It’s safe to say that the Millennium Falcon is the coolest vehicle in the Star Wars universe. The freighter that Han Solo won against Lando Calrissian in the Sabacc tournament in Cloud City is at the center of some of the most incredible adventures in the movie series. . Accordingly, the question has risen – with all the incredible advanced technology that we now have, will humanity be able to build a real Millennium Falcon? Spoiler – no. But we are very close to it.
hyperdrive
The main feature of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft is its incredible speed, which is due to the hyperdrive. Han Solo himself has repeatedly stated that due to this power plant, his ship can accelerate not only to the speed of light, but also exceed it. The hyperdrive itself runs on the so-called hypermatter particles, which allows you to send the ship into hyperspace, an alternative dimension available for movement at the speed of light or, as the space smuggler likes to boast, even faster.
This method actually uses “wrinkles” in the “fabric” of space-time (they are also called wormholes). This is a concept in which space and time are presented in the form of a fabric with folds, connecting two points of which you can quickly move between distant areas.
In today’s world, although general relativity predicts the possible existence of wormholes, they are still only a theoretical phenomenon. Accordingly, if we cannot prove the existence of this phenomenon, we naturally cannot manipulate it for our own purposes.
“You’d need some very exotic type of matter to stabilize a wormhole, and it’s unclear whether such matter exists in the universe,” said Stephen Hsu, professor of theoretical physics at the University of Oregon.
Yes, it’s worth saying that at the moment, a drive called EmDrive is being zealously discussed in the scientific community, but this is not a hyperdrive or warp drive, as many might think. No, but it throws microwaves into the combustion chamber instead of the usual fuel, which, of course, sounds very interesting. Recently, researchers have even tested the EmDrive, finding that the thrust it generates is due to the electromagnetic interaction that occurs between the motor’s power cables and the Earth’s magnetic field. This engine of the future certainly has potential, but it clearly does not pull on a hyperdrive.
Overload
But even if we put aside distrust of such an impressive speed of the spacecraft, taking it for the truth, another serious problem arises – overload. According to Wired’s calculations, passengers aboard the Millennium Falcon could experience up to 12 Gs if traveling at the speeds depicted in the films. This is commensurate with being in a gravitational field, which is 12 times higher than we are used to on Earth.
At standard 1 G, the human body can still effectively push blood to the brain, but as the overload increases, this becomes increasingly difficult. For example, during the take-off of an ordinary civil aircraft, a person experiences an overload of up to 5 G, trained pilots in special suits can survive up to 9 G. An overload of 12 G is the maximum that jet fighter pilots in special anti-g suits can withstand (they squeeze their legs at increased stress so that the blood is not squeezed out of the brain), and they often lose consciousness in such conditions.
This means that passengers without prepared suits at high g-forces aboard the Millennium Falcon will lose consciousness every time the ship gains such impressive speed. Even if the vehicle does not move as fast as Han Solo promised.
Holographic chess
At the request of Chewbacca, a special table was installed on the Millennium Falcon for playing holographic chess or holochess under the brand name Dejarik. This is a classic Star Wars strategy game that fans have successfully brought to reality. And while astronauts aboard the International Space Station won’t be playing Chewie’s favorite game anytime soon, holographic object technology is slowly being introduced into modern spacecraft.
In 2016, after some difficulties, two Microsoft headsets called HoloLens went to the space station to work for the benefit of crew members. What’s more, the enthusiasts who gave the world Voxiebox’s holographic imaging technology created an early version of the MCU’s holographic chess set. Of course, for now, players cannot pick up characters and move them with their hands, but the creators of the project have already come close to solving this issue.
For example, Wired reports that specialists from the University of Tokyo and the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan have created small plasma holograms that a person can feel with their hands.
Invisible Force Shields
Aboard most ships in the Star Wars universe, and in many science fiction stories as well, force shields are the primary security measure. Whenever there is some kind of conflict in open space, the defensive shields are activated, keeping the ship unharmed despite many enemy attacks. Is this mechanism just an age-old science fiction dream? Not really.
The fact is that back in 2014, ExtremeTech spoke about a group of students from the University of Leicester who were studying the possibility of using plasma to create a similar power shield. University students drew attention to the Earth’s ionosphere (the upper part of the atmosphere), which contains plasma.
Humanity is currently reflecting communication signals from the plasma of the ionosphere in order to send them to the most remote locations on Earth. This is a notional “invisible shield” around the Earth, which became a source of inspiration for students who suggested that this plasma could be used to manipulate and interact with electromagnetic radiation. For example, it can work with energy or laser weapons of a potential enemy. While such a shield is not yet technically possible, the general concept of using plasma to reflect radiation is certainly within reach.
In addition, back in 2008, Ruth Bamford, an employee of the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, studied the possibility of deflecting radiation using a portable magnetic shield. Of course, this is not a space battle-ready shield that was shown in Star Wars, but scientists have already taken a step in this direction.
Energy core
Power plant Quadex Power Core (power core Girodyne SRB42
The Rippinnium Quadex Power Core is a compact spacecraft element that can be mounted on a vehicle like the Millennium Falcon as its main power source. And this is pure fiction.
The problem is that, apart from a brief description of the power source for many starships, the Quadex Power Core is a highly arcane technology. The filmmakers never explained exactly how the energy core works, so building it in reality is equally possible and impossible. But the second option is more plausible.
laser guns
The main weapons of the Millennium Falcon are laser cannons (there are only four of them – two ventral and two peripheral), which are relatively real with the current level of technology. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Armed Forces has spent many years developing what already looks like a Star Wars-style laser cannon. Such a cannon can even be placed on a fighter, and its power is quite sufficient to fire a 150 kW energy beam.
In addition, scientists suggest that the coherent amplification network (CAN) laser, or a beam formed from several small lasers, may well allow getting rid of various space debris that now surrounds the Earth. By evaporating a thin layer of matter on the surface of space debris, you can push the debris down into the Earth’s atmosphere, where they will burn safely. So laser weapons at the moment may be bulky, difficult to build, and not as dangerous as they are in the movies, but they are certainly possible.
Solyanka ship
There is little to no permanent technology aboard the Millennium Falcon—the spacecraft is an ever-evolving collection of various stolen, modified, or found components. It may seem strange that in this way you can assemble an efficient ship of the future, but in fact this is a completely realistic approach to space flight.
In this regard, the Millennium Falcon has a lot in common with SpaceX’s Dragon, whose reusable design is optimized for efficient launches. Likewise, the design of Han Solo’s ship is based on the reuse of obtained parts.
The bottom line is that during long-term space travel, the equipment on board the ship breaks down or becomes obsolete from time to time. It is not always possible to 3D print new components or repair what is already on the ship. Future space travelers will very well do what Han Solo did, using parts obtained by any means to survive in space.
Outcome
The Millennium Falcon boasts a seemingly endless list of gadgets and technology. From scan-sensor-protected smuggling bays to the Gigyrodyne sub-light drive, this spacecraft’s features range from the highly plausible to the outright fictional.
So humanity is not quite ready to build the Millennium Falcon from a fantastic saga. But, on the other hand, many currently developing technologies like laser guns or invisible protective shields may well become a reality. Until then, we can watch with pleasure and envy as Han Solo and his comrades travel the galaxy in one of the most iconic spaceships of modern science fiction.
Source: space.
Source: Trash Box
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