When you think of tanks, you probably picture hulking steel behemoths rumbling across battlefields. Yet history is littered with 10 creative tank experiments that never saw combat, each more eccentric than the last. Below we dive into these off‑beat machines, explaining why they dazzled engineers and why they ultimately vanished.

10 Creative Tank Innovations Overview

10 Louis Boirault Machine

Trench warfare, one of the most iconic battle strategies, was developed during World War I. With this form of warfare, people found new ways to overcome the terrain and get the upper hand on the enemy. One of these inventions, the Louis Boirault Machine, was called an “interesting ancestor of the tank.”

The problem with conventional vehicles and trench warfare was that wheels and ditches rarely got along with one another. Constructed by the French War Ministry in 1915, the Louis Boirault Machine aimed to tackle the problem of a vehicle crossing uneven terrain and ditches, especially the ones filled with enemy troops. It was a two‑man compartment that moved along an overhead rail, allowing it to conquer tricky terrain and crush enemy barbed wire.

While it did its job well, the Louis Boirault Machine moved too slowly, with a top speed of only 1.0 kilometer per hour (0.6 mph). It also took a radius of 100 meters (330 ft) to turn around. Eventually nicknamed the “Diplodocus militaris,” it was superseded by a superior track‑based tank called the Schneider CA1 in 1916.

9 Krupp Kugelpanzer

The Krupp Kugelpanzer was a wunderwaffe (“wonder weapon”) of Nazi Germany. Its name translates to “spherical tank,” which already tips you off to the unique aspect of this vehicle.

The Kugelpanzer was never seen on the battlefield. But we know it existed because the Soviets captured one in 1945. Close inspection showed that it was made by the Germans and shipped to Japan. It was powered by a two‑stroke engine and offered a small viewing port in front for the driver. It didn’t sport any weapons.

As it was never seen during World War II, many theories exist to explain what role this tank played in the theater of war. Some say that it was meant as a recon vehicle while others speculate that it was the next design in the Japanese kamikaze strategy. Another idea is that the vehicle was supposed to carry a weapon and could be used as a mobile pillbox or shelter. Whatever role it was supposed to fill, its unique shape has given us an interesting insight into old tank designs.

8 ‘Praying Mantis’ Tank

Some tank designs didn’t rely on large cannons and heavy armor to do their jobs. The Praying Mantis tried to tackle a problem that ground infantry had to face—shooting over walls while protected from return enemy fire.

In 1943, this tank was designed in the UK by County Commercial Cars Ltd. It featured a long arm with a gun on the end, which could be elevated to fire over obstacles. The crew would lie within the long arm and operate it from there. The first prototype needed only one man to operate it, but this version of the Praying Mantis was rejected because it placed too much work on a single person. The second prototype was built for a two‑man crew, a driver and a gunner.

It didn’t work out as well as hoped. The controls were somewhat finicky, which made maneuvering the tank tricky. If that wasn’t bad enough, the crew lying in various degrees of elevation while driving around gave them motion sickness. The idea was abandoned in 1944.

7 Mine Exploder T10

As well as trenches, tanks faced another problem when deployed onto the battlefield: the dreaded mine. In response, military intelligence began to research ways of clearing out minefields to allow tanks to pass through them without harm. Some of these ideas involved building special minesweeping tanks that could clear the way.

The Mine Exploder T10 had an unusual design that gave the impression of a tricycle, which is why it was called the “Tricycle Tank.” The front sported two huge wheels, each one spanning 3 meters (9 ft) in diameter. At the back of the tank was a single “roller” wheel with a diameter of 2 meters (6 ft).

The tank was meant to drive over the minefield and clear a path, which is why its underside was armored with steel just under 3 centimeters (1 in) thick. Thankfully, the tank was remote controlled, so no one had to drive it over the mines. However, this tank wasn’t used because of its extreme weight.

6 Kettenkrad

The Kettenkrad was one of the smaller World War II cousins of the tank. It stems from the German ketten (meaning “tracks”) and kraftrad (meaning “motorcycle”) and is exactly what it sounds like—a motorcycle that used tracks for locomotion. It also had an armored transport “tail” that could carry two soldiers and 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of munitions.

