May 01, 2015 02:55 PM EDT
NASA Warp Drive Test: Have NASA Scientists Made ‘Star Trek’ Travel Technology Possible?

In the past, there have been a number of inventions inspired by original creations of science fiction, the most recent of which is a Tricorder based on the "Star Trek" device for medical purposes; now, taking from the theory of the story that made Chris Pine a star, the new NASA warp drive test takes one step further in space exploration.

Smithsonian Magazine has put out a list of inventions that have been inspired by original science fiction in all media, including the 19th century Jules Verne novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," which inspired the submarine, and how "Star Trek" also inspired the cellphone, though the NASA warp drive test shows that they may have inspired something much bigger.

CNET reports that the NASA warp drive test technology's basic idea is "converting electrical energy into thrust without propellant," something that in theory is impossible due to the fact that it violates the law of conservation of momentum, which states that the only way momentum can be changed by the forces described by Newton, which is the purpose of fuel.

But the latest reports seem to point out that the NASA warp drive tests have successfully circumvented this notion.

According to The Independent, the NASA warp drive test, which had been announced a while back, may have been successful, though there's little official information from the part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Website NASA Space Flight was the first to report on the supposedly successful testing, which use a technology called electromagnetic (EM) propulsion drive in a vacuum, something that has been vastly written about in science papers but has only been said to work in theory, never been proven.

If in fact these NASA warp drive tests have proven true, this could be a major breakthrough for space travel, leading up to interstellar travel eventually.

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