New Engine Likened To "Star Trek" Device

A new engine currently under development by a U.S. governmental agency has been compared to fictional methods of propulsion seen in the original Star Trek television series.

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The new rocket will be powered by plasma, a state of hydrogen, occurring in nature in bolts of lightening and the sun, that can be achieved in its gaseous state by heating it to extreme temperatures such as tens of thousands to sometimes millions of degrees. Some scientists call this the fourth state of matter.

``This is basically a controlled hydrogen explosion caused by plasma in a chamber,'' said Sparks about VASIMR. ``The plasma and the explosion are contained and directed by magnetic fields which force the blast into a nozzle.''

While some may say that warp engines are still far beyond our reach, it's nice to know that steady progress is being made by dreamers who strive to make the previously unreachable a reality.

Source of quoted material:

http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/214967