When it comes to space, there's a problem with our human drive to go all the places and see all the things. A big problem. It's, well, space.

一提到太空，人类想去所有地方看所有事物的欲望就会遇到一个问题，而且是个大问题，那就是“太空”。

It's way too big. Even travelling at the maximum speed the Universe allows, it would take us years to reach our nearest neighbouring star.

太空太大了，即使以宇宙允许的最快速度行驶，我们也要花几年时间才能到达离我们最近的恒星。

But another human drive is finding solutions to big problems. And that's what NASA engineer David Burns has been doing in his spare time.

但人类的另一个欲望是找到解决大问题的办法，NASA工程师David Burns就一直利用业余时间研究这个。

He's produced an engine concept that, he says, could theoretically accelerate to 99 percent of the speed of light - all without using propellant.

他提出了一个引擎概念，他说理论上可以加速到光速的99%，而且完全不用推进剂。

He's posted it to the NASA Technical Reports Server under the heading "Helical Engine", and, on paper, it works by exploiting the way mass can change at relativistic speeds - those close to the speed of light in a vacuum. It has not yet been reviewed by an expert.

他将其发表在NASA技术报告服务器上，标题是“螺旋引擎”。理论上来说它的工作原理是利用相对论性速度（即与真空中光速接近的速度）下质量变化的方式。至今还没有专家对此做出评论。

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