Alcubierre Warp Bubble

Sol

Dest

Alcubierre warp bubble

State-

Coordinate time0

Warp ship0

Light beam0

Ship arrival0

Time saved vs light0

Peak expansion |theta|0

Exotic energy (as mass)0

Wall thickness -. Inside the bubble g_tt = -1: the crew's proper time equals coordinate time (no time dilation).

Presets

Controls

Show the light pulse Height field (contraction dip / expansion hill)

Drag the destination star to change the distance, or drag the handle on the bubble wall to change its radius (energy scales with R). Hover the grid to read the local metric values.

Maths: Alcubierre (1994) metric with shape function f; total negative energy E = -(v^2/12)(c^2/G) R J from the Eulerian energy density, as in Pfenning and Ford (1997). Grid colours: blue = space contracting, red = expanding. The route is drawn at 0.5 ly per bubble radius; real bubbles are metres across. Illustrative only: no known matter provides this energy.