/begin/ Questions for Dr. Marc Millis Interview, 27 April 2001 Moderators: Jason Camilo, Rachel Cervin, Geoff Cooper -------- PERSONAL -------- 1. What inspired you to do what you do? From your degree in physics from Georgia Tech and being an alumni of The International Space University; to working with NASA and having your research formalized into the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics project. (Lauren Chung) 2. From reading the article about you in Popular Science, I gather that you're a Star Trek fan. What other early influences led you to your present occupation? (Brock Pronko) ------------ NEW PHYSICS ------------ 1. Several recent physics experiments have suggested that light can travel faster than c. What implications does this have for interstellar travel? (Laura Yingling) 2. How high are the prospects of modifying gravity and/or inertia in the future? (Rachel Cervin) 3. What technologies do you think will result from being able to control gravity? (Jason Camilo) 4. What type of progress is being made in the field of worm holes? Is this really a feasible theory or is there more time being spent on other technologies? (Josh Brosious) 5. In relation to some of the more far out ideas such as wormholes being causality violations, What are your feelings on parallel universes being a possible solution for letting these events take place? If this is the case, could this destroy some of your theories? (Josh Brosious) ----------------------------- PROPULSION SYSTEMS IN GENERAL ----------------------------- 0. For the record, could you simply breifly state/describe the seven type of psopulsion systems you and your team are exploring. -Ed 1. The article in Popular Science discussed seven possible propulsion systems that you're exploring. Have any more been added to the project since you were interviewed by the magazine? (John Yuda) 2. How safe do you think the seven proposed propulsion systems will be? (Geoff Cooper) 3. Of all the technologies your office is researching, which is the most promising for the near future -- 10 to 20 years? (Matt Hughes) 4. When talking about breakthrough propulsion drives and "the ruler for advancement", there are 5 steps, conjecture, speculation, science, technology and application, which one of these is the most important and which of these is the most difficult to solve or realize? (Chris Hynick) 5. What would a typical vehicle, that deals with interstellar propulsion systems, look like, how much would such a vehicle cost, and realistically, how many years from now could such a vehicle be built, so that we could travel around space? (Chris Hynick) 6. Since the late 40s, people from all over the world have been reporting seeing "flying saucers." Although the stories vary somewhat, one thing seems fairly consistent, these spacecraft do not move the way aircraft we know are supposed to move. They stop still, suddenly shoot off at incredibly speeds, and turn at sharp angles impossible to do with conventional aircraft. (a) Theoretically, could any kind of propulsion drive allow a spacecraft to operate the way that flying saucers are said to? (b) Do you think flying saucers could be real? (Brock Pronko) 7. Since solar sails have to be so large and extremely thin -- one article said they'd only be a few atoms thick -- what are the dangers of them being destroyed by small particles, or even asteroids? (Matt Hughes) --------------------- WARP DRIVE TECHNOLOGY --------------------- 1. Your first objective in the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project is to create propulsion that requires no propellant mass. How can this be done? (Rachel Cervin) 2. Some of your and others' proposals for propulsion without propellant imply creating a stress on the fabric of spacetime. While you wouldn't have to have a starship carrying a giant fuel tank like conventional rockets, what sources of energy could power the creation and direction of these artificial stresses? (Nakhs Tr'Enhl) 3. You mentioned the "inertial dampeners" of Star Trek fiction that prevent the Enterprise crew from being sprayed all over the back wall when the thing suddenly jumps to Warp 7. Yours and others' designs for superluminal drives - would they present hazards that would require the development of similar "inertial dampeners," or can they create a "virtual velocity" that means the ship and crew don't necessarily feel the effect of the ship moving? (Nakhs Tr'Enhl) --------------------------------------- BREAKTHROUGH PROPULSION PHYSICS AT NASA --------------------------------------- 1. How did your program get started within NASA? Was it coincidental that somebody planning knew you had an interest, or did you bring the idea to an administrator? (John Yuda) 2. Could you give us a preview of the Joint Propulsion Conference in July? Which of the seven space drives are likely to be discussed, and where is the development currently stand on each of them? (Brock Pronko) 3. How have your plans been affected by the new Bush budget? (Rachel Cervin) ------------- MORE PERSONAL ------------- 1. Have you run into any major public opposition to your work? That is, has the "gee, whiz" inspirational factor been able to hold up against people asking, "don't you have something better to do?" (Nakhs Tr'Enhl) 2. You're obviously trying to "think outside the box" with several of these possible routes to faster space travel, and have had some pretty 'odd' ideas come up. What idea that has been proposed to you would you consider to be the strangest? (John Yuda) 3. In your fictional story "The Social Impact of Access to Space," you tell a funny account of how space colonization will literally change the "face" of human nature. How space travel loses its novelty to the average "Joe and Joannes," but become a place where "hordes of self-proclaimed misfits that finally escaped the bounds of Earth -- specifically escaping the oppression of the authority figures that had the audacity to expect them to obey laws and social norms." And how the ultra-geek will develop the technology to genetically "reinvent" themselves to be better adapted space creature. But despite this the nastiness of human nature and territorial conquest remains. Basically, it sounds like history repeating itself, such as the "discovery" of America. What are your feelings on humans becoming a space-faring civilization? (Lauren Chung) /end/