Star Wars 'hyperdrive' space flight explored by physicists This is due to the Doppler effect - the same effect that causes a police car siren to increase in pitch as it approaches. The luminous disc would be due to Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation being shifted into the visible part of the light spectrum. The CMB is radiation left behind by the Big Bang that gave birth to the universe. As a result of the Doppler shift the spaceship would be bombarded by intense X-rays, exerting a pressure strong enough to slow it down. The ship's engines would need extra power to overcome this pressure, the calculations suggest. One of the students, Riley Connors, 21, from Milton Keynes, said: "If the Millennium Falcon existed and really could travel that fast, sunglasses would certainly be advisable. On top of this, the ship would need something to protect the crew from harmful X-ray radiation. The findings appear in the University of Leicester's Journal of Physics Special Topics. Each year the journal features original short papers written by students in the final year of their four-year Master of Physics degree. Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy said: "A lot of the papers published in the Journal are on subjects that are amusing, topical, or a bit off-the-wall. Our fourth years are nothing if not creative. But, to be a research physicist - in industry or academia - you need to show some imagination, to think outside the box, and this is certainly something that the module allows our students to practice. Another member of the student team, Joshua Argyle, 22, from Leicester, said: "The resultant effects we worked out were based on Einstein's theory of special relativity, so while we may not be used to them in our daily lives, Han Solo and his crew should certainly understand its implications." Co-author Katie Dexter, 21, from Kettering, said: "Perhaps Disney should take the physical implications of such high speed travel into account in their forthcoming films." Ends