The Kettenkrad was patented and produced in June 1939 to be used by paratroopers. It was designed so that it could fit within a Junkers Ju‑52, one of the most famous German air transports in World II. Despite this, the Kettenkrads were mostly used to transport ground‑based scouts, especially on the Eastern Front in 1941. These tanks were so dependable that they were even used as artillery tractors and runway aircraft tugs.

In fact, they were so well‑received that 8,300 of them were produced during World II. However, that’s as far as it went. After the war, the concept of a tracked motorcycle died away. In 1948, the Kettenkrads became agricultural tractors, firefighter vehicles, and transports for logging camps.

5 Progvev‑T

Unlike other minesweepers that depended on flails and wheels to trigger the mines, the Russian Progvev‑T blasted mines with so much heat that they detonated on their own. Built on the base of a T‑54, the Progvev‑T looked more like a futuristic laser cannon than a tank.

Instead of using a normal cannon, it used the engine of a MiG‑15 fighter jet to blast heat at potential minefields to clear them out. The 37‑ton Progvev‑T contained enough fuel to clear 6 kilometers (4 mi) of road.

It failed because it was too big and noisy to hide from the enemy. Also, the use of a heat cannon couldn’t ensure that every mine would be cleared from a minefield.

4 Goliath Beetle

Sometimes, the best way to fight fire is with fire. That was the philosophy behind the Goliath Beetle, a tiny tank whose job was to blow up much larger tanks.

Designed by French engineer Adolphe Kegresse, the Goliath Beetle was developed by Germany during World II. After learning that the Germans had taken an interest in his design, Kegresse attempted to hide the prototype by throwing it into a river. But the Germans found it and handed it over to automaker Carl F.W. Borgwand to complete and produce.

It was remote‑controlled, 0.3 meters (1.0 ft) tall, and packed with 90 kilograms (200 lb) of explosives. Its goal was to drive under enemy tanks and detonate, a similar tactic used by the Russians with live dogs instead of machines. The Goliath Beetle first saw action in 1942, but its electric motor cost far too much for a tank that was going to blow itself up. When the Germans replaced the electric engine with a gas‑powered one, the Goliath Beetle became too noisy when operating. This allowed the Allies to hear its approach. They could disarm the tank with artillery fire or by simply catching up to it and snipping its control wires.

Although this tank didn’t catch on, some people believe that the Goliath Beetle may have been the first step into remote‑controlled war machines, such as the modern military drone.

3 Mendeleev Rybinsk Super Heavy Tank

The Mendeleev Rybinsk super heavy tank was designed between 1911–1915 by Russian scientist Vasiliy Mendeleyev. Before you think that he made a typo while naming his tank, it’s worth noting that his father was a famous scientist called Dmitri Mendeleev, which explains the origin of the name.

Revolutionary for its time, the Mendeleev sported a 127 mm main gun, carried armor of thick steel, and used gas suspension. This gas suspension allowed the tank to lower its own hull so that it could protect its tracks from enemy fire. There was a machine gun turret placed on the top, which could be retracted into the main body using the gas suspension.

With a boxy design that looked more like a heavily fortified shipping container than a tank, this technological marvel proved to be too revolutionary. The Mendeleev never made it past the concept stage.

2 Krupp Landkreuzer P.1500

The Krupp Landkreuzer P.1500 was born from a simple idea: to combine the raw power of an artillery strike with the mobility of a vehicle. However, the recoil of an artillery gun needed to be handled appropriately to stop the vehicle from tearing itself apart. Thus, the concept for a “supertank” was born.

If it had made it onto the battlefield, this massive tank would have been 42 meters (138 ft) long and would have used a main cannon that was 10 times larger than normal. The tank had retractable legs that came out when artillery was needed, turning the vehicle into a gigantic cannon. The portable artillery was equipped with field guns and AA guns to stave off any form of attack.

After toying with the idea of running the tank on preset rails, the engineers ultimately decided to have it drive around by itself, thus earning the nickname “Self‑Propelled Gun.” Needing 100 men to operate it, this tank would have sported four diesel engines, which were usually reserved for U‑boats.

However, the strategic aspect of a gigantic mobile artillery platform was too cumbersome. It would have been hard for it to drive down anything but the largest roads.

