The question of when or if we will be able to travel to other galaxies is often debated.  There is that question many of us ask, not just astronomers, if we are alone?  Traveling to galactic formations light years away would enable us to study different terrain and solar systems up close.  A famous scientific theorist discusses this subject  and specifically in regards to propulsion systems:

Propulsion systems may be ranked by two quantities: their specific impulse, and final velocity of travel. Specific impulse equals thrust multiplied by the time over which the thrust acts. At present, almost all our rockets are based on chemical reactions. We see that chemical rockets have the smallest specific impulse, since they only operate for a few minutes. Their thrust may be measured in millions of pounds, but they operate for such a small duration that their specific impulse is quite small.

Let’s find out some interesting ways that might work in the video on page 2

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