NASA's Warp Speed Starship Prototype - IXS Enterprise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc8vAJHpw8o
The Alcubierre drive or Alcubierre warp drive (or Alcubierre metric, referring to metric tensor) is a speculative idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (that is, negative mass) could be created.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive
Although the metric proposed by Alcubierre is consistent with the Einstein field equations, it may not be physically meaningful, in which case a drive will not be possible. Even if it is physically meaningful, its possibility would not necessarily mean that a drive can be constructed.
The proposed mechanism of the Alcubierre drive implies a negative energy density and therefore requires exotic matter. So if exotic matter with the correct properties can not exist, then the drive could not be constructed.
However, at the close of his original article Alcubierre argued (following an argument developed by physicists analyzing traversable wormholes) that the Casimir vacuum between parallel plates could fulfill the negative-energy requirement for the Alcubierre drive.
5 Difficulties
5.1 Mass–energy requirement
5.2 Placement of matter
5.3 Survivability inside the bubble
5.4 Damaging effect on destination
5.5 Wall thickness
5.6 Causality violation and semiclassical instability
The metric of this form has significant difficulties because all known warp-drive spacetime theories violate various energy conditions.
http://tauzero.aero/making-progress/propulsion-ideas/
Technology Based on Accrued Physics
Sails
-Solar
-Laser
-Maser
-Magnetic
-Antimatter ablated (hBar)
Rockets requiring onboard propellant
-Chemical
-Electric
*Electrostatic
*Electromagnetic
-Nuclear
*External Nuclear pulse (Orion)
*Nuclear Fission
*Nuclear Fusion (Daedalus/ Icarus)
*Antimatter Catalyzed Fusion (AIM Star)
*Antimatter-Matter
Rockets without onboard propellant
-Bussard interstellar (fusion) ramjet
-Bussard Buzz-Bomb [J. Kare]
Faster-Than-Light Flight
-Brute Fast (Analogous to Cerenkov radiation)
-Tachyonic conversions
-Quantum Nonlocality
*Entangled & Teleported States
*Tunneling
*Infinite Improbability Drive (fiction)
*Translocation (fiction)
-Hyperlightspeed Hypomatter (Analogous to how Light breaks the sound barrier)
-Hyperspace (fictional version of that term)
-Spacetime Engineering with General Relativity using Riemannian Geometry
*Traversable Wormholes
*Warp Drives
~*~Alcubierre, Warp Drive (Expansion/Contraction)
~*~Van Den Brock, Thin wall Alcubierre
~*~Krasnikov, Warp Tunnel
~*~Natario, Slipping
Perhaps the confirmation of the Higgs-Boson will enable a breakthru in FTL travel. The Higgs-Field acts like a kind of speed limiter allowing things to exist at slower than light speed.
The presence of the field, now confirmed by experimental investigation, explains why some fundamental particles have mass, despite the symmetries controlling their interactions implying that they should be massless. It also resolves several other long-standing puzzles, such as the reason for the extremely short range of the weak force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson
Within the standard model, if the Higgs field did not exist, neither would we. Through their interactions with the Higgs field, various subatomic particles (such as the electron and quarks) become massive. If the Higgs field did not exist, then these particles would have no rest mass whatsoever and, just as photons (which have no rest mass), would fly off at the speed of light. These particles would never be able to form atoms as they would be too busy zipping about at the speed of light.
http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=18583
There is an old lecture on youtube that effectively explains the Higgs-Field. It was made before the Higgs-Boson was confirmed.
Relevent to this post
The Mystery of Empty Space (UCSD physicist Kim Griest)
http://youtu.be/Y-vKh_jKX7Q?t=6m37s