take a leap into hyperspace

An obscure German physicist's theory not only serves up one of the holy grails of particle physics, but could explain how gravity and electromagnetism could work together to make a sort of anti-gravity engine that could launch spaceships at enormous speeds, New Scientist reports this week. One big snag, though, is that most physicists can't make sense of theory.

From the New Scientist article:

EVERY year, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics awards prizes for the best papers presented at its annual conference. Last year's winner in the nuclear and future flight category went to a paper calling for experimental tests of an astonishing new type of engine. According to the paper, this hyperdrive motor would propel a craft through another dimension at enormous speeds. It could leave Earth at lunchtime and get to the moon in time for dinner. There's just one catch: the idea relies on an obscure and largely unrecognised kind of physics. Can they possibly be serious?

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