To Mars and Back – In One Day

Ever hear that something is “physically impossible?”  It carries a lot more weight coming from physicists. How do you respond? Can the speed of light be exceeded?
 
According to an annual award presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the fanciful dreams of interstellar travel using a real “hyperdrive” might indeed be possible. Based largely on the work of the late Burkhard Heim, a theoretical physicist whose advanced theories still baffle most physicists today, we could be on the verge of a propulsion revolution:

 
This paper is the third one in a series of publications, describing a novel and revolutionary space propulsion technique, based on a unified field theory in a quantized, higher-dimensional space, developed by the late Burkhard Heim and the first author, termed Heim quantum theory (HQT) in the following. It is interesting to note that this theory shares a similar physical picture, namely a quantized spacetime, with the recently published loop quantum theory (LQT) by L. Smolin, A. Ashtektar, C. Rovelli, M. Bojowald et al. [11, 24-28]. LQT, if proved correct, would stand for a major revision of current physics, while HQT would cause a revolution in the technology of propulsion.

 
The paper, “Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device Based on Heim’s Quantum Theory,” goes into considerable detail. What got physicists buzzing in January was a piece in New Scientist, overwhelming all who are familiar with Heim’s work with hundreds of questions and unprecedented attention.
 
It’s this type of game-changing new science that NASA was looking for. The story was picked up by The Scotsman, interviewing some who worked on the AIAA submission:
 

Prof Hauser, a physicist at the Applied Sciences University in Salzgitter, Germany, and a former chief of aerodynamics at the European Space Agency, cautioned it was based on a highly controversial theory that would require a significant change in the current understanding of the laws of physics. "It would be amazing. I have been working on propulsion systems for quite a while and it would be the most amazing thing. The benefits would be almost unlimited," he said.

 

Some people look at Heim’s work like it came from another planet. Maybe it did.

Propelling through multidimensional hyperspace might afford the possibility of exploring the closest earth-like exoplanet, discovered a couple of years ago, orbiting mu Arae, a sun-like star. The planet is 14 times the mass of earth and is a mere 50 light years away.

Punch the hyperdrive and we can get there in less than 11 years.

 

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