Is Warp Speed Possible?
- Thread starter The_root_of_all_evil
- Start date
Warping space isn't such an unrealistic idea. The primary roadblocks are energy and containment. Space is warped all the time. By hydrogen atoms swooping around at near c velocities and by planetary masses like Jupiter. Stars, neutron stars, black holes - all of these things warp space to some extent.
The idea of us compressing space ahead of a ship and expanding space behind it to induce propulsion isn't such a crazy idea either. The same basic principle is what allows planes to fly. Air below a wing is denser than that above (by the shape of the wing pushing through it), and it provides lift. The energy to manipulate that situation comes from the plane's engine.
The problem, of course, is technological. How do we manipulate space around a ship, and how do we do it without harming the ship. Probably via the use of very strong, artificially produced magnetic fields. Of course, we don't know how to produce energy on that scale - especially within something as small as a space ship. That would involve cracking matter/antimatter interactions, or drawing zero point energy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy] in large quantities. Which itself involves a greater understanding of quantum science.
And a greater understanding of quantum mechanics could lead to other theoretical methods of transportation which could bypass normal space altogether.
Should we research these technologies and head out to other stars? Absolutely. The technological breakthroughs that would happen in the process of figuring out FTL technology would have dramatic impacts on life on Earth. Tapping into Zero Point energy could mean free, clean energy for the whole world. Matter/Antimatter would be good too, but a bit too similar in danger-factor to nuclear energy - only with a much bigger boom.
Long term trips would require advances in waste disposal/recycling technologies, probably new types of engineered food - made to grow fast in poor conditions, and be highly nutritious. Landing (and staying) on a surface would require new materials, light, strong - probably advances in bucky tube [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucky_tube] technology. All of which would have real benefits on the home front.
Even long-term research into terraforming other planets (Mars?), would probably give us insights into how atmospheres are structured, allowing us a better opportunity to reverse the damage we've done to ours.
As for running into aliens. Well, I'm on the fence about that one. Statistically, there have to be other sentient aliens out there. And mathematically, we should have been aware of them by now, at some point in our history. In fact, it's strange that we haven't if you consider the Fermi Paradox [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_Paradox] legitimate. It's possible that at this point in the timeline of the Universe, we're the only technologically capable civilization in this galactic arm, or galaxy as a whole. But certainly there have been some before us, and will be after us.
But we should definitely get out there and looking around ASAP. Earth is delicate, and not just the ecosystem. It's a small planet in a big Universe, and we should clear the fog around us as much as possible. Heck, 100 years ago, maybe a star went nova in a nearby star system. Maybe that caused the orbits of that stars planets to go all whacky, and some of them lost their moons. Perhaps, one of those moons swung into to the newly collapsed neutron star, and narrowly missed it - accelerating the rogue moon to a near-c velocity, that just happens to collide with our Earth orbit in the next 10 years or so. By staying on Earth, we'd never see it coming. At that speed, and inbound trajectory, there would be little to no warning, and no opportunity to prepare. It would crack our planet in two in the blink of an eye.
We should definitely push forward and outward. The dinosaur extinction was not a one-time event.
The idea of us compressing space ahead of a ship and expanding space behind it to induce propulsion isn't such a crazy idea either. The same basic principle is what allows planes to fly. Air below a wing is denser than that above (by the shape of the wing pushing through it), and it provides lift. The energy to manipulate that situation comes from the plane's engine.
The problem, of course, is technological. How do we manipulate space around a ship, and how do we do it without harming the ship. Probably via the use of very strong, artificially produced magnetic fields. Of course, we don't know how to produce energy on that scale - especially within something as small as a space ship. That would involve cracking matter/antimatter interactions, or drawing zero point energy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy] in large quantities. Which itself involves a greater understanding of quantum science.
And a greater understanding of quantum mechanics could lead to other theoretical methods of transportation which could bypass normal space altogether.
Should we research these technologies and head out to other stars? Absolutely. The technological breakthroughs that would happen in the process of figuring out FTL technology would have dramatic impacts on life on Earth. Tapping into Zero Point energy could mean free, clean energy for the whole world. Matter/Antimatter would be good too, but a bit too similar in danger-factor to nuclear energy - only with a much bigger boom.
Long term trips would require advances in waste disposal/recycling technologies, probably new types of engineered food - made to grow fast in poor conditions, and be highly nutritious. Landing (and staying) on a surface would require new materials, light, strong - probably advances in bucky tube [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucky_tube] technology. All of which would have real benefits on the home front.
Even long-term research into terraforming other planets (Mars?), would probably give us insights into how atmospheres are structured, allowing us a better opportunity to reverse the damage we've done to ours.
As for running into aliens. Well, I'm on the fence about that one. Statistically, there have to be other sentient aliens out there. And mathematically, we should have been aware of them by now, at some point in our history. In fact, it's strange that we haven't if you consider the Fermi Paradox [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_Paradox] legitimate. It's possible that at this point in the timeline of the Universe, we're the only technologically capable civilization in this galactic arm, or galaxy as a whole. But certainly there have been some before us, and will be after us.
