For decades, scientists have tried to make sense of the seemingly impossible dynamics of unidentified aerial phenomena; either to debunk the reports of impressionable witnesses, or (if the cases escape a simplistic solution despite having sufficient data) in an attempt to uncover an outlier that might lead the way to a physics breakthrough. Our friend, Italian astrophysicist Massimo Teodorani, has attempted to do the latter with the release of two papers through the portal ResearchGate.

Students of Ufology will be aware that the field can be largely divided in two camps: the ‘Nuts & Bolts’ camp tries to rationalize the phenomenon as advanced craft of indeterminate origin (presumably interstellar), controlled and possibly piloted by highly intelligent beings; the other group (sometimes called the ‘Paranormalists’, or even the derogatory ‘Love & Light’ camp by the ‘Nuts & Bolts’ advocates) interprets the phenomenon in a less ‘Sci-Fi’ manner, and often favor an approach more aligned with ancient mystic practices (i.e. Magic) that are sometimes indistinguishable from religion.

What’s interesting about Massimo’s two papers is that they seem to tackle the UFO problem from both camps. One of them— Plasma Confinement and Spacetime Engineering as Candidate Frameworks for UAP Propulsion: A Comprehensive Assessment— approaches UFOs from the assumption that they could be advanced technological objects, displaying an exotic propulsion system that eludes our current scientific understanding. The other paper— On the Hypothesis of Interactive Plasma Phenomena—is much more speculative, and entertains the possibility of (some) UFO manifestations as being the result of a non-organic form of intelligent life.

The ’Nuts & Bolts’ paper analyzes two tentative ‘frameworks’ that could try to account for the incredible performances of UFOs observed by thousands of witnesses, and sporadically documented through external instrumentation (e.g. radar returns, IR imagery, etc):

Plasma-Based Propulsion

The first framework is that UFOs may employ a sort of ‘plasma-magnetic’ system in which high EM fields would envelop the craft in a ‘sheath’ of energized plasma. Such a system would be more advanced than our current technology, because it would probably require a compact and portable fusion reactor, producing the output of a full-size energy power plant (which is far beyond our engineering capabilities); however, this still remains within the domain of conceivable physics without invoking new theoretical hypotheses.

A ‘magneto-plasma propulsion’ would account for the observations of highly-luminous objects exhibiting change in color, rapid accelerations and fast maneuverability (like the foo-fighters reported by WW2 pilots over the skies of Europe); it would also account for any thermal effects in the environment, including burns suffered by anyone coming within a short range of the plasma field—like the effects analyzed by Dr. Christopher ‘Kit’ Green and Garry Nolan.

However, a plasma envelope would not provide any craft with true stealth capabilities; nor would it make it impenetrable to conventional projectiles and explosives. Furthermore, such a craft would still be subjected to the laws of inertia, which would not explain the instant accelerations and right-angled changes in direction reported by countless UFO witnesses (including the famous Nimitz case of 2004) which would subject the hypothetical pilots to g-forces that are simply impossible to sustain.

Warp-drive Propulsion

In order to account for such ‘impossible’ maneuvers, Massimo explores (like several others before him) the possibility of UFOs displaying a propulsion system akin to the Alcubierre ‘warp-drive’. Miguel Alcubierre is a Mexican physicist, and the first one to ever propose the idea of a space-drive capable of circumventing relativistic restrictions to hyperluminical speeds, by creating a ‘bubble’ around the spaceship which would warp the very fabric of spacetime itself.

Computer diagram showing the Alcubierre propulsion

Unfortunately, the original calculations by Alcubierre showed such a bubble would require an energy output similar to that of a star. Further refinements to the theory have come up with different designs for the bubble (a ‘ring’ instead of a sphere) which would drastically minimize the energy requirements; but not enough to make it feasible within our current technological development, because we are still talking about the equivalent energy output of an entire planet, just to move a ship that would be a few tens of meters in length—this is beyond Back to the Future’s ‘Great Scott!’

Which is why any speculation about a warp-drive would necessarily have to involve the use of ‘exotic matter’ (antimatter? Dark energy? Element 115??) in quantities that are far FAR beyond what we can even conceive of. But… assuming someone somewhere has managed to figure it out, then such an ultra-sophisticated technology would account for many of the performances found in UFO reports: silent maneuvering; lack of sonic booms; inertia cancellation; even the ‘optical lensing’ which would distort the shape of the UFO, or render it altogether invisible.

How About Both?

Perhaps, Massimo proposes, UFOs are equipped with a ‘dual system’ which would provide ‘the best of both worlds’: Plasma propulsion for atmospheric interface, before you start off the warp drive engine for more energetic maneuvers.

Still, at the end of the day this comparison exercise shows no single theoretical framework can fully account for the totality of phenomenological observations in ufological records—including the ones allegedly recorded under the surface of our oceans (USOs). “These phenomenological elements,” Massimo writes, “provide benchmarks for testing physical models.” If the model is incapable of explaining the observed phenomena then it is time to get back to the drawing board, instead of tossing the outlier reports conflicting with your neat little solution to the UFO enigma, like so many researchers have done in the past.

What is required, Massimo concludes, is better data obtained through multi-sensory arrays to prove or disprove theoretical frameworks: EM sensors could detect if the UFO displays plasma-like characteristics; gravimetric/interferometric sensors could detect if the objects are distorting space-time around them.

For the rest of this article please use source link below