1 Screw Tanks

In 1907, James and Ira Peavey used a screw‑propelled vehicle to transport lumber through muddy and snowy environments. The ability for screws to make easy work of such environments was exactly why they were researched for military tanks.

During the Allied invasion of Norway in 1940, it became evident that it would be hard to drive vehicles through the thick snow. Inventor and journalist Geoffrey Pyke proposed the screw‑based tank to the War Office in London as a means of solving the problem, but it wasn’t green‑lighted.

The idea had to wait until 1941 when Louis Mountbatten took the role of Chief of Combined Operations and had prototypes made. The tank was called the Weasel, but its final design dropped the screws altogether and went back to tracks.

Screw tanks reappeared during the Cold War when Russia experimented with the memorably named ZIL‑29061. However, they didn’t intend to use it for war but instead to recover astronauts if they landed in treacherous terrain. The tank’s development was kept secret, and little footage of it remains. But like its World War II cousin, the ZIL‑29061 never made it into mass production.

When you think of music, you probably picture familiar shapes – a sleek trumpet, a classic violin, a sturdy piano. Yet there exists a hidden world of 10 extremely strange creations that twist those expectations, turning ordinary instruments into eye‑catching marvels. From hybrid brass beasts to laser‑lit strings, these designs challenge the status quo while opening fresh sonic doors for daring musicians.

10 Extremely Strange Instruments

10 Firebird Trumpet

The Firebird trumpet melds the bright, punchy voice of a trumpet with the gliding, expressive slide of a trombone. Conceived by legendary trumpeter Maynard Ferguson alongside designer Larry Ramirez, this hybrid adds a trombone‑style slide to the familiar three‑valve layout. Musicians can thus execute rapid valve runs while also slipping into smooth, portamento passages, expanding expressive possibilities far beyond a standard trumpet.

Manufactured mainly by Holton, the Firebird is a rarity, often custom‑built for players seeking its singular timbre. Incorporating a slide demands a shift in technique, meaning it rarely appears in typical orchestras or marching bands. Yet for those who master its dual nature, the instrument offers a palette of tones that is both versatile and unmistakably unique.

Though not a household name, the Firebird has punctuated jazz sessions and contemporary pieces, showcasing its distinctive blend of agility and glide. Its existence underscores the limitless creativity that can emerge when artists and engineers join forces to reimagine what a brass instrument can achieve.

9 Stroh Violin

The Stroh violin swaps the wooden resonating box of a conventional violin for a metal resonator paired with a horn. Invented by John Matthias Augustus Stroh in the late 1800s, this design aimed to boost volume for early acoustic recording sessions, where louder instruments were essential for clear capture.

Its metal resonator and projecting horn channel sound far more efficiently than a traditional wooden body, making it a perfect fit for the pre‑electric era. Visually, it resembles a phonograph, turning heads whenever it appears onstage. Musicians of the time prized its practicality and its novelty, which added a distinct, slightly metallic timbre to recordings.

Although modern ensembles rarely employ the Stroh violin, its legacy lives on as a testament to how technological demands can spark inventive instrument design. It remains a fascinating footnote in music history, illustrating how form follows function in the quest for better sound.

8 Contrabass Balalaika

The contrabass balalaika is a massive, triangular stringed instrument hailing from Russia, built to deliver deep, resonant bass tones. Essentially a giant version of the classic balalaika, it features three strings stretched across a sprawling wooden frame, allowing it to anchor folk ensembles with a solid low‑end foundation.

Crafted from sturdy wood and typically strung with nylon or gut, the instrument yields a sound that is both powerful and warm. Players may pluck the strings with their fingers or a plectrum, and its imposing triangular silhouette makes for a striking visual presence on any stage. The low frequencies it produces blend seamlessly with higher‑pitched balalaikas, creating balanced, harmonious textures.

Despite its unconventional size, the contrabass balalaika enjoys a devoted following among folk musicians who appreciate its unique voice and cultural roots. It continues to enrich Russian folk music, offering a deep, booming backdrop that underscores the genre’s rhythmic and melodic richness.

