Physics sets unforgiving limits on how fast anything can move, yet the same laws also leave surprising room for creative ways to cross the gulf between stars. The real question is not whether the ...

Faster-than-light (FTL) travel is a concept that has long captivated both the scientific community and science fiction enthusiasts. In a cosmos where light speed is viewed as the ultimate velocity ...

When I was a teenager, I was—shockingly, I know—deeply nerdy. At a science-fiction convention, I bought a button that read, “186,282 miles/second: Not just a good idea, it’s the law.” It was poking ...

You know that scene in the film Contact where the “Machine” is spooling up, its three spinning rings kicking out crazy light and an electromagnetic field powerful enough to pitch nearby Navy ...

CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. Imagining travel across the immense distances in outer space required envisioning fictional methods of faster-than-light-speed travel. Whether ...

Here is a thought experiment for you: imagine shining a powerful laser at the moon, the beam cutting through space until it lands on its dusty grey surface. Now flick the laser so the spot of light ...