Advanced Spaceship Drive Compendium

[@jeffjohnson1966]

Don't you dare tell me not to consume all of your video at once. Maybe I like being bombarded with a whole bunch of different theories at once. You don't know my life. And thank you for your content😊

[@phoenixsong38]

I agree!

[@k.d.kelley2830]

Lol

[@Umbrella_Aerospace_Corporation]

😂🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@vigil82]

Fo real fo real

[@mr.ackermann807]

When I first read this, it reminded me of when jacksepticeye played getting over it and commented on the jazz music. Funny compliment when he did it, and yours almost seem similar to his.

[@Bibibosh]

Your wife voice reminds me of a space RTS game I used to play back in 2005+ . I can't remember the name, but she has an excellent voice for all space things.

[@tompatierno5606]

She reminds me of the person from the game Outpost, which always gets me thinking of Mars bringer of war by Gustav Holst

[@tompatierno5606]

And Majel Roddenberry

[@Bibibosh]

@@tompatierno5606 yup

[@nickifiresnow1931]

Truly an amazing space propulsion reference and one that will remain re-watchable for many years to come. Thank you all so much for putting this together ❤️

[@WolfeSaber9933]

You can say that again!

[@Fyrefrye]

The Compendium of megastructures video was how I found this channel and how I became interested in Futurism and hypothetical technology. I watched most (maybe all?) of the video, promptly forgot about it for nearly a year, saw a Kurzgesagt video on some megaproject, and went to look up the Compendium again for a re-watch. Been addicted ever since. My only complaint is that these videos are SO DENSE I can't handle more than 1 or two a week, and sometimes even less than that before I feel my brain turning to much and telling me "you're not in class right now, you don't need to hurt me this much."

[@patrick-ug5qd]

I think all of Issac Arthur shows are totally rewatch able

[@chuckintexas]

I find many of the explanations offered valuable foundations fir further exploration in Science Fiction . This is not only regarding propulsion methods but also in the associated technologies and societal interactions that would prove and benefit from one approach or another . Exciting stuff !

[@OlympusMonsTutorials]

OMG Dude! I´m a games designer and having a definitive list of things is key. This is not just a great video, its an amazing resource!

[@Слышьты-ф4ю]

Hm, a simple game where you manage the statite, on a star, and how many % of it are mirror for not falling/solar panel/nanobot miners factory

[@judet2992]

@@Слышьты-ф4юDyson swarm manager? Yes please!

[@Synith19]

I love this and the megastructure compendium. Thank you for continuing to inspire and educate myself and many others.

[@willjones4429]

Supernova Drive..... And welcome to SFIA where we use scales order of magnitude more then you've ever seen in a movie!

[@Chad_Thundercock]

It's neat to see Sarah getting in on the action. The couple that creates great content together, stays together, as they say.

[@xBINARYGODx]

sure, but just remember, 'they' can also be asshole kek

[@spaghettigod43]

I had no idea they were a couple !

[@stevenbarden8466]

No, it’s not !

[@Chad_Thundercock]

@@stevenbarden8466 Wait, why not?

[@stevenbarden8466]

@@Chad_Thundercock IA can obviously do as he pleases, but she’s boring and no one else from his team speaks. It’s not working for me.

[@UpliftedCapybara]

I’m really hoping for an update to the Fermi Paradox Compendium like this one!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

It's the next on the list but I am thinking Fall at the earliest and probably more like winter.

[@muninrob]

That one might get ferociously long - there's a lot of new videos since the last time they were compiled.

[@russellg1473]

@Portal Opener so in which peer reviewed journal are you looking to publish these findings?

[@UpliftedCapybara]

@@muninrob I wouldn’t complain if we got the SFIA equivalent to Lawrence of Arabia lol

[@MarkWomack11]

Definitely looking forward that!

[@cadosian078]

Easily my new favorite channel. I will binge these videos until I stop playing Stellaris. Which Can be considered to be until the heat death of the universe. Love that game. And love this channel 😘

[@gwgui]

Now I know what I'll do for the next couple of hours, heh. Great stuff as always Speaking of vehicles, I'd like to suggest a video idea concerning land vehicle design for hazardous/extreme environments, like an icy planet or a desert one. Thanks!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

We have an episode "Mobile Cities" coming up, I might dip into some bigger vehicles there.