7 Pikasso Guitar

The Pikasso guitar, a brainchild of master luthier Linda Manzer for virtuoso Pat Metheny, stands out as a visual and auditory spectacle. Boasting 42 strings spread across four separate necks, this instrument unlocks a vast spectrum of tones and enables simultaneous string vibrations that a standard six‑string guitar could never achieve.

Each neck serves a distinct musical purpose—ranging from conventional fretting to exotic tunings and specialized techniques—granting the performer unprecedented harmonic and melodic freedom. The meticulous craftsmanship blends traditional luthiery with avant‑garde innovation, turning the instrument into both a sonic engine and a work of art.

While the Pikasso guitar remains a niche creation, its impact on modern music is undeniable. Audiences are captivated by its dazzling appearance and the layered, rich textures it produces, inspiring musicians worldwide to push the boundaries of what a guitar can sound like.

6 Superbone

The Superbone is a daring hybrid that fuses the slide mechanism of a trombone with the valve system of a trumpet. Popularized by Maynard Ferguson and manufactured by Holton as the TR395 Superbone, this instrument delivers the rapid, articulated passages of a trumpet while preserving the smooth, gliding capabilities of a trombone.

Its design integrates a conventional trombone slide alongside three trumpet valves, letting performers switch fluidly between the two techniques. This dual‑mechanism broadens the instrument’s range and expressive capacity, enabling both staccato bursts and seamless legato lines within a single performance.

As a testament to inventive brass engineering, the Superbone encourages musicians to experiment with novel sounds and techniques, enriching the brass repertoire with fresh, unexpected possibilities.

5 Subcontrabass Flute

The subcontrabass flute towers over its relatives, measuring over eight feet (2.4 meters) tall and delivering ultra‑low pitches that add depth to flute ensembles. Constructed primarily from metal, it features a wide bore and an intricate key system designed to accommodate its massive size and low register.

Playing the subcontrabass flute demands considerable breath control and physical stamina, given the volume of air required to produce sound. Mastery of the instrument unlocks a broad expressive palette, from whisper‑soft murmurs to thunderous bass notes that resonate powerfully in contemporary and experimental settings.

By pushing the limits of what a flute can achieve, the subcontrabass flute inspires composers and performers alike, expanding the instrument’s sonic horizon and inviting listeners into a world of deep, haunting tones.

4 Octobass

The octobass stands as a colossal member of the string family, dwarfing the double bass with a height exceeding eleven feet (3.3 meters). Conceived by French maker Jean‑Baptiste Vuillaume in the mid‑19th century, it features three strings and is typically operated via levers and pedals due to its massive scale.

Its unique construction enables notes an octave lower than those of a standard double bass, producing a profoundly resonant sound that can be felt as much as heard. These deep, booming tones provide an unparalleled bass foundation for orchestral works, enriching the overall texture with a visceral, low‑frequency presence.

Because of its sheer size and complex mechanics, the octobass remains exceedingly rare, found mainly in museums or featured in special orchestral performances. Its striking appearance and thunderous voice make it a fascinating relic of musical innovation.

3 Viola Organista

The viola organista, imagined by Leonardo da Vinci, merges keyboard and string concepts by employing a rotating wheel to bow strings, much like a continuous bow on a violin. Keys similar to those on a harpsichord trigger the wheel, which then produces a sustained, viola‑like timbre.

Although Da Vinci sketched the design in the late 15th century, it wasn’t until 2013 that Polish pianist‑instrument maker Sławomir Zubrzycki built a functional model. The mechanism relies on a horsehair‑covered wheel that bows the strings as the player depresses keys, allowing for expressive, sustained notes and dynamic control.

This instrument showcases Da Vinci’s visionary ingenuity, blending the percussive nature of keyboards with the lyrical qualities of bowed strings. Its modern realization brings a centuries‑old concept to life, offering audiences a glimpse into the boundless creativity of one of history’s greatest polymaths.

2 Heckelphone

The heckelphone is a distinctive woodwind that resembles a bassoon but sounds an octave lower, filling a tonal gap within the woodwind family. Developed by Wilhelm Heckel in 1904, its design incorporates a wider bore and a larger bell, delivering a powerful, resonant voice ideal for deep, rich passages.

