Skip to main content

Up Next

Why Haven't We Found Alien Life?

Why Haven't We Found Alien Life?

Season 2 Episode 7
10:33
Is an Ice Age Coming?

Is an Ice Age Coming?

Season 2 Episode 30
12:10
5 Ways to Stop a Killer Asteroid

5 Ways to Stop a Killer Asteroid

Season 2 Episode 8
8:31
How to Build a Blackhole

How to Build a Blackhole

Season 2 Episode 10
10:58
The Higgs Mechanism Explained

The Higgs Mechanism Explained

Season 2 Episode 11
7:49
Juno to Reveal Jupiter's Violent Past

Juno to Reveal Jupiter's Violent Past

Season 2 Episode 35
10:15
The True Nature of Matter and Mass

The True Nature of Matter and Mass

Season 2 Episode 12
8:34
The Future of Gravitational Waves

The Future of Gravitational Waves

Season 2 Episode 36
5:49
Back to Show
PBS Space Time

Is The Alcubierre Warp Drive Possible?

Season 2 Episode 6

Inspired by Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, physicist Miguel Alcubierre set out to transform one of the cornerstones of science fiction iconography, the Warp Drive, into reality. But is it even possible? Can we "warp" the fabric of reality so that we can break the speed of light? And why is NASA actually exploring this potentiality?

Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
Season
What’s Your Brain’s Role in Creating Space & Time?
16:28
Physics is the business of figuring out the structure of the world. So are our brains.
Are Space and Time Real?
18:58
Does the next level of physics require us to do away with space and time?
How Does The Nucleus Hold Together?
14:28
Nuclei are held together by a quirk of nature, without which there’d be nothing.
How Does the Earth Really Move Through The Galaxy?
16:29
Your motion through the universe is extremely complicated, so let’s figure it out!
What If Alien Life Were Silcon-Based?
14:47
Could there silicon-based life beyond Earth?
What If The Universe Is Math?
17:33
If you believe the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis then yes. And so are you.
The New Science of Moon Formation
15:32
Learn more about the time when the moon didn’t exist, and then hours later suddenly did.
How Can Matter Be Both Liquid And Gas?
15:19
We explore Supercritical Fluids and how being "in the between" is their superpower.
How Are Quasiparticles Different From Particles?
15:31
These are particles you may not even heard of!
How To See Black Holes By Catching Neutrinos
12:53
We study the most bizarre known particles.
Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?
16:13
We explore if it's really possible that new elements exist beyond the periodic table.
What If Humanity Is Among The First Spacefaring Civilization
15:30
Let’s see how if alien civilizations will ever reach us.
Active loading indicator