A new warp drive study proposes a novel segmented design that could sidestep many of the problems in the original decades-old concept, bringing the possibility of hyper-fast space travel one step closer to becoming a reality.

Warp drive theory has quickly evolved since the mid-90s, when a concept developed by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre was first described in a landmark paper that provided a scientific basis for hyper-fast travel within general relativity. The result was reminiscent of the warp drive of science fiction; however, exotic matter would be needed in order to generate a warp field like the one envisioned by Alcubierre.

Since that time, aerospace engineer and applied physicist Harold “Sonny” White has been chipping away at the problem Alcubierre first posed. Known for his work as the first and only scientist to investigate warp drives for NASA, White is also well known for refining Alcubierre’s work by reducing the energy requirements to create the still theoretical yet seemingly more attainable Alcubierre-White Warp Metric.

Now, White and his colleagues at Casimir have proposed a bold reimagining of faster-than-light (FTL) warp drive geometry, one that replaces the classic smooth “warp ring” with a set of discrete cylindrical structures, called warp nacelles, as he and his colleagues describe in a new paper. This configuration is somewhat similar to the warp engine nacelles of fictional starships such as the USS Enterprise, but it is based on real-world engineering calculations. White stresses that his approach remains consistent with relativity, without relying on speculative new physics.

New Warp-Drive Propulsion Concept Moves Fictional Starships Closer to Engineering Reality