Its timbre stands out as darker and more robust compared to the oboe or English horn, making it especially effective for dramatic or somber musical moments. Despite its unique qualities, the heckelphone sees limited use due to its challenging technique and a relatively small repertoire.

Composers such as Richard Strauss and Paul Hindemith have employed the heckelphone to add depth and color to orchestral and chamber works, demonstrating its capacity to blend seamlessly while also asserting a distinctive sonic identity.

1 Laser Harp

The laser harp replaces conventional strings with beams of light, allowing performers to generate sound by interrupting these lasers with their hands. Invented by French composer Jean‑Michel Jarre in the 1980s, each laser corresponds to a specific note; breaking a beam triggers a sensor that activates the associated pitch.

Photoelectric sensors detect the hand’s movement, sending signals to a synthesizer or computer that converts them into musical tones. This setup offers a vast array of sounds and effects, making the laser harp a favorite among electronic and experimental musicians.

Beyond its auditory capabilities, the instrument’s dazzling visual display—bright, intersecting laser beams—adds a captivating theatrical element to live performances, turning each show into a multisensory experience.

Welcome to a whirlwind tour of 10 ways origami is shaping the modern world, proving that the ancient art of paper folding can solve high‑tech challenges and even save lives.

Exploring 10 Ways Origami Shapes Our Future

1 Fighting Cancer

Katerina Mantzavinou, a PhD candidate at MIT, has engineered a sheet‑like implant that delivers evenly distributed chemotherapy to patients whose abdominal cancers have spread beyond the reach of traditional tubes. Surgeons and oncologists told her team that a flat sheet would expose a far larger surface area to the drug, dramatically improving treatment efficacy.

Drawing on her background in origami‑based biomedical engineering, Mantzavinou realized the device needed to be narrower than one centimeter to navigate the tight spaces inside the body, and it also had to unfurl once inside. To meet those constraints, the team fashioned stretchy polymer sheets infused with chemotherapy agents, then programmed precise folding patterns that could be 3‑D printed into a compact form.

These prototypes earned Mantzavinou the 2018 MIT Koch Institute Image Award, and her ongoing research focuses on thinning the sheets even further so the concept can be fully realized in clinical practice.

Alexa is a writer based in Dublin, Ireland.

2 Retinal Implants

Sergio Pellegrino of Caltech has fashioned a retinal implant that transforms a flat sheet of parylene‑C film into a three‑dimensional spherical scaffold, a maneuver that lies at the heart of the origami‑inspired design. This structure can be placed against the retina to aid patients afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa or age‑related macular degeneration, conditions that strip away light‑sensing cells.

The elastic, dome‑shaped implant can accommodate a variety of retinal curvatures and hosts a dense array of electrodes that sit close to the photoreceptor layer, relaying visual information captured by a miniature camera mounted near the eye. Because the device can be manufactured flat, production costs stay low while still delivering high‑resolution visual restoration.

3 Stents

A stent is a tiny, expandable tube that can be compressed for insertion and then inflated to prop open a blocked vessel. In the gastrointestinal tract, esophageal stents help patients with inoperable cancers by restoring the ability to swallow and re‑establishing bile flow.

Zhong You of Oxford University adapted the classic “water‑bomb” origami base to create a heart stent that expands like a pop‑up box. Constructed from a pliable plastic, the device slides through a catheter and, once positioned, inflates to widen the artery, providing a minimally invasive solution to cardiovascular blockages.

4 Airbags

Robert J. Lang, a former NASA physicist turned origami master, partnered with German firm EASi Engineering to reinvent the automobile airbag. In a crash, an airbag must fill in a few milliseconds, stay firm enough to halt forward momentum, yet cushion the occupant.

Lang’s solution employs an algorithm he calls the “universal molecule,” arranging polyhedral facets that fold compactly like a sheet of paper yet blossom into a protective cushion on deployment. This geometry ensures rapid inflation while maintaining the structural integrity needed to safeguard passengers.

The design required deep expertise in thermodynamics, geometry, and computer simulation, demonstrating how a single sheet of folded paper can become a life‑saving device.

5 Muscles

Robotic actuators often suffer from jerky, uncontrolled motions that can harm delicate environments. Researchers at Harvard and MIT tackled this by crafting origami‑style artificial muscles capable of lifting loads up to a thousand times their own weight—akin to a duck hoisting a car.

