EagleworksLaboratories

WARPFIELDMECHANICS102:
EnergyOptimization
Dr.HaroldSonnyWhite
NASAJSC
PicturecourtesyofNASA,
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/warp/warpstat.html
TheChallengeofInterstellarFlight
Voyager1mission:
0.722tspacecraftlaunchedin
1977tostudyoutersolar
systemandboundarywith
interstellarspace.
After33years,Voyager1is
currentlyat116Astronomical
Units(AU)fromthesun
travellingat3.6AUperyear,
nospacecraftlaunchedtodate
willovertakeVoyager1.
IfVoyager1wereona
trajectoryheadedtooneofthe
Sunsnearestneighboringstar
systems,AlphaCentauriat4.3
lightyears(or271,931AU),it
wouldtake~75,000yearsto
traversethisdistanceat3.6
AU/year.
PicturescourtesyofNASA,
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/imagesvideo/images/voyager2_large.jpg
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar.html
Puttingthingsin
PERSPECTIVE
ProjectDaedelus
sponsoredby
British
Interplanetary
Societyin1970sto
developrobotic
interstellarprobe
capableofreaching
Barnardsstar,at~6
lightyearsaway,in
50years.
Theresulting
spacecraftwas
54,000t,
92%fuelforfusion
propulsionsystem.
ISSis~450t
PicturecourtesyofAdrianMann,www.bisbos.com,usedwithpermission
ISSpicturecourtesyofNASA(STS135flyaround)
Isthereanotherway?
4
"Originallyanexperimentalcrafttotestthenew"DiametricInductionDrive",theXCC05waslatersoldtoamultinationalconsortiumofasteroidprospectors,andchristenedthe"EarthSpaceShipLewis&
Clark."Withitsnewpropulsionthisshipwasabletoreachandsurveythe"TransitionZone"attheextremeboundariesofthe SolarSystem.Fifteenmonthsintoitssurveymissionittransmittedthefollowing
message:'Longrangescansindicateanunidentifiedshipbeyond175AU.Definitelyamaneuveringship.Settingcoursetoinvestigate,willadvise.'"Itwasneverheardfromagain." Fictional vehicle,Marc
MillisDesign,courtesyofNASA,BACKGROUNDcourtesyMikeOkuda
Whatabouthyperfastinterstellartravel?
Isthereawaywithintheframeworkofphysicssuchthatone
couldcrossanygivencosmicdistanceinanarbitrarilyshort
periodoftime,whileneverlocallybreakingthespeedoflight
(11
th
commandment)?
WORMHOLES
(shortcuts)
SPACEWARPS
(inflation)
ImagescourtesyNASA
Inflation:AlcubierreMetric
1
WarpMetric:
YorkTime:
Spacecontraction
infrontofship
Spaceexpansion
behindship
Locationof
shipproper
Shellthickness
parameter
Shellsize
parameter
Apparentspeed
ShapingFunction:
YorkTimeismeasureof
expansion/contraction
ofspace
EnergyDensity:
1. Alcubierre,M.,Thewarpdrive:hyperfasttravelwithingeneralrelativity,
Class.Quant.Grav.11,L73L77(1994).
( )
2 2
2
2 2
) ( dz dy dt r f v dx dt ds
s s
+ + + =
( ) ( )
) tanh( 2
) ( tanh ) ( tanh
) (
R
R r R r
r f
s s
s
o
o o +
=
s
s
s
s
s
dr
r df
r
x
v
) (
= u
( )
2
2
2 2 2
00
) (
4
8
1
8
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
s
s
s
s
dr
r df
r
z y v
G
t t
AppealingCharacteristics
Properacceleration
inthebubbleis
formallyzero
MCCclockssynchronizedwithonboard
clocks
(Coordinatetime=propertime)
Flatspacetimeinsidethebubble
(divergenceofphi=0)
Unappealing
characteristic
(squarepeg,roundhole)
ImagescourtesyNASA
SurfaceplotsofYorkTime&T
00
,<v>=10c,10meterdiametervolume,variablewarpbubblethickness
Energydensitymagnitudedecreases
bubblethicknessdecreases
v v v
HOPE:BubbleTopologyOptimization
YorkTimemagnitudedecreases
v v v
bubblethicknessdecreases
Allowingthebubbletoget
thickerreducestheflatspace
timerealestateinthecenter
Asbubblethicknessincreases,
YorkTimeintensitydecreases
Changingtopologygreatly
reducestheenergyrequired
Butspacetimeisreallystiff:c
4
/8tG
Canwefurtherreducetheenergy
requiredbyreducingthestiffness?
Maybebutweneedtoengage
higherdimensionalmodelstodoso
10
ImagecourtesyParamount
Captioncredit:authorunknown
HigherDimensionalModels??
BraneCosmology:ChungFreese metric
2 2
2
2
2 2 2
) (
dU dX
e
t a
dt c ds
kU
+ + =
representsthe3+1space
(welivehereoronthebrane)
representsthebulk
(weliveatU=0)
a(t)termisthescalefactorandk isa
compactification factorfortheextraspace
dimensions.
NullGeodesics(e.g.lightrays)
2 2
2
1
) ( dt c
dU
t a
ce
dt
dX
kU
=
Speedofphotonin
coordinatespace
IfdU/dt=1,dX/dt=0
(lightcomestoastandstill)
IfU=0,dU/dt=0,thendX/dt=1cas
expected
IfkU getslarge,dX/dt>1
(hyperfast travel)
U
e ~
U ~ |
dt
dU
dt
d
~
|
AnalogiestoAlcubierremetric
1
:
1. White,H.,Davis,E.,TheAlcubierreWarpDriveinHigherDimensionalSpacetime,inproceedingsofSpaceTechnologyand
ApplicationsInternationalForum(STAIF2006),editedbyM.S.ElGenk,AmericanInstituteofPhysics,Melville,NewYork,(2006).
d
x
y dX
2
=dx
2
+dy
2
2D3DHyperspaceAnalogy
dU
BULK
HyperspaceOscillations
Eventhoughspacetimeisincredibly
stiff,higherdimensionalspacetime
modelcanbeusedtoalleviatethisusing
thefollowingtrick:
Howcanthisscenariobephysically
established?
Further,ifthereneedstobelarge
dU/dt withU=0,thenthereneedsto
beoscillation ind|/dt sothiswill
occurrepeatedly.
0 , 1 = U
dt
dU
0
dt
dX
dt
d
dt
dU |
~
Reducesstiffnessofspacetime!
FromOurVantagePoint
Oscillatethebubbleintensity
ImagescourtesyNASA
Exotic Mass Warp Requirements. 10m diameter. v. ..=10c

