RE: starship-design: FTL and time travel

["L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>]

Kyle,

Kyle R. Mcallister writes:
 > Actually, the speed of light is not constant in a vacuum, but can be
 > sped up...its too in depth to post, but it happens in a casimir cavity.
 > Ask Steve, he knows more.

Actually, the speed of light IS constant in a vacuum. I've covered this 
one once before. The Casimir effect simply creates a nearly perfect 
vacuum, thereby allowing light to travel almost exactly at the defined
speed of light. It DOES NOT SPEED UP. All normally observed light 
transmission is through a medium, however thin it might be. Space is not
a perfect vacuum, and besides the Casimir effect, neither is anything
else we have yet created.

The Casimir effect functions by creating a space between two charged 
plates that is too small to contain ANY particles, therefore a perfect
vacuum. Since this space is so small, you CAN'T put a ship inside it. It 
also cannot be made spherical either.

Lee