[@sgtbrown4273]

I'm working in Antarctica on those types of vehicles, and I second this ! 😮 when I get home to Houston, I go back to the lab working on building test chambers for just this type of stuff.

[@sgtbrown4273]

​@Isaac Arthur, that would be awesome ! Thats kinda what i do for a living. It would be awesome to see your take on that subject 😊

[@entropy11]

Everything so well bookmarked. you are awesome, Isaac.

[@ultimoguerreiro82]

Oh boy, how I love the longer episodes. Thanks Isaac, love from a Brazilian nerd.

[@NoticerOfficial]

So nice to wake from your Hyperbunk to a new compendium episode. Really eases the sickness from extended hyper sleep

[@D_Winds]

Love your hours of space content Isaac!

[@sgtbrown4273]

Thanks for another masterpiece of thought-provoking wonders! Cheers all from Mcmurdo station Antarctica 🐧

[@UNSCPILOT]

Pretty awesome spot to watch such a cool video from!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Glad you enjoyed it! I always wanted visit there.

[@ilkoderez601]

I love the format, it seems like this could be cut and accessed as a real encyclopedia. Good stuff!

[@JohnBoen]

I love the compendium episodes! I wake up early on Thursday to listen. But this is horrible- I don't have time to listen to it all in one sitting! A 97 minute drink from Issac's firehose of futurism. Fire hose

[@iainballas]

"Make sure to grab a full-course buffet and a few pitchers" is more appropriate for this. Thanks, Isaac!

[@patrickmchargue7122]

This is a great compilation, so I'm saving this. The narration was good, and your wife helping out amplified the points of the video well.

[@palfers1]

Great stuff, Isaac. Don't forget David "Cool Worlds" Kipping's Halo Drive either (although technically more a manoeuvre than a drive).

[@ancientixl]

Another excellent presentation. I find them not only very informative but enjoyable as well. The entertainment angle far outweighs all the other venues out there!!!

[@ekkekrosing8454]

Just finished the whole episode. Love your videos!

[@m1k3droid]

Bias drive: large quantities of muons and tauons alter the fine structure constant in their local space. This is how to make the bias drive work.

[@storyspren]

I always conflated hyperspace travel with worm holes because the paper demonstration implies an extra dimension through which the hole goes, until this explanation updated that for me. And an example of this that was right under my nose is the Nether in Minecraft: you get there and back by a portal, and every meter traveled nets you eight meters in the overworld, plus some shenaniganry with height that I don't really understand that lets people go from portal to portal by going back through the same portal.

[@bitharne]

Babylon 5 uses hyperspace as such and, often, demonstrates this well 👌

[@linz8291]

When you enter the portal to the other gate or destination, you are jumping on the other dimensions as hyper space transportation. The speed of traveling through the portal always a variable speed of light in curved space.

[@123FireSnake]

Good idea on having Sarah give the "See also" lines. It signifies a clear break to the next drive

[@chuckintexas]

I find many of the explanations & descriptions offered here to be valuable foundations for further exploration in Science Fiction . This is not only regarding propulsion methods and their tequirements and linitations , but also in the associated technologies and societal interactions that would provide and benefit from one approach or another . Exciting stuff !

[@cannonfodder4376]

Going to have to make myself one large lunch and drink to go with this tome of a video. Making my Thursday great, wonderful work Isaac and team.

[@tyrreloneal5178]

So many propulsion options to choose from! So many stories waiting to be written!

[@greggweber9967]

21:15 All this means that navigation will be very important since you don't want to miss some moving window way over there and is open for just a bit of time far in the future.

[@Hoagsgalaxynetwork]

Been looking forward to this one for awhile! Been stuck on what type of propulsion my story should have hoping I can narrow my pick with this video.

[@mattpeters4700]

I've been wondering what drive I should spend my billions of credits on.

[@illusiveguy]

you can have multiple certain civilizations can have different ones and thanks to relativity you could see from what time a spaceship originates by looking at its drive.