Shell Thickness Fracti on (2 R/ S)

no flat space
left in bubble
1 .00F-04 1 .00F-O'l ' OOF-O? , OOF-01 , I
.....
,
Y
...
, , , ,
ull
1v
Jupit er 1. 9xl O
27
.... i-
graph by Dr. arold "Sonny" Wt ite
. ' '''''
,,11
,
1""'1
"'-1-0
....


I
rIJ f l.

Earth 6.0xl O
24
, ' ..
-
i""oI

' ...
1'-0.
a{ t}
, tt-
,
' .o

Moon 7.4xl O
ll
1""'1
..... i'"
-
..
:xx x '" .
....
1
4Vesta 2.6xl O
2o
ro-
i"-ifo
' ...
-
:' " v
...

.....
Bulk Velocity, dUjdt
Jf
Xx x
-
l 00F .. ,

-
dU/dt=Oc
'"
'"
I
r--
i"-i'o
x "-
..
."
.. dU/dt=O.9c
E
:' z
x x.
u 1.()(JEH
x dU/dt=O.999c
"'5
r"'"
.....
)(
'0. '. z
..
z dU/dt=O.99999c
Q)
1 .00E+1:
."
r--

"
-
o dU/dt=O.9999999c
....

'0

, OOF .. "
dU/dt=O.999999999c
r"'"
.... '"
' ..

.....
1
r-
Nimitz ca rrier 9.lxl O7

.0.
'".
.. ,
,
-..
ISS 4.0xl O
5
....
,
Dra

-
,
1 ""c
r
r r
"
,.......
" 6 '
lupol,
?gy ) )
D9

, Lr"
I a u v lI
, I I
WhiteJuday WarpFieldInterferometer
WhiteJudayWarpFieldInterferometer
developedafterputtingmetricinto
canonicalform
1
:
Generatemicroscopicwarpbubblethat
perturbsopticalindexby1partin
10,000,000
Inducerelativephaseshiftbetweensplit
beamsthatshouldbedetectable.
17
Numericalsimulation
offringeatdetector
withdeviceoff
Numericalsimulation
offringeatdetector
withdeviceon
2DAnalytic
Signal
processing
) , ( y x X
) , (
1
y x X
) , (
) , (
y x j
e y x M
|
Numericalsimulation
ofcontourplotof|
forwarpfield
1. White,H.,ADiscussiononspacetimemetricengineering,Gen.Rel.Grav.35,20252033(2003).
| |
2 2 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1 ) (
) (
1 ) ( dz dy dx dx
r f v
r f v
dt r f v ds
s s
s s
s s
+ +
)
`

