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Which Of These Is The Best Method For Space Travel?

Maximum7

Fresh Blood
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
11
Lets assume that everything I list below is possible (because some will be based on unknown energies). I have provided some links.

Take into account when choosing the drive

1.) How much it would cost to build?

2.) How efficient and easy to maintain is it?

3.) How fast it can go?

4.) Anything else that can go wrong.


Here are the options

1.) Antimatter rocket

2,) Ion drive

3) Bussard ramjet

4.) Dipole drive https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/...ss-space-propulsion-concept-dipole-drive.html

5.) Fusion rocket

6.) Halo drive https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.03423

7.) Solar sail

8.) EMdrive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RF_resonant_cavity_thruster

9.) Photon rocket

10.) Magnetic sail

11.) Vacuum energy sail

12.) Nano electrokinetic thruster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_electrokinetic_thruster

13.) Quantum vacuum thruster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_vacuum_thruster

14.) Plasma drive

15.) Beam powered propulsion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam-powered_propulsion

16.) Nuclear photonic rocket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_photonic_rocket

17.) Pulse detonation engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_detonation_engine

18.) Mach Effect Drive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_effect

19.) Unruh radiation propulsion drive https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...theory-of-physics-many-think-is-pseudoscience
 
Thinking is the best way to travel.

Ask the Moody Blues.
 
Since they're basically all hypothetical, we can only guess at all your questions about them. I could claim a quantum vacuum thruster costs 5 US dollars and can be maintained with a screwdriver. Maybe it will, no one knows.
 
Numbers 2 and 7 are actual systems. But both are very slow.

Remember, no matter how fast you travel, you have to stop at the other end.
 
Number 15 kinda works in principle (they tried it with models), but it's completely impractical and non-scalable.
 
Alcubierre Drive is missing from that list.
 
There is an interesting short story where, just as the world is about to more or less destroy itself in a nuclear war, an inter galactic space ship with a fantastic not-tested drive is about to jump into hyperspace with 1400 crew and passengers.

In a ground station the techies are monitoring the whole thing; including all the human life functions.

The ship makes the jump. Then someone notices that the life signs are still coming in. But going out one by one.

The ship made the jump, but it didn't take the passengers with it.
 
If you read Greg Bears's 'Eon' you can add Beckman Drive to your list.

Very good book, by the way. Highly recommended.
 
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