# Burkhard Heim, antigravity, and the Hyperdrive. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913 "2007-12-13T21:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/1 "2007-12-13T21:46:31Z")
I know this discussion is going to get beyond me quick, but I stumbled upon the article [Prepare for Ludicrous Speed!](http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=337) and it’s associated [cite from New Scientist](http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg18925331.200.html) during my travels around the internet today. Here’s an excerpt from the New Scientist article: > [@](#): > > If the experiment gets the go-ahead and works, it could reveal new interactions between the fundamental forces of nature that would change the future of space travel. Forget spending six months or more holed up in a rocket on the way to Mars, a round trip on the hyperdrive could take as little as 5 hours. Is this stuff for real? How come I’ve never heard of Burkhard Heim? Are we really testing this stuff? Unfortunately, I can’t find a cite more credible than _New Scientist_, but _New Scientist_ isn’t exactly the _MUFON Journal_ either. I want to call bullshit, but… Antigravity’s got to be bullshit, but… What’s the straight dope on Heim, electromagnetic induced antigravity, and the hyperdrive? ---
**Author:** ![Offkenter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f08c70/32.png) [@Offkenter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Offkenter)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/2 "2007-12-13T21:58:24Z")
Sorry, Monkey, I don’t know the answer, and I think Great Debates may be the wrong place to get any response. Mods? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/3 "2007-12-13T22:04:54Z")
I put it here because I doubt that there is any definitive answer, but thanks for the junior moding anyway. Honestly, why even post if that’s all you got to add? ---
**Author:** ![Offkenter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f08c70/32.png) [@Offkenter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Offkenter)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/4 "2007-12-13T22:13:20Z")
Sorry, no offense intended. I wasn’t certain that you intended to put this thread in GD. It seemed ideally suited for General Questions, and I thought you might get more answers that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/5 "2007-12-13T22:13:56Z")
Bullshit or no, that’s only one way to settle it. Perform the experiments. That’s what science is about. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/6 "2007-12-13T22:45:45Z")
Ludicrous Speed! Spaceball One has gone to plaid! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/7 "2007-12-13T23:51:05Z")
Do the experiment. The Word Is Given. Warp Speed. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/8 "2007-12-14T00:31:36Z")
I think we’ve talked about him before. Basically? Low probability, but it’s not junk science. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/9 "2007-12-14T01:00:49Z")
[Here’s a previous thread on the topic.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352769) (Maybe the one **E-Sabbath** mentioned.) LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/10 "2007-12-14T03:01:28Z")
Aw crap: [Rise and fall of the Heim theory](http://www.sff.net/people/geoffrey.landis/Heim_theory.html) Looks like the exact particle masses were part of the input. Ot maybe not. But the situation is muddier than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/11 "2007-12-14T03:10:43Z")
Aaaand there are some interresting things on this page: > **[HPCC-Space](http://www.hpcc-space.de/publications/index.html)** > > HPCC Space homepage activities ---
**Author:** ![Aquila\_Be](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/12 "2007-12-14T08:52:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Looks like the exact particle masses were part of the input. Ot maybe not. But the situation is muddier than I thought. [/QUOTE] He also calculated precise values for all three types of neutrinos for which only upper limits have been determined experimentally so those, at least, cannot have been insertions. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/13 "2007-12-14T11:52:27Z")
At my university we are doing anti-gravity research for British Aerospace. Companies and governments routinely fund all kinds of left-field research because although results are unlikely the gains from a relatively small investment would be huge. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/14 "2007-12-14T16:48:06Z")
> **[I Think We'd Better Head to Alpha Centauri Pronto](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352753)** > > It seems that someone reputable thinks they might have figured out hyperdrive. (Sorry, don’t have access to the full article, so there’s not much more than that one the linked page.) If travel through hyperspace is possible, that can only mean one... Here’s another thread on it. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/15 "2007-12-16T02:43:12Z")
[QUOTE=New Scientist Article] “A spinning ring and a strong magnetic field could produce a repulsive anti-gravity force.” [/QUOTE] They’ve already moved on to building the [machine.](http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_ciencia/starga36.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burkhard-heim-antigravity-and-the-hyperdrive/429913/16 "2007-12-16T06:38:28Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Bullshit or no, that’s only one way to settle it. Perform the experiments. That’s what science is about. [/QUOTE] As the French say, _on the contrary_: “Nothing is impossible. Not if you can imagine it. That’s what being is a scientist is all about!”–Prof. Hubert Farnsworth