"Every passing hour brings the Solar System forty-three thousand miles closer to Globular Cluster M13 in Hercules, and still there are some misfits who insist that there is no such thing as progress. " - Kurt VonnegutStraying Bullet said:
Hawking: It's Space Or Bust For Humanity
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
- Start date
It very nearly happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were three officers on board a Russian nuclear submarine who were authorised to fire nukes if they all agreed on doing so. Two of them agreed that it should be done, and only the third man prevented the launch of a nuclear missile that would have almost certainly led to all-out nuclear war.Saerain said:
I agree completely, we need to go and Colonize other planets. We should start small and go make a small town on the Moon or Mars, and work our way up to farther away colonies. Though I am not sure us finding aliens=Christopher Columbus discovering America, it is possible.
Isn't this slightly old news? I'm sure he's said as much before...
Not that it isn't completely true. Earth'll always be precious, but all of us staying here at once is just asking for trouble.
As for where? ell, there are plenty of places we can go. Technologically speaking, we could colonise most solid places in the solar system at this point - only problem is resources, which right now simply couldn't support the effort, and further technology'll just make that increasingly viable until we can spread comfortably.
Not that it isn't completely true. Earth'll always be precious, but all of us staying here at once is just asking for trouble.
As for where? ell, there are plenty of places we can go. Technologically speaking, we could colonise most solid places in the solar system at this point - only problem is resources, which right now simply couldn't support the effort, and further technology'll just make that increasingly viable until we can spread comfortably.
He means, by "a few centuries", that if civilization falls, it won't be able to start over.
There isn't enough metal in the ground for another bronze/iron age.
And before somebody starts yelling "recycling!", think about how fast most metals degrade and oxidize when exposed to atmo, lasting decades at the most, when technological and social development would take centuries.
We would enter into an everlasting bone age, and never go to space. Ever.
There isn't enough metal in the ground for another bronze/iron age.
And before somebody starts yelling "recycling!", think about how fast most metals degrade and oxidize when exposed to atmo, lasting decades at the most, when technological and social development would take centuries.
We would enter into an everlasting bone age, and never go to space. Ever.
Nope, the density of star systems isn't nearly as high as you might think. The Black Holes at the center of both galaxies will fuse, but the vast majority of star systems will remain intact. 'course, Sol will be giving us more trouble than Andromeda ever could...Straying Bullet said:
What's with the picture of Mass Effect in an article about Stephen Hawking?
Nations slipping into 3rd world countries would most likely lead to extermination. The battle over money, food, water, shelter, etc., would lead to war. And aren't 3rd world countries the ones suffering from diseases? So the threat of a pandemic would be much greater.
So as a Native American, you're culture is better off now than it would be if you weren't nearly exterminated? If the choice comes between that and not meeting aliens at all, even though I'm a big fan of meeting aliens, I would have to go with never meeting them.Blueruler182 said:
You say you disagree with the planet destroying itself and then you bring up global warming? And last time I checked global warming isn't even real.stinkychops said:
Nations slipping into 3rd world countries would most likely lead to extermination. The battle over money, food, water, shelter, etc., would lead to war. And aren't 3rd world countries the ones suffering from diseases? So the threat of a pandemic would be much greater.
Watch the little purple ballStraying Bullet said:
There's a possibility of either occurring, true, but it's a rather slim one. Although if it turns out that Sol is doomed (prior to Sol itself turning into a Red Giant), there's nothing we can do anyway. As I said earlier, watching Andromeda get ever closer will be one hell of a spectacle, but none of us will be able to witness it.
It's not really a premature ending. The whole event will take place over hundreds of million of years, so this is about as detailed of an approximation as one can make. And apparently I made a mistake vis-a-vis my statement that Sol will survive. The collision is predicted to take place in ~4.5 billion years (as per wikipedia), at which point Sol may very well have turned into a Red Giant. Guess Earth is screwed either way...Straying Bullet said:Too bad the video ended a bit too pre-mature, seems they aren't really sure. But I guess you and I will never know, only the people who survived to that point. But I am glad you showed me this, I remember this from "The Universe" documentaries. Really interesting.thethingthatlurks said:Watch the little purple ballStraying Bullet said:
There's a possibility of either occurring, true, but it's a rather slim one. Although if it turns out that Sol is doomed (prior to Sol itself turning into a Red Giant), there's nothing we can do anyway. As I said earlier, watching Andromeda get ever closer will be one hell of a spectacle, but none of us will be able to witness it.
Glad you like The Universe! It's one of my favourite shows on the History Channel, despite the oversimplifications.