Star Trek's Warp Drive Leads to New Physics

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July 13, 2021

Dear Reader, In the Star Trek franchise, when characters want to travel the universe, they rely on warp drives that enable faster-than-light travel. Now science fiction is inspiring physicists to calculate how this futuristic technology might work in the real world—and whether it could ever become reality.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology @sophiebushwick

Physics Star Trek's Warp Drive Leads to New Physics Researchers are taking a closer look at this science-fiction staple—and bringing the idea a little closer to reality By Robert Gast,Spektrum

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QUOTE OF THE DAY "Scientists have long been interested in creating portable devices that can quickly and painlessly screen a person for disease simply by taking a whiff of their breath. But delivering on this dream has proved to be a challenge. ... Still, scientists say, advances in sensor technology and machine learning, combined with new research and investment spurred by the pandemic, mean that the moment for disease-detecting breathalyzers may have finally arrived." Emily Anthes, via The New York Times

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Are Wormholes a Dead End for Faster-Than-Light Travel? Portals connecting far-distant regions of the universe may not be just the stuff of science fiction, but they probably couldn't be used for interstellar travel By Paul Sutter,SPACE.com | February 2017

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