The problems with a warp drive [questions and stuff]

[Pwnon]

I am curious of how such a theoretical engine would work. I wanted to hear some input on your behalf. Let's use Alcubierre's example.

So if you don't know, the Alcubierre drive is a theoretical means of propulsion for a space craft to achieve FTL speeds(faster-than light speeds.) It's like two rings on a ship. You have one in the front and back of the craft, and the crew sits in the middle. Both rings would use incredible amounts of power to create negative energy in order to "warp" space.

In Alcubierre's model, the front ring would compress space in front of it (literally space itself) and the back would expand space behind it to move a "bubble" of space at infinite speeds. Now I'm sure you (don't) wonder why this works. You see, Einstein said that it is impossible to go at or past the speed of light in a conventional space craft due to relativity. However this deals with a craft moving THROUGH space. A craft that moves SPACE ITSELF in a bubble does not follow such constraints.

Now here's the questions I have.

Can humans survive inside the bubble?/What effects of would the bubble have on the human body? I was thinking that it would be like sitting on the surface of a planet. Because you're inside a bubble moving through space, wouldn't it have the same effect of being on a surface of a planet that is constantly moving through space? The speeds of our planet have no effect on us because nobody notices it, and gravity keeps us from being flung into space.

How would velocity of said craft be maintained? Not only does a craft like this need insane amounts of energy, but it also needs some means of fuel. In order to have enough delta-V to perform orbital maneuvers, fuel needs to be taken into account. Using the bubble to do this maneuvers would probably be impossible. Would the velocity of the craft in space be maintained or altered in some way?

If it could be maintained, then fine. Fuel wouldn't be such a hassle.

If not, then maybe several orbits of Earth could be used to build up extra delta-V to cut fuel costs to re-adjust upon exiting warp.

What would the collapse of the bubble do to the crew? I honestly don't know what to think here.

/discuss

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[Col. Burton]

Picture for visual reference (not what the ship looks like)

Can humans survive inside the bubble?/What effects of would the bubble have on the human body?

I would believe a human could uphold life inside the bubble mainly because the craft is not moving at all, it is moving the space around it. If I am mistaken and the craft is moving around space, then i have no idea what would happen.

How would velocity of said craft be maintained?

Using the energy created by destroying dark matter, you can get an insane amount of energy from just smashing one, only one, atom of dark matter. I watched HowStuffWorks, and they explained that one dark matter atom destroyed can equal an equivalent to [# over billions] of times the energy produced by an atomic bomb, if we can harness that energy safely and efficiently, i'd say this is a great fuel idea.

What would the collapse of the bubble do to the crew?

They would obviously die, seeing that they are going at warp speed, if not faster. A passenger shuttle taking off already gives the passengers up to 3 Gs, 8 Gs will most likely make you pass out, if not die. Warp speed is ridiculously faster than a rocket takeoff so if the bubble collapsed they would all be torn to atomic smithereens just because of their speed.

EDIT: The one question I have, is how would it slow down, and how would emergency stopping affect the passengers.

[Col. Burton]

Only one reply really i thought this thread was gonna take off
(bump)

[Rainzx¹]

It didn't take off because no one on this forum is a physicist.
The only people who know anything about this stuff are the people that are working on it.

[Foxscotch]

hyperspace is better

like shaw-fujikawa space in halo. boy. that's the bomb

[Alkatjo]

Well, there isn't any drag in space so simply shutting the engine off in mid float won't slow you down. To get where you need to go on dark matter requires a quick burst of it, not a constant supply of energy, followed by a huge amount of resistance mounted on the nose of the craft to slow it down. and even then, slowing it down will take a good amount of time. perhaps dark matter could be harnessed and used for all sides of the craft, equally slowing or boosting it to where it needs to go.

then again there is always the pulse effect. using explosive blasts that propel the craft until the optimal speed is needed to cruise.
and then there's always the fun idea of having a tube that can resist the blast of an atom bomb, but having the bottom of the tube connected to an outlet that allows the blast to escape into a long stream of energy. the g's would probably kill the crew so I advise a robotic shuttle or partially sentient ai instead of living beings being pushed around.

[Qwepir]

hyperspace is better

like shaw-fujikawa space in halo. boy. that's the bomb

"alternate dimension" ftl is the stuff

[TrainandSpacelover]

They would obviously die, seeing that they are going at warp speed, if not faster. A passenger shuttle taking off already gives the passengers up to 3 Gs, 8 Gs will most likely make you pass out, if not die. Warp speed is ridiculously faster than a rocket takeoff so if the bubble collapsed they would all be torn to atomic smithereens just because of their speed.

keep in mind the craft isn't actually moving at incredible speeds, the space around it is. afaik, the crew wouldn't experience any Gs because the ship itself isn't actually accelerating
i couldn't think of any better way to explain that, so hopefully it made sense

edit: if they were to die because of the bubble collapsing, i think it would be because of an uncontrolled closing of the warp bubble ripping apart the matter inside, rather than extreme G-forces

[Lego lad]

ludicrous speed!