Sounds wild, but the concept is grounded in the principles of Einsteins general relativity.
Such a failure could result in a collapse that emits detectable gravitational waves.
This could be analogous to how lasers are needed to confine plasma in nuclear fusion experiments.
Artistic conception of a spacecraft traveling at relativistic speeds.Illustration: NASA
The resulting signal would be very strong, Clough said.
The study relies on numerical relativity, a tool that allows physicists to simulate spacetimes under extreme conditions.
The strength and frequency of the signal depend on the size of the warp bubble.
A detector similar to LIGO but designed for higher frequencies could detect this signal, according to the scientists.
While this area of research sounds promising, its still deeply rooted in theory.
That said, the implications of this research extend beyond the search for extraterrestrial life.
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