[@Maderyne]

I once had a dream where I knew I couldn't travel faster than the speed of light. I entered a fractal dimension where time and space were irrelevant. I could go wherever, whenever I wanted simply by moving one step forward. All I had to do was imagine, and it was. I miss my youth when I dreamed the impossible. Your subjects keep me hoping and dreaming that day may yet come to be.

[@smatthewson2613]

Glad to see the inestimable Mr. Chung being referenced. Keep up the good work.

[@zachf6508]

Isaac you’re awesome, admittedly I rarely manage to finish every video thanks to a shit attention span and awful self confidence which just always convinces me I’m both not smart/creative enough to need to know this, and that there’s no point trying to stay involved in this topic because it’s all gonna end anyway. BUT your videos always manage to make me feel more hopeful for our future. I believe we’ll not make it to the stars but I deeply deeply hope we do make it, the universe is begging to be explored and all we need to do is spend 100 years of our civilisation solving our issues and coming together and that’s all we’d need to become a truly hopeful civilisation who understands the majesty of this weird universe and takes advantage of it! Thanks for keeping me hopeful Isaac, and I really hope that in the future someone could find your videos whilst orbiting a foreign star, grab some snacks and a drink, and sit back and listen to how much we already knew and how hopeful we’ve always been as a species!

[@808bigisland]

We let psychopaths run the remnants of our civilatory project. We are in the middle of our singularity. Fewer and more intelligent people are the answer. We cant get there anymore. Game over unless we get the aliens to help us.

[@aserta]

Thank you both for an awesome video!!! :)

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bwiebertram]

Just discovered your channel, perfect for background replay

[@WolfeSaber9933]

A complete playlist of different future drive systems, along with their flaws! Today is a good day!

[@Chrissweet1701]

Excellent video. Glad your wife is joining you on it. Hope your family stays safe

[@rensc4262]

I loved what EVE online did with the explanation of their drives too, perhaps a fresh take on Gravity drives.....

[@gishjalmr5628]

What?! No Infinite Improbability Drive?

[@mill2712]

16:24 I'd put it under Clarktech.

[@tomcraver9659]

This reminds me - is it possible that Oumuamua simply had a large electric charge, making it accelerate in the solar wind? I think we didn't start tracking it until it was pretty far into the solar system, so could have missed the decelleration then, only seeing the acceleration on the way out. In fact, maybe it formed by attracting 'cosmic dust' over a long period - it's slow tumble would have led to it's elongated shape.

[@jaydenwarnke641]

Bell gang checking in, happy to be among the first, Isaac!

[@sagethelemur]

hell yea🎉

[@DrBruceWayne423]

@isaacarthur I really enjoyed this video. It was one of the best that you have done yet. Thank you please keep forthcoming all your great content.

[@lukejavor4739]

What drive do you think is the most likely for the first human interstellar trip?

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

probably a fusion drive in tandem with laser sails. I'm guessing it wouldn't be uncommon to have robots setup an entire relay network to a star before a ship even left home.

[@linz8291]

MHD

[@barryon8706]

Atomic rockets mentions a variant of the nuclear-thermal rocket called "pulsed NTR" which could be really promising. Also, I had a specific impulse which propelled me to get a drink and a snack.

[@DNihilHEAVYIndustries]

I'd like to know what everyone thinks out of all these propulsion systems they think is the best and which one they think is most likely to happen in the near future?

[@boobah5643]

'Best' is subjective. For what purpose?

[@dgmisal1979]

And... there goes the rest of my morning. Love it!

[@christineshotton824]

So, the Bias Drive, even if possible,would likely cause a singularity in the center of the ship. Hmmm. . .I'm no physicist, but I gonna guess that would be less than ideal.😁

[@rogervacations]

54:51 truly world class production folks , bravo 🎉, nobody has done it better❤

[@figo3554]

Truly a feast of information for my sci fi projects. Thank you!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Our pleasure!

[@perspectivedetective]

An hour and a half?! Nice! Definitely going to need a drink and a snack.

[@clippedwings225]

Super delighted to see one of these! Also delighted that at 51:27 it looks like a KSP screenshot

[@hotwheels2621]

Always a treasure when you put out a compendium!

