Hyperspace Drive?

[El_Phil]

SJ has hit the nail on the head, it's not even theoretical. It's an idea someone had and has written convincingly about.

But it is s a hell of a theory. Ballsy doesn't even cover it. For it to work you need not only four new dimensions above the usual three and time, you also need two new fundamental forces.

Hell you even need "Graviphotons" so you can "couple together gravity and electromagnetism and allow the conversion of electromagnetic energy into gravitational and vice-versa."

Still the New Scientist has me convinced that it's at least worth looking at. There's something there, his theory is at least self consistent and his predictions match up.

Not that I think it's likely but it's 'Blue Sky' research, the same approach that gave us blue lasers (DVDs) and radar.

This may not work, hell it may be utter rubbish, but that's no reason not to do it.

[Suicide Junkie]

Indeed, even if it is pure balognium, I'd still like to see what happens when we generate insanely huge magnetic fields.

If nothing else, it provides an excuse to try new things.

[geoschmo]

I am hopeful that some day we will discover some means to travel between the stars in reasonable amounts of time. But it's not likely to happen in any of our lifetimes. Centuries, maybe many centuries. But if we decide it's not possible and stop dreaming and looking for ways, it will never happen. I will be happy if in my lifetime the prospect of space tourism becomes a possibility for more then just the idle super-rich. I'd like to take a ride in a rocket some day.

[Kamog]

Well, if this guy's theories are right, it sounds like it would solve all sorts of unanswered questions in physics. I sure hope he's right!

Sometimes I wish that Feynman was still alive. I'd really be interested in hearing what his opinion is on this theory, I'm sure he would have been able to tell us very quickly if it's a bunch of nonsense or if it's worth investigating.