=
WhiteJuday WarpFieldInterferometer
Testdevice
mountinglocation
Laser+beam
expander+spatial
filter
TelescopeandCCD
Beamsplitter
Mirrors
Hilbert
Filter
Hilbert
Filter
LifeimitatingArt
21
Original concept design by Matthew
J effries ~1964, modern rendering by
Mark Rademaker
Draft of adapted concept
using physics field equations
and recent findings presented
at 100YSS, also rendered by
Mark Rademaker
Final version will be
published along with 100YSS
story in 2014 Ships Of The
Line calendar
XCV-330 ENTERPRISE
22
renditionbyartistLesBossinas foundathttp://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/BPP_Art.htm
Godspeed!
2
nd
star to the right, straight on till morning
SpecialAcknowledgements:
AmyWhite,EricDavis,RichardObousy,PaulMarch,DavidFletcher,RichardJuday,Bill
ONeill,RyanValenza,DanNehlich,KristenNichols,DannyWells,MichaelRollins,Jeff
George,JohnScott,AndreSylvester,MarkMcDonald,WilliamHoffman,GeneGrush,John
Applewhite,JohnBrewer,ShamimRahman,MikeOkuda,BlakeDumesnil
Backups
(excerptsfromWarpFieldMechanics101)
23
Inflation:AlcubierreMetric
In1994,Alcubierrepublishedapaper
1
exploringtheconsequencesof
inflationwithinthecontextofGeneralRelativity.
Paperderivedinflationbasedmetricallowingforrapidtransittimes
betweenpointswithoutlocallyviolatingthespeedoflight.
WorkingmechanismwasproposedtobetheYorkTime(inflation).
Alcubierremetricrequiresahaloofnegativeenergydensitywhichviolates
severalenergyconditionsandisconsideredtobeclassicallynonphysical.
ConceptofOperation
Spacecraftdepartsearthusingconventionalpropulsionsystemandtravels
distanced,wherespacecraftisbroughttostoprelativetoearth.
Fieldisturnedonandcraftzipsofftointerstellardestination,neverlocally
breakingthespeedoflight,butcoveringthedistanceD inanarbitrarily
shortperiodoftime.
Fieldisturnedoffatstandoffdistanced fromthedestination,andcraft
finishesjourneyconventionally.
ThisapproachwouldallowjourneytoAlphaCentauriinweeksormonths,
ratherthandecadesorcenturiesasmeasuredbyanearthboundobserver
(andspacecraftclocks).
1. Alcubierre, M., The warp drive: hyper-fast travel within general relativity,
Class. Quant. Grav. 11, L73-L77 (1994).
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
24
Inflation:AlcubierreMetric
s
s
s
s
s
dr
r df
r
x
v
) (
= u
Warp Drive Metric:
( )
2 2
2
2 2
) ( dz dy dt r f v dx dt ds
s s
+ + + =
( ) ( )
) tanh( 2
) ( tanh ) ( tanh
) (
R
R r R r
r f
s s
s
o
o o +
=
York Time:
Space contraction
in front of ship
Space expansion
behind ship
Location of
ship proper
Dr. Harold Sonny White
06/23/2011
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
Shell thickness
parameter
Shell size
parameter
Apparent speed
Shaping Function:
York Time is measure of
expansion/contraction of
space
25
Symmetry/AsymmetryParadox
( )
2
2
2 2 2
00
) (
4
8
1
8
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
s
s
s
s
dr
r df
r
z y v
G
t t
+x? +x?
Gedankenexperimental
NASA golf ball ship.
Illustrative Purposes Only
Energy Density:
Symmetry
Surface
Energy density toroid
profile revolve
around x-axis
Dr. Harold Sonny White
06/23/2011
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
Ifcrafthaszeroinitial
velocityandinitiates
symmetricalenergy
densityfield,howdoes
YorkTimeknowwhich
waytogo?
26
CanonicalFormofAlcubierreMetric
In2003,thisauthorpublishedapaper
1
thatderivedthe
canonicalformoftheAlcubierremetricallowingforabetter
understandingofthephysicalnature,andhowitmightbe
manifested(atleastmathematically).
Canonicalformmitigatedenergydensitysymmetryparadox
andshowedthatworkingmechanismmightbetheboost
sphere(resultingfromhalo)actingoninitialvelocity
e.g boost=2,initialv=27,500mph,apparentv=55,000mph
Boostissomethingthatcanbereadilyengineered,while
thenotionofinflationislesstangible.
1. White, H., A Discussion on space-time metric engineering, Gen. Rel.
Grav. 35, 2025-2033 (2003).
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
27
CanonicalFormofAlcubierreMetric
Canonical Form of Alcubierre metric:
Since the equation is now in canonical form,
the boost can be derived:
| | 1 ) (
2
2
2
2
=
u
s s
c
r f v e
Or taking c =1
| |
2
2
) ( 1 ln
2
1
s s
r f v = u
Trivially, the Lorentz Transform or boost field is: ) cosh(u =
u