[@kondor99999]

My favorite subject!

[@graysongoss8500]

I literally just got done watching the Megastructures Compendium yesterday, and now you have another one out. Grabbing my drinks and snacks brb.

[@ryandoesstuffapparently1540]

I have ADHD so I don’t always remember to take care of my body and it’s basic needs, but when I get ready to watch this show, I always remember to grab a drink and a snack. Got it ready and I’m going to start the episode now! Thanks Isaac!

[@CalamitousJonathan]

This is possibly where the misconception of the negative energy/negative mass comes from. It does however require expanding the matter behind the ship for acceleration, or in front of it to stop. Negative energy is electrons which are a part of every atom. So if the warp drive requires negative mass or negative energy. Negative energy is in mass abundence and there would be no need for negative mass.

[@linz8291]

Usually, warp drive engine is besides the electronic and neutronic battery, where upon the negative energy extraction systems in the ship.

[@AMC2283]

Could we get an episode on why so many proposed drives, why no clear holy grail of drives, and your opinion on what engineers should be striving for?

[@sakuraslight]

WOW... going to have dinner before i watch this. it a freekin Movie.. thanx Isaac.

[@erichtomanek4739]

There's one drive that has been missed: The Vegan Drive. Fuelled by beans, lots and lots of beans.

[@erichtomanek4739]

In the Vegetarian Drive, the fuel may be partially replaced by eggs, lots and lots of eggs.

[@wesleygibson5546]

seems like our best bet will be a combination of a high thrust, low efficiency fuel to hit escape velocity and maintain it long enough to escape planetary gravity at a high rate of speed, and then a high efficiency propulsion solution to accelerate upwards from escape velocity

[@oldben76]

I keep trying to use Isaac Arthur to sleep.... I keep losing sleep listening to Isaac Arthur.

[@dpsayz]

Thank you for the work that you do!! 😊😊 this is amazing

[@UpperDarbyDetailing]

I feel like Sarah got tired of saying "drive" quite quickly! 😂

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

I suspect so, especially as I had her do two takes on everything so we only one sitting :)

[@rozzgrey801]

This is like a chapter of the Encyclopedia Galactica that fell into the past!

[@draukuxan1081]

Quality content as always! I especially appreciate your wife joining you in this video to demarcate the sections with a voice change. More Mrs. Arthur!

[@janman1110333]

Hi Isaac, love your content. Do you think it would be possible to cool down a space habit within a star? If it's an option, it would make a lot of sense to build such habitats, if detection and overall protection is a concern for tech civs. Keep up the great work 👍

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Maybe in a cooler orange or red dwarf, we talked about some of the options for that in colonizing the Sun.

[@janman1110333]

@@isaacarthurSFIA thank you, I'll head right over 👍

[@boobah5643]

My first thought was David Brin's _Sundiver,_ which takes place aboard a ship that uses a laser heat sink to cool itself while plumbing the solar atmosphere.

[@tehallanaz]

You know why I’m ok with my ex wife leaving me? She used to complain about your voice.

[@Robert-eb4ex]

I love these videos. Im sure isacc has seen the military video/ufo/congress stuff. What makes that work? No exsaust, no control surfaces, extreme speeds, in and out of water and atmosphere? How does it work? I got an idea but id like to watch a issac arthur video about it. You gotta be the smartest guy i listen to.

[@Robert-eb4ex]

It's an illusion. They are only moving relative to us. To them they just stop and we zip by. It's a gravity thing. Someone cracked Unified Field Theory and didn't tell the rest of us is what I think.

[@Robert-eb4ex]

Specifically the relationship and interactions of gravity, movement, time and electromagnetism.

[@PlanetXMysteries-pj9nm]

Thank you so much for sharing such fascinating videos about the mysteries of the universe! I'm always in awe of the wonders that exist beyond our planet.

[@lukebm5555]

I’m gonna need an advanced drive to escape this gravity well after all these snacks and drinks 😅

[@DesignateVoid]

…I JUST finished the mega structure compendium a couple hours before you uploaded this

[@Casavo]

Fantastic work!!

