Scientists have found a way and explained the need for a stellar engine designed to move our solar system to some other place if necessary.
The new engine was coined by astrophysicist Matthew Caplan of the University of Illinois. According to Gamebomb.ru, the scientist put forward the idea of a stellar engine that uses its own energy of the sun and is able to move the solar system. This is a huge machine, which was called the Kaplan engine. According to scientists, this machine is needed because the Universe is constantly changing, so there is always a chance that the Earth may one day be in the path of an asteroid shower or simply suffer from a supernova explosion that can fly to smithereens.
The Kaplan engine itself is a giant curved mirror designed to reflect a sufficient number of photons from solar radiation. This engine will be located next to the Sun, using its electromagnetic fields to collect hydrogen and helium from the solar wind, and using them as fuel. This will help actuate two jets of energy – one using helium pushed through a fusion reactor to create a jet of radioactive oxygen. She will have to move the Kaplan engine forward. Another jet using hydrogen should maintain a distance from the Sun and at the same time push it forward. Thus, the Kaplan engine will be like a tugboat.
Scientists note that as the sun moves, everything else in the solar system will begin to follow it, adhering to the same order and position as before. Thus, there is no need to move the Earth, Mars, Jupiter and other planets separately. The attraction of the sun will take care of everything instead of people. It is noted that the Kaplan engine is similar to the Shkadov engine, but only faster. At full throttle, Shkadov’s engine could propel the solar system 100 light-years in 230 million years. The Kaplan engine, in turn, will move the system by 50 light years in just 1 million years.
According to Gamebomb.ru, researchers note that modern technology is able to provide information on many disasters that could harm the Earth, which can occur in the region of several million years. This time should just be enough to create the Kaplan star engine. However, scientists believe that the construction of such an engine is unlikely to begin in the near future.