These muscles consist of folded skeletal frames enveloped by fluid‑filled sacs. By applying water or air pressure (or creating a vacuum), the sacs contract, mimicking the contractile action of natural muscle fibers. The result is a soft, yet powerful, actuator suitable for space exploration, deep‑sea missions, miniature surgical tools, and even wearable exoskeletons.

6 Shields

Professor Larry Howell of Brigham Young University revisited a century‑old origami folding pattern to devise a lighter, wider bullet‑proof shield. Conventional shields can weigh 40 kg (90 lb) and protect only a single individual.

Howell’s design trims the mass to 25 kg (55 lb) while expanding coverage to shield several people simultaneously. The secret lies in stitching rigid panels into the softer fabric layers, creating hinge‑like joints that let the shield fold compactly for transport in a police vehicle’s trunk.

7 The Ocean

Harvard’s Robert Wood engineered a soft‑robotic gripper to gently capture fragile marine organisms during deep‑sea dives. The device features five interlocking arms made from a network of triangles and pentagons that collapse into a dodecagonal chamber.

Operated by a single motor attached to a submersible, the gripper can scoop up sea slugs, sponges, and corals without inflicting damage. The entire assembly can be 3‑D printed within hours, offering marine biologists a rapid, reusable tool for exploring the ocean’s most inhospitable depths.

8 Space

Spacecraft rely on solar arrays to convert sunlight into electricity, but traditional rectangular panels are heavy and limited in size. Shannon Zirbel of Brigham Young University imagined applying origami principles to create far larger, lighter arrays.

Collaborating with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and origami guru Robert Lang, the team adapted the Miura fold—originally devised by Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura—into a flower‑like deployment mechanism. When unfurled, the array expands into a vast, flat circular surface capable of generating up to 250 kW, dwarfing the 84‑120 kW produced by the International Space Station’s panels.

This origami‑inspired architecture promises more efficient power collection for future missions, potentially extending the lifespan of deep‑space probes while reducing launch costs.

9 Battery Poisoning

If a child swallows a button battery, the consequences can be dire—over 3,200 incidents were recorded in 2017 alone, with nearly 2,000 involving youngsters under six. An innovative origami robot offers a lifesaving antidote.

The device folds a permanent magnet inside an ice capsule made from dried pig intestine (the same material used for sausage casings). Once swallowed, the magnet can be guided externally to steer the robot to specific locations within the digestive tract.

Utilizing a “stick‑slip” motion, the robot’s tiny protrusions adhere to tissue surfaces, then release as the body moves, allowing the capsule to traverse the stomach while delivering medication. The external magnetic field also helps the robot expel the hazardous battery, preventing tissue damage.

This clever solution emerged from collaborations among MIT, the University of Sheffield, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

10 Emergency Shelters

Zipper tubes, a concept pioneered by researchers at the University of Illinois, Georgia Institute, and the University of Tokyo, provide a rapid‑deployment shelter for disaster relief. The design consists of two interlocking zig‑zag strips of paper (or comparable materials) glued together to form a robust tube.

While a single strip is flexible, the paired configuration creates a resilient structure capable of withstanding significant loads. These tubes can be fabricated from paper, plastic, or metal, and scaled from microscopic dimensions to full‑size housing units.

By arranging geometric angles, the tubes can be assembled into shelters, bridges, or even entire buildings, offering a versatile, lightweight solution for emergency situations worldwide.

The quest for interstellar travel has inspired some of the sharpest minds in physics and engineering to imagine ten realistic designs that could someday ferry humanity to distant stars. These concepts each grapple with the fundamental hurdle of interstellar voyages—the staggering distances involved—and propose bold ways to overcome it.

10 Realistic Designs Overview

10 Ion Propulsion

Ion propulsion is a type of engine that has undergone serious development over the past few years. Rockets based on ion propulsion produce far less thrust than conventional rockets.

Although conventional rockets stop accelerating as soon as they leave Earth, ion propulsion rockets can continue propelling the rocket for decades on end. The idea behind this engine is to constantly accelerate the rocket so that it will attain a significant velocity up to 145,000 kilometers per hour (90,000 mph) after several years.