[@pguando]

Would have liked to have seen Robert Duncan-Enzmann included in this list. The Enzmann Echolance was conceived in the 1970's and was suppressed by the US government. It really needs its own episode! You can read about it now in the book "Enzmann Echolance Reach for the Stars" Fascinating book. I have no affiliation, just a love for space exploration.

[@oberonpanopticon]

Why would the government suppress far future space travel technology ☠️ Who stands to gain anything from doing so Also, the echolance would need a lot of handwavium to work

[@Zonkotron]

Entry Oxidizer lacks a few sentences. "Oxidisers such as Nitrogen tetroxide and Hydrogen Peroxide offer reduced performance for non cryogenic storeability. To achieve higher performance than oxygen, substances more electronegative and reactive such as fluorine and chlorine trifluoride have been tested. A pair of good running shoes is recommended. " ;)

[@danielrhouck]

13:08: Isaac Arthur: the intersection of “FTL is probably impossible” and “who *only* plan to move a few percent of light speed”.

[@angelabird85]

These compendium videos are crazy good

[@HawkGTboy]

VASMIR plus some kind of mass-reducing Clarktech would be a great combination. Reduce your ships mass to 1g and then VASMIR can scoot you along at relativistic speeds.

[@Mossy5150]

What form of drive provides you with the necessary specific impulse to continue making headway on all this wonderful content??

[@mtuhan7822]

Having Sarah in videos compliments it well!

[@maskettaman1488]

This is absolutely incredible. Wow

[@spacelullaby]

I hope next time we see Curvature propulsion added to a future update of this list.

[@notapplicable7292]

"Oh so you like space travel, name every advanced propulsion method." Issac Arthur:

[@linz8291]

Let's developing thousands of traveling methods to space.

[@1badjesus]

THANK YOU for this Isaac.

[@CalamitousJonathan]

Have you considered negative matter is the same as antimatter? Negative energy is electrons explained in your video, contrary to positrons.

[@Driendel]

Some of these are... exotic at best. That medusa drive breaks the laws of physics by not considering that the energy of a nuclear explosion will likely reach the spacecraft, pushing it the opposite way you want to go and making it push against the sail, leading it to break the thether, if it doesn't shred the sail entirely. Also neglecting the fact the the entire crew will be exposed to even more radiation than usual by the need to travel through a shroud of waste radiation every time they fire up their drive. The "safest" way for this to work is to put the ship in front of the shield (which would be a solid instead of the flappy sail), eliminating the thether and keeping the nuclear radiation behind, using the blast as propulsion in a much safer way. That would fit another type of propulsion mentioned before though... Well, some work better than others.

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

No, a skinny cylinder further from the explosion than the Medusa sail is would represent a small counter push

[@Driendel]

@@isaacarthurSFIA It would have to be reeeeeally far away from the tether to dissipate a nuclear blast enough for the counter-push force in the spacecraft to diminish. Considering the shape of the spacecraft as well to dissipate part of the force, it could work in theory, but I don't think it would be more practical than just blowing up a nuke behind a spacecraft instead of in front of it. Considering that there is no atmosphere to slow down the blast, the shockwave would have just keep travelling until it hit something, and in this design, you would force the crew to go through radioactive waste every time they travel, even if the shockwave is dissipated by the distance somehow.

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Itdoesn't need to be really far away. Just enough that its crossection is much smaller than the sail, I'm not a huge fan of the design personally, just explaining it like all the others, but it's no different than an Orion drive in that regard except that it can use its normal forward shielding for blast protection and handling dust and gas at relativistic speeds, and doesn't need an extra wad of rear shielding like the Orion design has

[@CalamitousJonathan]

The Alcubierre Warp Engine, my engine can be found in the center of Pluto. In Hell spaceship. We literally had to disassemble the engine and build it in the opposite direction to stop our ship.

[@donaldcarey114]

A climax forest stops taking in CO2, it releases the same amount as it takes in. Therefore, once trees that have been planted become mature they should be harvested with seedlings planted. As long as their wood isn't oxidized (burnt, rotted, consumed by termites, etc.), the carbon will remain locked up.