Boost Field:
| |
2 2 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1 ) (
) (
1 ) ( dz dy dx dx
r f v
r f v
dt r f v ds
s s
s s
s s
+ +
)
`

=
( )
2 2 2 2 2
) ( dz dy dt r f v dx dt ds
s s
+ + + =
Dr. Harold Sonny White
06/23/2011
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
28
Surface plots of boost, <v>=10c, 10 meter diameter volume
Note pseudo-horizon surface at
V
2
f(r
s
)
2
=1
Pseudo-horizon surface not visible
with larger integration step
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
29
BoostField
Notepseudohorizonatv
2
f(r
s
)
2
=1wherephotonstransitionfromnullliketospacelike
andbacktonulllikeuponexiting.Thisisnotseenunlessthefieldmeshissetfine
enough.Thecoarsemeshontherightdidnotdetectthehorizon.
Amodifiedconceptofoperationsisproposedthatmayresolve
symmetry/symmetryparadox.
Spacecraftdepartsearthandestablishesaninitialsubluminalvelocityvi,
theninitiatesfield.
Whenactive,fieldsboostactsoninitialvelocityasascalarmultiplier
resultinginamuchhigherapparentspeed,<v
eff
>=v
i
asmeasuredby
eitheranearthboundobserveroranobserverinthebubble.
Withinshellthicknessofthewarpbubbleregion,thespacecraftnever
locallybreaksthespeedoflightandtheneteffectasseenbyearth/ship
observersisanalogoustowatchingafilminfastforward.
Considerthefollowingtohelpillustratethepoint
AssumethespacecraftheadsouttowardsAlphaCentauriandhasaconventional
propulsionsystemcapableofreaching0.1c.
Thespacecraftinitiatesaboostfieldwithavalueof100whichactsontheinitialvelocity
resultinginanapparentspeedof10c.
ThespacecraftwillmakeittoAlphaCentauriin0.43yearsasmeasuredbyanearth
observer
ModifiedConceptofOperations
Gedankenexperimental
NASA golf ball ship.
Boost Shell
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
30
Dr. Harold Sonny White
09/02/2011
Tothispoint,discussionhasbeencenteredoninterstellarcapability,
butamoredomesticapplicationwithintheearthsgravitationalwell
willbeconsidered.
Energydensityformetricisnegative,soprocessofturningona
theoreticalsystemwithabilitytogeneratenegativeenergydensity,ora
negativepressureasshownin[1],willaddaneffectivenegativemassto
thespacecraftsoverallmassbudget.
Inreferencemissiondevelopmentusinglowthrustelectricpropulsion
systemsforinspacepropulsion,plannerswillcastpartoftradespace
intodomainthatcomparesspecificmassatotransittime.(seeLEOto
L1inset)
Specificmassofanarchitectureelementcanbedeterminedbydividing
spacecraftsbeginningoflifewetmassbythepowerlevel.
Transittimeforamissiontrajectorycanbecalculatedandplottedon
graphthatcomparesspecificmasstotransittime.
Ifnegativemassisaddedtospacecraftsmassbudget,thentheeffective
specificmassandtransittimearereducedwithoutnecessarilyreducing
payload.
Aquestiontoposeiswhateffectdoesthishavemathematically?If
energyistobeconserved,thenmv
2
wouldneedtoyieldahigher
effectivevelocitytocompensateforapparentreductioninmass.
EXAMPLE:
Assumingapointdesignsolutionof5000kgBOLmasscoupledtoa
100kWHallthrustersystem(lowercurve),expectedtransittimeis~70
daysforaspecificmassof50kg/kWwithouttheaidofawarpdrive.
Ifaverymodestwarpdrivesystemisinstalledthatcangeneratea
negativeenergydensitythatintegratesto~2000kgofnegativemass
whenactive,thespecificmassisdroppedfrom50to30whichyieldsa
reducedtransittimeof~40days.
Astheamountofnegativemassapproaches5000kg,thespecificmass
ofthespacecraftapproacheszero,andthetransittimebecomes
exceedinglysmall,approachingzerointhelimit.
Inthissimplifiedcontext,theideaofawarpdrivemayhavesome
fruitfuldomesticapplicationssubliminally,allowingittobematured
beforeitisengagedasatrueinterstellardrivesystem.
31
CislunarMissionPlanning
1. White, H., Davis, E., The Alcubierre Warp Drive in Higher Dimensional
Space-time, in proceedings of Space Technology and Applications
International Forum(STAIF 2006), edited by M. S. El-Genk, American
Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, (2006).