Even so, this is not nearly enough speed to reach the nearest stars. This spacecraft would be better suited for exploring the outer solar system.

Ion propulsion works by taking advantage of the electrostatic properties of particles (the tendency for particles with like charges to repel and opposite charges to attract). The process starts by injecting an inert gas, usually xenon, into an ionization chamber. Then a stream of electrons is injected into the chamber using simple electricity generated by solar panels or nuclear reactors.

As the electrons collide with the xenon atoms, the xenon atoms have some of their electrons knocked off, making a positively charged atom (a positive ion). The like charges of the ions in the chamber push against each other, accelerating the ions.

Using a negatively charged grid, the ions are attracted toward holes at the end of the chamber. There, they are shot out of the spacecraft at tremendous speeds, pushing the spacecraft as they do so.

As a propellant, xenon is extremely efficient and can be stored in vast quantities, making it an amazing fuel source. In addition, ion propulsion systems glow bright blue, making them look exactly like the spaceships in space operas.

9 Nanotechnology

Researchers at the University of Michigan have made an improvement to ion propulsion. The technology is called nanoFET. Instead of xenon atoms, the propellants are large, man‑made particles called carbon nanotubes. They can be charged and accelerated just as easily as xenon atoms, if not better. But they are far more massive, meaning their ejection will give the spacecraft a much bigger push.

However, this process is messy and very complex. A spacecraft would require trillions of these particles to be ejected constantly. NanoFET has a long way to go.

8 Nuclear Bombs

Yes, this is real. Nuclear bombs could actually be used for interstellar spaceships. It may sound barbaric, but it is one of the most practical designs on this list.

Every three seconds, a small nuclear bomb, or bomblet, would be ignited at the rear of the spacecraft. The energy from the explosion would be absorbed by shock absorbers on a “pusher plate” that would accelerate the spacecraft to 3 percent of the speed of light.

You might expect that the passengers of these spaceships would experience the worst turbulence of their lives. However, the energy of the bombs is expected to be transferred quite nicely and the trip would be smooth.

7 Ramjets

Nuclear fusion is a process that occurs in the cores of all stars and is the source of each star’s heat. Fusion happens when atoms are subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures. Under these conditions, light atoms fuse together to make heavier ones. A by‑product of this reaction is tremendous amounts of thermal energy.

Fusion is a far more powerful and energetic process than fission (when nuclear bombs split atoms). The most common form is hydrogen fusion, which creates helium. Several designs for interstellar spacecraft capitalize on hydrogen fusion.

Using high‑powered lasers or magnets, hydrogen is compressed and heated until fusion ignites. The thermal energy released from the fusion is transferred to the surrounding atoms, accelerating them. These are expelled from the spacecraft by a nozzle, accelerating the spacecraft to a ridiculous 90 million kilometers per hour (55.9 million mph).

The hydrogen can be stored on board or collected from the interstellar medium (the matter and radiation that exists between stars) as the ship travels. Spacecraft that scoop up hydrogen as they go are called ramjets.

6 Antimatter

A particle of antimatter has the opposite properties of its regular matter counterpart. A proton has a positive charge, and an antiproton has a negative charge.

What does antimatter look like? You have never seen it because it is only synthesized in laboratories. The reason: If a particle of antimatter comes into contact with a particle of regular matter, they will annihilate each other in an astonishing explosion. One hundred percent of the particles’ mass is converted into a tsunami of energy.

To give you perspective, the largest nuclear bombs today convert 0.1 percent of their mass to energy. However, before all the mass has been converted to pure energy, a few short‑lived particles are created as products of the reaction. A majority of these particles are called pions.

In an antimatter rocket, these pions would be used as a propellant and then expelled from the ship before they completely convert to energy. It is estimated that a ship propelled by antimatter annihilations could travel at 40 percent of the speed of light. Unfortunately, antimatter is incredibly difficult to synthesize. At present, we do not have the technology to create sufficient amounts of it.

5 Solar Sails

You may have seen them in Star Wars, but solar sails are a reality. Tests of these spacecraft have already been conducted by NASA and The Planetary Society.

