So, it’s recently been theorized that certain metamaterials may be able to bend or warp spacetime, creating what can be thought of as a slope in spacetime (though regular interpretations of ‘slope’ don’t really do justice to the 4 dimensional properties of what would happen). It’s thought that this slope will create propulsion, i.e. the material will fall into the direction that spacetime has been pinched, pushed by the rear where spacetime has been slightly expanded. Theoretically being able to achieve .25C (a quarter of the speed of light) which would be pretty fucking awesome – even if we can’t go that fast, the materials work based on their shape. Fuel-less propulsion.
But I just realized another potential application of such material. Anti-gravity. The mass of the Earth causes a pinch in spacetime that makes us ‘fall’ into it, causing the effect of gravity, or at least so goes the theory of relativity – the actual mechanism that causes the warp of spacetime is not yet understood, but the effects are pretty apparent. Anyway, the actual cause isn’t necessary, and if these metamaterials pan out, it’ll be pretty obvious that there’s more at work than mass, as they will basically be creating higher gravity in one direction and lower gravity in another due to their microstructure, independent of mass. Which brings me back to the anti-gravity point. If you point the higher gravity side of the metamaterial away from the center of the earth… well, I think you see where I’m going here. Propulsion-free flight. The same material could also be used to generate gravity in space, just make sure you have the downslope pointing away from whatever you’re orbiting or your ship may just fall into it.
If you used this material to make warp ‘engines’, all you have to do to slow down is turn them 180 degrees. To stay in one place, turn half of the array 180 degree and you should have gravitational spacetime equilibrium.
If we can do this, well, ad astra!
Tags: metamaterials, space warp