Instead of burning so much fuel?

[S-Trajik]

What do you think would be the best way to travel in space? Do you think they have developed that sort of thing or in progess?

 

I mean, sh*t, these kinds of amount of fuel could be possibly be best used for something else other than it being a waste or use of travel in space.

[K^2]

Take a look at Bussard Ramjet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet

 

Obviously, this only works once you already travel fast enough. One way to start one up might be a dive towards the Sun. Solar wind particles, most of which are the same hydrogen that you'd find in interstellar space, travel at 500-600km/s. If that's enough for the ramjet to run, that's a good way to take off. If you can design a ramjet that uses fusion energy to run, the limit to how fast you can travel with one of these will be set by the amount of time it takes for the engine to break down. If you can get one of these to push you at acceleration of 1 gee, you can travel 100 light years in just 20 years. Ship time, of course.

 

Another thing that can be used either for interplanetary travel or to start up Bussard Ramjets is to use very long electromagnetic rails. These can work extremely well for launching cargo from moons and asteroids. Launching people with these is slightly more complicated, because the length limit implies high accelerations. If constructed in space, however, they might be built long enough for it not to matter.

 

Finally, if you have a lot of time to waste, you can try solar sails. Just remember, Sun does not generate a whole lot of light pressure. It will take a long time to pick up enough speed to travel anywhere exciting.