion between the test bench and the vacuum chamber. In other words, the test article was tested on the bench, then moved to the chamber, then moved back as needed to resolve issues. Manual frequency control was required throughout the test. Thrust was observed on both test articles, even though one of the test articles was designed with the expectation that it would not produce thrust. Specifically, one test article contained internal physical modifications that were designed to produce thrust, while the other did not (with the latter being referred to as the "null" test article). Test data gathered includes torsion pendulum displacement measurements which are used to calculate generated force, still imagery in the visible spectrum to document the physical configuration, still imagery in the infrared spectrum to characterize the thermal environment, and video imagery. Post-test data includes static and animated graphics produced during RF resonant cavity characterization using the COMSOL Multiphysics® software application. Excerpts from all of the above are included and discussed in this paper. Lessons learned from test integration and operations include identification of the need to replace manual control of the resonant cavity target frequency with an automated frequency control capability. Future test plans include the development of an automatic frequency control circuit. Test results indicate that the RF resonant cavity thruster design, which is unique as an electric propulsion device, is producing a force that is not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and therefore is potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma. Future test plans include independent verification and validation at other test facilities.
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2014

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peter grimes said:

You didn't bold what was, to me, the most troubling line:
"Thrust was observed on both test articles, even though one... was designed with the expectation that it wouldn't... "

Why are they automatically claiming new physics? Isn't it far too premature to make that leap?

Remember the FTL neutrinos at CERN's LHC?

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peter grimes said:

A vacuum chamber that was full of air (or some gas at ambient air pressure)

Why didn't they evacuate the chamber?? I don't know enough to know if that matters, to be honest. But it sounds strange, no?

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To simulate the space pressure environment, the test rig is rolled into the test chamber. After sealing the chamber, the test facility vacuum pumps are used to reduce the environmental pressure down as far as 5x10E-6 Torr. Two roughing pumps provide the vacuum required to lower the environment to approximately 10 Torr in less than 30 minutes. Then, two high-speed turbo pumps are used to complete the evacuation to 5x10E-6 Torr, which requires a few additional days. During this final evacuation, a large strip heater (mounted around most of the circumference of the cylindrical chamber) is used to heat the chamber interior sufficiently to emancipate volatile substances that typically coat the chamber interior walls whenever the chamber is at ambient pressure with the chamber door open. During test run data takes at vacuum, the turbo pumps continue to run to maintain the hard vacuum environment. The high-frequency vibrations from the turbo pump have no noticeable effect on the testing seismic environment.

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Kaitzilla said:

But if the thing can put out thrust for minutes at a time in a vacuum chamber and weighs precisely the same afterwards, something weird is going on.

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