Thinking of space-time as a piece of rubber and bending that piece of rubber into a wave shape, Alcubierre suggested that folding space-time into a tight wave in front of the ship and a long wave behind it might allow travel at warp speed (the principle of travel through hyperspace in a number of science fiction works).
However, this would require an incredible amount of negative mass scattered around the ship in what scientists have called a “warp bubble.
A recent study by the University of Göttingen offers an alternative based on positive rather than negative mass, as physicist Eric Lenz has suggested that the layering of rings and the risk of extremely dense fluid could also form this “warp bubble.”
Regardless of the method, the ability to warp space-time around the ship would allow it to travel faster than the speed of light.
Researchers have also found ways to detect life forms on planets, turning Star Trek scanning technology from science fiction to reality.
A new study shows that light interacts differently with the biochemistry of living things compared to artificial material. This means that while aboard the ship, scientists could observe how light interacts with the planet to theorize whether life is present.
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