Talk Series: Interstellar Travel using Einsteinian Physics
Date: 23rd February 2021
Time: 8pm UTC (London time)
Presenter: Dan Fries
Livestream recording and slides
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Summary
This i4is talk will briefly review the basic concepts of special and general relativity as established by Albert Einstein and studied by many researchers for over 100 years now. More recently, these theories and their consequences have also stirred the imagination of engineers, coming up with concepts to exploit the laws of a unified space-time continuum for propulsion, energy generation and even time travel. These concepts range from propellant less propulsion, to faster than light travel, energy extraction from black holes, and wormholes for rapid travel through space and time. While some of these concepts are likely to eventually fall victim to a unified quantum theory of gravity, they help explore the limits of the theory of relativity and that of our own imagination. After all, the prospects of essentially limitless energy supplies and faster than light travel lie at the foundation of many visions of humanity as a truly interstellar society.
About the speaker
Dan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Aeromechanics Research at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research primarily concerns the experimental exploration and characterization of plasma torch and glow discharge experiments. He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2020, studying the influence of gas properties on jet mixing in a supersonic crossflow and the application of laser ignition and jet staging to enhance chemical reactions. Prior to moving to the US, he studied at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and wrote his Master's thesis at the European Space Agency. His primary research interests are high-speed, high-temperature flows, optical diagnostics, and statistical methods. He is also interested in the application of related concepts to space exploration and the development of chemical and electrical propulsion concepts.
About the series
For more information on this series please visit our Talk Series page.