Technically savvy scientists and engineers have put much effort into conceiving far-future technologies that might make possible near- light-speed travel. You can learn a lot about their ideas by browsing the web. It will take many centuries for humans to make any of those ideas real, I think. But they do convince me that ultra-advanced civilizations are likely to travel between the stars at a tenth the speed of light or faster.

Here are three far-out examples of near-light-speed propulsion that intrigue me.

None of the technologies Thorn discusses will be practical for interstellar travel. The amount of fuel required, and the length of the the fight times are impracticle for flesh and blood human crews. To read more, click here.