[@TotalyRandomUsername]

What i am rolling around in my head for quite a while is, the bussard ramjet breakes the spaceship more by collecting hydrogen then it gets thrust out of the collected hydrogen. So if you do not use the hydrogen for a thruster and just use it for breaking, doesn't this make the bussard ramjet a reactionless breaking system?

[@randysmith9715]

Some time ago I saw an video on propulsion systems that utilized a high powered laser system to focus a strong laser beam at the bottom of a model. The bottom of the model was shaped like a toroidal parabola or hyperbola to focus the laser beam into a single ring. The laser heated the gas under the model to high temperatures and the expansion of the gas thrust the model upward. In the experiment, the model was spun at high speed to stabilize the model. The model reached 50 - 100 feet into the air before falling back to earth. It was then caught in a net. The model was about 8 - 12 inches in diameter. This was only a proof of concept, not intended to be practical.

[@linz8291]

Circulating laser beam is better.

[@parashkevdraganov2395]

The Vexor Navy Issue is the best ship!

[@djschultz1970]

TY SFIA! I I am going to need more snacks before I watch this one BRB.

[@xyzero1682]

Great video!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Thanks!

[@Reddotzebra]

The Conjoiner Drive would then be the most overachieving wormhole drive. You don't just skim hot gas off a star, you dip a straw into the big bang itself. How did they build those anyway, just found a bunch of micro wormholes that happened to have been made at the right time?

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

I think it was a wormhoel to a younger iteration of another universe though I think he intentionally didn't dip into too many details, but each drive is literally a conjoiner, they used people in them.

[@faithful2b1]

I think I'm gonna need a bit more than a drink and a snack for this one lol

[@CalamitousJonathan]

The Alcubierre Drive does not require negative matter. It requires an identical engine in reverse to stop the warp speed. I do not understand why people think it requires negative mass or negative energy. It requires an equal but opposite ammount of energy in the opposite direction meaning 2 engines one forward one in the other direction in reverse.

[@oberonpanopticon]

It needs negative mass to expand the spacetime behind it

[@CalamitousJonathan]

@@oberonpanopticon You don't expand spacetime with negative mass, hydrogen and oxygen work just fine

[@linz8291]

Perhaps they are designed gravitonic engine and some other types of engine, it's still need some negative energy.

[@jeice13]

One possible issue with the vacuum thruster is if the virtual particles do not match the speed of your ship. If they are stationary relative to local space then they could easily add more drag than thrust at least once you are moving

[@Viggumsyes]

The drag would be useful for decelerating.

[@jeice13]

@@Viggumsyes the problem is that if the vacuum of space has a constant amount of temporary particles then that would create drag as well which could mean a vacuum thruster can only maintain speed rather than working as a means to accelerate

[@jeice13]

@@Viggumsyes sort of like how being underwater doesnt provide any directional motion (ignoring buoyancy) unless the water is also moving

[@steventhompson9602]

There is a potential energy source in space that would let us circumvent both the energy and reaction mass limitations of the rocket equation. Interstellar gas in our local cluster of stars is about 7000 degrees and can't easily radiate that heat. The microwave background temperature is about 3 degrees. Any thermal engine coupling these two temperatures would be incredible efficient. Since the interstellar gas is a plasma it can be magneto-thermodynamically coupled by a ship moving through it and which has a surface in near black body equilibrium with the microwave background temperature. If the magnetic coupling was configured correctly the ship could simultaneously push on the interstellar gas that it is taking heat energy from. This could provide arbitrarily high sublight velocities without new physics (clarktech) and with technologies people are at least investigating in laboratories if not actively using now.

[@mikeg6633]

I haven't seen any videos that address combinations of propulsion systems. Such as chemical rockets to overcome the gravity well, nuclear explosions for a while, then something that will take us closer to C. Does velocity effect using an A drive or other beyond C propulsion? Will speeds closer to C make it easier to induce a warp field-theoretically?

[@lordcommandernox9197]

You should do a ship build in Starfield. Would love to hear you cover some of the lore

[@kevinhambsch9201]

Oh no Isaac, I wish you had covered Plasma Magnet(ic) sail instead of M2P2. Winglee M2P2 is generally considered unworkable, where the Slough Plasma Magnet-(ic sail) is considered to be vastly superior to M2P2. Kevin Hambsch