The spacecraft works like a sailboat. Instead of wind, however, the propellant is sunlight. The ship consists of a small payload attached to a massive, ultrathin mirror, sometimes 30 meters (100 ft) across.

Pressure is exerted on the sail as vast amounts of photons are reflected off the surface of the mirror. Over time, the pressure builds and the spacecraft can reach speeds up to 241,000 kilometers per hour (150,000 mph).

While fast, these spacecraft do not go anywhere near the speeds required for interstellar travel. However, as you will see soon, the concept of solar sails can be modified to reach some of the fastest speeds on this list.

4 Laser Beams

The idea to propel spacecraft to extreme speeds using powerful laser beams has received the support of many powerful people, including Mark Zuckerberg and the late Stephen Hawking. The proposal, called Breakthrough Starshot, would send thousands of tiny probes 4 light‑years away to Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth other than the Sun.

Besides its distance, Proxima Centauri is a prime target because it contains an Earth‑like exoplanet called Proxima Centauri b (aka Proxima b) orbiting in the habitable zone. The goal of the project is to take photos and collect other valuable data on the exoplanet and send it back to Earth to see if Proxima Centauri b is indeed habitable or, even better, already inhabited.

The probes will be tiny, pellet‑like wafers containing many valuable instruments and weighing only a few grams each. Like solar sails, they will be connected to “lightsails” and sent into space.

From a station back on Earth, large arrays of ultrapowerful lasers will shoot 100 gigawatts of focused laser beams at the lightsails, propelling them at 20 percent of the speed of light—over 160 million kilometers per hour (100 million mph). At that speed, even the tiniest obstacles in space, such as dust, can destroy a probe.

Thousands of probes will be sent to ensure that at least a few will reach their destination. The probes from Breakthrough Starshot should be able to make it to Proxima Centauri b in 20 years.

3 Beamed Particle Propulsion

One of the flaws in Breakthrough Starshot is an effect called “beam spreading.” This is the tendency for beams of light to spread out as they move. Beam spreading threatens to reduce the power that lasers can have on a lightsail. Some scientists have proposed using jets of particles instead of lasers. However, these also suffer from beam spreading.

Scientists at Texas A&M have come up with a novel solution: Use both lasers and particles. Their project is called PROCSIMA. Beam spreading can be eliminated in the laser by manipulating the properties of particles and eradicated in the particles by manipulating the properties of light.

2 Gas Station On Saturn’s Moon

Traditional rocket fuel uses liquid hydrogen and an oxidizer, usually liquid oxygen. Besides being toxic, the fuel is difficult to store as it is not very dense, meaning you cannot stockpile a lot of it. In addition, it must be stored at -252.9 degrees Celsius (-423.2 °F).

For those reasons, rocket pioneers such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have shifted toward the new methane fuel. Methane (CH₄) is nontoxic, can be stored at much higher temperatures, and is denser than hydrogen—allowing for a lot more of it to be stored.

There is one caveat, though. Although common on Earth, methane is not easily accumulated. However, a place nearby has lakes of liquid fuel waiting to be taken. Titan is Saturn’s largest moon. Besides Earth, Titan is the only known place in the universe with a liquid on its surface. Titan has vast lakes of ethane, propane, and, best of all, methane.

If we could build a launchpad on the surface of Titan, we could fill the rocket with vast amounts of methane fuel. Furthermore, Titan’s gravity is much lower than that of Earth. As a result, far less fuel would be required for liftoff, which consumes more fuel than any other phase of the trip. Launching a spacecraft from Titan could take us to the stars.

1 Black Hole Starship

Of all the spaceships on this list, the black hole starship is obviously the most unrealistic. Nonetheless, it is an intriguing idea. It takes advantage of Hawking radiation, a phenomenon discovered by Stephen Hawking.

Hawking radiation is what happens to a black hole when it evaporates. Over its lifetime, a black hole will emit radiation and shrink. For starships, the key lies in the fact that the process speeds up as the black hole becomes smaller. Therefore, by artificially creating a microscopic black hole, the Hawking radiation from the black hole can be used as a propellant by reflecting the radiation away from the spacecraft.

Tovi Sonnenberg is a high school student in New York and an amateur astronomer affiliated with the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). Follow him on Instagram and YouTube.