Visualizing an FTL drive
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
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Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
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Jim Crafton wrote:
Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality
So you have a tachyon beam open a singularity and the ship goes in it, and then like this wild acid-trip like light tunnel. Hmm, actually I think that how it looks in every movie ;P
xacc.ide
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
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So having the ship disappear in a literal puff of smoke is out of the question? How about spinning in place and shrinking, like it was going down the drain? No? Here's a thought... The front of the ship shoots off into the distance, giving the rear of the ship time to look around in confusion, then hold up a little sign that says "Oh crap"... Wait, it would need arms... Scratch that one... Instant vanishing act? One frame it's there, next frame it's not! Hmm, that's no fun. Me, I always liked dimensional portals...
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel) -
For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
I bet there'd be a nice HLSL firework effect ;)
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
As seen as it's sometimes called a "Warp Bubble", because it bends space in front of it, what about something like this? Image. I do have a much better image, however, it is in a book so I can't post it here :laugh:
I know you believe you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize what you heard is not what I meant.
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
Given that light cannot reach from the ship to the front of the bubble, I'm guessing it would be red shifted, there would also be time dilation effects. So a blinking light near the ship would probably go through color and rate changes as well as extreme accelerations. That's an interesting puzzle to work out.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
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Given that light cannot reach from the ship to the front of the bubble, I'm guessing it would be red shifted, there would also be time dilation effects. So a blinking light near the ship would probably go through color and rate changes as well as extreme accelerations. That's an interesting puzzle to work out.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
Yeah, I pondered red/blue shifting for about five minutes, then gave up and posted a joke reply :P
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel) -
Infinite improbability... Get to your destination almost instantaneously, without all of that tedious mucking about in hyperspace!
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel) -
Yeah, I pondered red/blue shifting for about five minutes, then gave up and posted a joke reply :P
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)Don't feel bad - I'm a bitpretty fuzzy on that as well, I sort of vaguely know what it means, but still...
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Yes that was my first thought as well, but then I decided to maybe try for something a little more grounded... :)
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I bet there'd be a nice HLSL firework effect ;)
In which case I'll be emailing you soon! :)
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
When something moves away from you under "normal" velocities, it gets smaller and smaller as time progresses. And since the visual range of the ship sufficiently close in terms of how far light has to travel, to be negligable, the effect that you would "see" is that the ship would "appear" to all of a sudden be all sizes from a pinpoint to its current size. Sort of the affect you would get if you held the shutter open and zoomed out (not in) on an object, but everything else of course stays static. So, in other words, you'd see a rather blobulous thing, like when the camera zooms in on Oprah. Marc
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When something moves away from you under "normal" velocities, it gets smaller and smaller as time progresses. And since the visual range of the ship sufficiently close in terms of how far light has to travel, to be negligable, the effect that you would "see" is that the ship would "appear" to all of a sudden be all sizes from a pinpoint to its current size. Sort of the affect you would get if you held the shutter open and zoomed out (not in) on an object, but everything else of course stays static. So, in other words, you'd see a rather blobulous thing, like when the camera zooms in on Oprah. Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
like when the camera zooms in on Oprah.
Yes, but unlike Oprah, my ship will look cool :)
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
It would almost certainly disappear in a puff of logic.
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow
I think that behind and beside the ship would be utterly black, but in front a white disc of starlight, microwaves and CMB, massively blue-shifted into the far gamma regions, which along with the interstellar dust being hit at ludicrous speeds, would instantly vaporise the ship, drive and everyone in it.
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I think that behind and beside the ship would be utterly black, but in front a white disc of starlight, microwaves and CMB, massively blue-shifted into the far gamma regions, which along with the interstellar dust being hit at ludicrous speeds, would instantly vaporise the ship, drive and everyone in it.
I'm torn on this one. The dust between here and there would not get into the bubble, as it is not 'moving'. All the dust between here and there should get crushed together in the compresses spacetime of the forward edge. I originally thought that there would be huge blue shift of the radiation ahead of the bubble, but now I'm not sure. I can see how there would be in the compressed space, but I don't have a clue as the transient effects of crossing into and out of the region that is being compressed. I look at this problem and think is is best discussed over ice cold pepper vodka. (What with Russia having good physicists and all)
Opacity, the new Transparency.
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I think that behind and beside the ship would be utterly black, but in front a white disc of starlight, microwaves and CMB, massively blue-shifted into the far gamma regions, which along with the interstellar dust being hit at ludicrous speeds, would instantly vaporise the ship, drive and everyone in it.
I asked my boss about this too, as he has a degree in nuclear physics, and he said what Andy mentioned, that it would be red-shifted at the front. Any idea on what the difference means?
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For the physics folks: If you wanted to create a cool animation of a ship with an FTL drive, specifically something like an Alcubierre drive[^], what visual cues might you use? Trying to keep things a little bit based in reality (yes, I'm aware the drive doesn't really exist, and due to certain annoying laws of physics probably never will) would the ship simply disappear? Would there be any weird light artifacts (i.e. GLows, streaks, distortions) from the POV of the camera viewing the departing ship?
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It would be in a local pocket of infinite mass, so light would either be distorted around it, or disappear into it, and it wouldn't give off any light. So no bright flashes. At most, you'd see a ripple, like a heat ripple in air -- but you'd have to be a long, long way off to see it; perhaps so far away that you wouldn't be able to see it anyway. Before it reaches light speed, normal Doppler activities can be expected, but the parallel increases in mass as higher velocities are achieved will "soften" the effect, so still no bright flashes or "lucid booms". Note that the above completely ignores the fact that it can't be done, according to current Physics knowledge -- but that's how writing Sci-Fi works: you just leave out one little detail.
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I asked my boss about this too, as he has a degree in nuclear physics, and he said what Andy mentioned, that it would be red-shifted at the front. Any idea on what the difference means?
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If you are asking about the difference between red and blue shift. Red shifted light or energy waves have longer wavelengths, lower frequency and less energy than visible light. All the background radiation that has been around since the big bang is massivly red shifted because its been around so long. Blue Shifted light has a very high frequency, lower wavelength and a ton more energy than visible light.
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