Summary

The title of this paper is somewhat misleading in that in doesn't deal with 'Warp-Drive' in the sense of creating a warp-shell around the vehicle (as in the Alcubierre Warpdrive), but with warping space itself to manufacture a type of 'Hyperspace Interstate Freeway Network', which could then be travelled by ordinary (sub-light) space vehicles. This type of idea is commonly referred to as 'wormhole travel' lately. The author reviews several metrics within General Relativity which might enable us to engineer a wormhole for transportation purposes. He discusses the use of an 'exotic' field as a key ingredient to keep the wormhole from collapsing, and identifies the Casimir Force of the ZPF as a possible candidate. The author concludes with the suggestion of further, targeted research in this area, that could lead to improvements on GR (e.g. a quantum description of GR), which could significantly reduce the mass and size of the objects required to construct a stable wormhole.

Abstract

The purpose of propulsion is to provide transport from one point in space to another through the intervening space in between. Another way of going from one point to another, that does not necessarily require propulsion, is to construct a tunnel or space warp through space, allowing direct travel between the two points. This paper contains a tutorial review of the many types of space warps that have been discussed in the physics literature. Some possible approaches for future theoretical and experimental research into this area are outlined.

Paper