[extropy-chat] hmmmmmm

[Damien Broderick]

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=16902006

Welcome to Mars express: only a three hour trip
IAN JOHNSTON SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

AN EXTRAORDINARY "hyperspace" engine that could make interstellar space
travel a reality by flying into other dimensions is being investigated by
the United States government.

The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based
on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could
potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey
to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in
today's New Scientist magazine.

The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, 
according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in 
the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a 
spacecraft.

Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip 
into a different dimension, where the speed of light is faster, allowing 
incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would 
result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension.

The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea

[etc]

wtf?