But we should definitely get out there and looking around ASAP. Earth is delicate, and not just the ecosystem. It's a small planet in a big Universe, and we should clear the fog around us as much as possible. Heck, 100 years ago, maybe a star went nova in a nearby star system. Maybe that caused the orbits of that stars planets to go all whacky, and some of them lost their moons. Perhaps, one of those moons swung into to the newly collapsed neutron star, and narrowly missed it - accelerating the rogue moon to a near-c velocity, that just happens to collide with our Earth orbit in the next 10 years or so. By staying on Earth, we'd never see it coming. At that speed, and inbound trajectory, there would be little to no warning, and no opportunity to prepare. It would crack our planet in two in the blink of an eye.
We should definitely push forward and outward. The dinosaur extinction was not a one-time event.
If you're travelling extremely close to c then you may only need to bring a packed lunch.LANCE420 said:
We'd better get in contact with some friendly neighborhood Greys happening to soar over our skies, or better yet, shoot the next UFO you see down with nuclear missiles, salvage its technology, and take it to Area 51. Those alien bastards should have known better than to violate our laws on inter-planetary illegal immigration! [/satire]
Another problem with that is the Laws of Motion. If we were to somehow propel a ship, you'd have to send a mass in the opposite direction with an equal momentum. If you could somehow make a device that can bend space, that device couldn't be installed on the ship itself, because the force the field will exert on the ship will be canceled out by the force the ship exerts on the field, and nothing will go anywhere.Landslide said:
But I have confidence that we can find out something. Hell, just think about all the scientific theories that were once accepted as the norm, that have been debunked over the years. Once upon a time, there were nothing smaller than an atom, black holes couldn't exist, and the universe was a steady state.
You're right, we should not ever try to attempt space travel until all of earth's problems are solved and we have a lovable utopia.LANCE420 said:
Wait, that will never happen.
Considering what percentage of the US Budget (read: Deficit) is NASA as compared to, well, anything else, getting rid of NASA would accomplish about as little as slashing government spending by 17,000,000,000 dollars.
It is this attitude that will prevent us from ever stepping forward as a species. The 'clean water' problem is a human problem, not a science problem. We have all the science we need to make clean water. The magnitude of a challenge that space travel, planet terraforming, and space colonization presents, as Landslide said, would force breakthroughs in a lot of other areas which would seriously impact life here as well.
you are right, we will never live in a utopia. Not human nature. That being said, space right now will only derail us from such a dream.cobrausn said:
The scientific and economic implications that goes into giving water to an area that has little is enormous. Human problems require scientific solutions. Also, 17 BILLION dollars would practically give water to all Africans for more than an entire year! I'm not a charitable person, but the answer is obvious. I think we need to solve the majority of our issues here our die trying. Space is not the issue of this century or maybe even this millennium, We have to focus on economic and political stability otherwise space will only compound our problems. We need to focus our attention on issues that are feasible.
No, they alter the mass of the ship.Leftnt Sharpe said:
But getting people clean water is a problem of infrastructure, we have the technology. In fact all modern problems are issues of infrastructure and implementation. Really, there's a solution to everything but they need time and money and politicians to stop being idiots.LANCE420 said:
I really can't believe that you think setting space aside "for latter" is a good idea. The loss of skills will set us back even further when "latter" comes.
If it is, I'd be scared that the craft would be moving so fast that when it tears through the boundaries of speed, that my body won't keep up, and i'll end up being a stretchy flat mess inside a spacecraft. If it works, I reckon we're in for dark times...something like Space-Pirates from EVE Online.
There's a theory that roughly says "Light travels as fast as it possibly can for the medium it's in, and vacuum is NOT the optimal medium for it." I have no idea either, that's as far as my entire (entirely anecdotal and casual) knowledge of FTL physics goes.Doug said:
So, basically, we need to build the TARDIS
I'll get right on that then, not like my ArchGate is going any faster
I'll get right on that then, not like my ArchGate is going any faster
The first account of space travel appears in the works Lucian, in the 2nd century AD. In True Story [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_History] the heroes reach the moon by means of a flying ship, while further transportation between the moon, sun and morning star are done by means of various space-creatures and flying insects, if memory serves correctly.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Space travel crops up in one of his other works, too, Icaromenippus [http://sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl3/wl309.htm], where Menippus flies to the moon and then to Olympus on an eagle's and a vulture's wing.
Maybe intelligent life exists in the universe, but we are the most advanced. Think about it.. In films there's always the alien species that turns up with unbelievable technology and conquers our little defenseless planet until they die of human infection, or turn out to be allergic to seawater.
Maybe WE are those aliens, and when we discover space travel we'll be waltzing through the darkness conquering everything.
Or alternatively, perhaps intelligent life existed already, but was worse than us, and ended up wiping itself out.
People assume too much that intelligent life instantly means they have radio towers and weapons and space travel and are super strong or something. Could be we'll find a planet of giant ducks that lay chocolate eggs and worship grass.
Maybe WE are those aliens, and when we discover space travel we'll be waltzing through the darkness conquering everything.
Or alternatively, perhaps intelligent life existed already, but was worse than us, and ended up wiping itself out.
People assume too much that intelligent life instantly means they have radio towers and weapons and space travel and are super strong or something. Could be we'll find a planet of giant ducks that lay chocolate eggs and worship grass.