Course Description & Information

This 8 week course will ask a simple question: If ET visitations are possible, then how would aliens get here? This course will briefly cover the history of human air and space travel first, with the historical claims that each were impossible. Then, after explaining Newtonian-physics-based propulsion, it will move on to describing the origins of Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity (1905), explaining why the speed of light must be a constant and why that causes time to dilate (Twin Paradox) and length to contract, helping interstellar travelers along. Students will also learn how we know relativity to be correct. The formulas for relativistic mass and energy will be explained from a qualitative perspective for the non-mathematically-oriented students. Problematic side effects like mass increase and starlight Doppler blue-shifting will be covered, with suggested solutions of new fuel sources and propellants like dark matter or energy, and new types of shielding against radiation, for relativistic spaceflight (still sub-light). At the course midpoint, case studies of UAP exhibiting high speeds / accelerations will be reviewed. The course will then transition into General Relativity for handling gravity and acceleration, with a focus upon how this broader theory may allow for faster-than-light navigation of the cosmos, through the warping of the space-time fabric (gravitational waves and inflation will be discussed as examples) and Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes. Lastly, the course ends with a discussion of non-relativistic solutions to observed UAP behavior using the classical mechanics of Newton and Galileo, emphasizing how Einstein is the icing on the cake.