Since Star Trek was beamed into our television sets in 1966, warp drives and faster-than-light engines have been the pillar of science fiction.
In General Relativity, Einstein concluded that it is impossible to go faster than the speed of light.
How about going 20% of the speed of light?
Gizmodo: "A team of researchers from Texas A&M University has demonstrated the use of laser beams to lift and steer tiny engineered devices without physical contact. The findings from the recent experiment are published in Newton and have the potential to apply light propulsion as a scalable method that could one day power a mission to Alpha Centauri."
This is incredible stuff.
"The technology has already been demonstrated on solar sails, which use sunlight to propel small vehicles through space, similar to how wind pushes sailboats along the water.
The new research builds on that concept, aiming to use lasers to push an entire spacecraft to deep space destinations. The scientists behind the study developed micron-scale devices called metajets—ultrathin materials smaller than the width of a human hair. The devices are etched with tiny patterns that act like a lens, helping scientists control how light behaves as it bounces off them...read on."
"To boldly go where no man has gone before."
Open thread.
