Faster-than-light travel. Warp speed. Hyperdrive. Whatever form it takes, the ability to quickly travel the vast distances of space with ease is part and parcel of nearly all science fiction stories. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

For the most part this sort of technology has existed purely in the realm of said fiction- An alluring but just out of reach goal for mankind to strive after. So like many long time Star Trek fans I was extremely excited to read about what much of the internet has dubbed as the 'Rademaker warp ship'. It certainly looks legitimate, with news articles across a number of seemingly trustworthy sites! And it even has the name Enterprise! But before anyone gets too excited and starts dashing off to San Francisco to look for the nearest Starfleet recruiter, let's take a peek at what I found when digging a little deeper into the material behind some of these articles. NASA, for example, has this to say on their official website:

“Warp Drives", "Hyperspace Drives", or any other term for Faster-than-light travel is at the level of speculation, with some facets edging into the realm of science. We are at the point where we know what we do know and know what we don’t, but do not know for sure if faster than light travel is possible.”

This would seem to be the end of the story, right? A final word from probably the most reliable source on all things space travel? Well... Not exactly. Most of the images being passed around are merely theoretical interpretations of what such a ship might look like, done by Star Trek artist Mark Rademaker under commission from NASA. However, my research also discovered that the Alcubierre Drive is in fact both real and viable! ...At least on paper, the only realm in which it has been mathematically proven to work. According to NASA scientist Dr. Harold White, one of the inventors of the Alcubierre Drive, it functions by exerting a tremendous amount of energy to 'fold' space-time around the vessel- In effect, moving the space around the ship instead of moving the craft itself.

How would it accomplish this? Note the outer rings on the design- These 'warp rings' would be charged with 'negative energy' that could be turned on and off at will to create the fold. However, the mere existence of 'negative energy' itself is currently under debate. Classic physics would lead scientists to believe it is an impossibility, but recent advancements in quantum physics suggest it may not be quite as far-fetched as previously thought. Additionally, even if this energy exists at all, Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir suggests that it would only exist within black holes; whose own existence is still debated to this day. The problems here, then, are threefold- We need for black holes to exist, we need for negative energy to exist, we need a means of gathering and controlling both. And all this is completely setting aside the issues with life support, structural engineering, and navigation that such a ship would face!

So the end verdict of my research is that the IXS Enterprise is not a reality just yet- But don't despair! With scientists like Harold White making enough headway for the Alcubierre Drive to have made the news online with such aplomb, it's clear that humanity is edging ever closer to the day when we'll be able to take to the stars and boldly go where no man has gone before.

What do you think about the exciting prospects of Warp Travel should the day come? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Be sure to check out Jake Tyler's Article on 'Warp Drive, Needed or Not'.