Fire up the warp drive. Wesley Clark is convinced people will one day be able to travel faster than light -- a feat Einstein and others have deemed impossible.
"During a whirlwind campaign swing Saturday through New Hampshire, Clark, the newest Democratic presidential candidate... dropped something of a bombshell," reports Brian McWilliams for Wired News.
"I still believe in e=mc, but I can't believe that in all of human history, we'll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go," said Clark. "I happen to believe that mankind can do it."
"I've argued with physicists about it, I've argued with best friends about it. I just have to believe it. It's my only faith-based initiative." Clark's comment prompted laughter and applause from the gathering.
Gary Melnick, a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said Clark's faith in the possibility of time travel was "probably based more on his imagination than on physics."
While Clark's belief may stem from his knowledge of sophisticated military projects, there's no evidence to suggest that humans can exceed the speed of light, said Melnick. In fact, considerable evidence posits that time travel is impossible, he said.
"Even if Clark becomes president, I doubt it would be within his powers to repeal the powers of physics," said Melnick.
THERE'S MORE: Glenn Reynolds, who used to chair the National Space Society, says the General's faster-than-light dreams might not be so off-base.
