After entering the age of science and technology, mankind has realized the desire to travel to every corner of the earth’s surface by relying on the ever-increasing speed advantage. Today’s earth has become the back garden of mankind. With fast transportation, we can quickly get from one end of the earth to the other.
As the speed increased again, we walked out of the earth and began to explore the universe. Only when we step out of the earth can we know how vast the universe is. In the face of the vast universe, the speed that mankind is proud of is nothing at all. Even if the speed of Voyager 1 reached 17 kilometers per second, it walked into the solar system. The edge still spent more than 30 years, and it will take at least 10,000 years to get out of the Oort Cloud.
Walking out of the solar system and entering the interstellar space, we have truly begun interstellar travel, but facing the vast sea of stars, the nearest star system is 4.2 light-years away, and flying at the speed of light also takes 4.2 years to arrive. However, Einstein’s theory of relativity put forward the limit theory of the speed of light. The speed of a mass object can only be infinitely close to the speed of light. Even photons can only maintain the speed of light and cannot exceed it.
Even if we achieve an infinite speed close to the speed of light, we cannot do it if we want to explore the entire galaxy, which is about 100,000 light-years in diameter. In our eyes, 100,000 light-years is an extremely huge range. However, in the face of 93 billion observable universes, it is as small as dust, and to explore the entire galaxy and the stars beyond the galaxy, the speed of the spacecraft needs to exceed the speed of light.
Can the speed of light break through? Although Einstein’s theory of relativity pointed out the limit theory of the speed of light, it also proposed the theory of space-time distortion. The theory of relativity states that our universe looks very flat and stable, but this is not the case in reality. The universe is not calm at all. There are distortions everywhere in it, but the magnitude of the distortion is so small that we cannot observe it.
In addition, the universe also has some phenomena that exceed the speed of light. For example, the average expansion speed of the universe exceeds the speed of light. Scientists have also repeatedly observed the superluminal phenomenon of some particles in the depths of the universe. This superluminal phenomenon of particles may be the result of a distortion of time and space. Since there is a phenomenon of super-light speed in the universe, as long as we find a way, it may be possible to achieve super-luminous flight.
In the imagination of scientists, there are many ways to surpass the speed of light, such as using a wormhole in the universe to instantly reach the depths of the distant starry sky. Or use the curvature of space to create a “space-time bubble”, allowing the spacecraft to fly faster than light with the space-time bubble. Compared with wormholes, the curvature engine is the main research direction of scientists.
The curvature engine is a super-luminous method proposed on the basis of the theory of relativity. Its principle is actually very simple. We can use surfing to give a simple introduction. I believe many friends are aware of surfing, a sport for the brave. When we are surfing, the surfboard under our feet is still, and we can move forward quickly. It is the undulating waves that drive the surfboard forward.
The curvature engine also has some similarities. First, a “space-time bubble” is created. This space-time bubble is formed by expanding the space in front of the spacecraft and compressing the space behind the spacecraft. It is equivalent to the wave front and back in surfing. The spacecraft in the space-time bubble is stationary, and because the space-time bubble breaks the space, it can break the limit of the speed of light, realize the speed of light, and drive the spacecraft to achieve the speed of light .
The curvature engine is also divided into multiple levels, and the speeds that can be achieved by different levels are also very different. Scientists don’t know exactly how to divide the speed of light under the curvature engine. We use the setting of the curvature engine in Star Trek to make a simple description. According to the comparison between the speed and the speed of light in this picture, it can be seen that the 3-level curvature engine can reach 38 times the speed of light, and the highest-level 9.999-level curvature engine can achieve 199516 times the speed of light.
Of course, the highest level of curvature engine has not been realized in “Star Trek”. The highest level is 9.99. At this time, the speed of the spacecraft is 7912 times the speed of light. Such a speed is very easy to cross the Milky Way, but can it cross the endless sea of stars at this speed? Scientists feel it is not enough.
Why is such a fast speed not enough? Let’s analyze it below, 7912 times the speed of light does seem to be very fast, and it will still take 10 years to cross the Milky Way at this speed. But let’s not forget that the diameter of the Milky Way is only 100,000 light-years, and there are even broader cosmic structures above the Milky Way, such as the supercluster of galaxies and the Virgo super galaxy, whose diameter reaches hundreds of millions of light-years.
The human observable universe currently reaches 90 billion light-years, and it will take more than 9 million years to cross this range at 7912 times the speed of light. And 90 billion light-years is only the tip of the iceberg of the entire universe. As galaxies farther away from us, the faster they move away from us. Once the universe expands faster than the speed of light, then photons cannot reach the earth and we cannot observe it. .
Scientists estimate that the current universe may have expanded to trillions of light-years, and it is impossible to traverse such a range at 7912 times the speed of light. Therefore, such a curvature engine speed still cannot allow us to cross the stars. It can be seen that the curvature engine can’t realize the dream of mankind’s vertical and horizontal stars, so how can mankind achieve this goal? Probably only theoretically existing wormholes can.
Wormhole is a kind of space-time channel that exists under the theory of relativity. Through this channel, no matter how far away it is, it can be reached instantaneously. Only by realizing the wormhole shuttle can we truly cross the stars and seas, go wherever we want, and truly make the universe our back garden.
Of course, the road of mankind’s exploration of the universe has to go one step at a time. For the current mankind, we do not have to explore the technology of sub-light flight. Only with the speed of sublight flight, we can go out of the solar system and explore nearby galaxies. At that time, human beings can be regarded as the real primary interstellar civilization and possess the primary qualifications for interstellar hegemony.
Scientists are actively seeking and exploring alien civilizations. In addition to curiosity, another important reason is that they expect to be able to get in touch with advanced civilizations so that advanced civilizations can help human civilization achieve a rapid technological leap. If we only rely on humans’ own efforts to develop, it may take an extremely long time for us to achieve a curvature engine or a higher wormhole shuttle.
And time is the most lacking of human beings. Advanced civilizations may have developed hundreds of thousands of years, millions of years or even hundreds of millions of years earlier than human beings. They may already be familiar with curvature engine technology or wormhole shuttle technology. As long as we get the technical help of advanced civilization, we may be able to climb into the sky in one step, quickly master the curvature engine or even the wormhole technology, so as to quickly become powerful.