Outline for the Second Term Paper

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Thesis/Intro:
In the Star Trek franchise, a feature of the ship is warp drive, which is essentially a speed boost for our heroes to traverse the cosmos faster than the speed of light. Although it is a work of fiction, Star Trek is influenced actual scientific research on answering the question of whether or not this method of faster-than-light (FTL) travel is possible. Scientists like Miguel Alcubierre and Harold White have developed plausible theories for real warp drive. Although there are some logistical difficulties, warp drive is technically possible, which opens up the possibility of faster space travel and exploring new depths of space we could not reach before. What was once pure fiction is developing into nonfiction.
Body Paragraphs:
  1. Miguel Alcubierre developed the idea of Alcubierre Drive in 1994, inspired by Star Trek’s warp drive. He proposed the warp drive was possible by creating a warp bubble around the ship, using energy to produce a wave that would contract the space in front of a ship while expanding the space behind it. 
  2. The caveat to the Alcubierre Drive is it would require a high amount of negative energy or mass that are currently impossible to recreate in the physical world.
  3. In 2011, scientist Harold White updated the Alcubierre Drive model. White proposed that changing the shape from a warp bubble to a warp ring would significantly reduce the amount of negative energy required for FTL propulsion. However, there are still some drawbacks because the cost of producing the negative energy to fuel the propulsion would cost a ludicrous amount of money.
  4. Social impact: We’ve had our eyes on the stars since the beginning of time and the vast expanse of space is still relatively unexplored. Once it was impossible to put a man on the moon, but humankind did it, so even though warp drive is technically impossible now, perhaps one day we will find a way.
Conclusion:
The science fiction innovation of Star Trek has influenced the real world and scientists are researching how to make warp drive possible. Although it has not come to fruition yet in a real life experiment, the theories and research of Miguel Alcubierre and Harold White proving it is possible opens up a doorway to faster and farther space travel.

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