Do you think man will ever advance to the point where Space will be explored? (1 Viewer)

[Joechilli]

Do you think man will ever advance to the point where Space will be explored?

Do you have any theories on how this will happen?

(punting off a satellite probe and seeing what happens in 20 years doesn't count)

 

[What if...?]

Do you think man will ever advance to the point where Space will be explored?

Do you have any theories on how this will happen?

(punting off a satellite probe and seeing what happens in 20 years doesn't count)

If we don't, eventually the species becomes extinct.

Of course we may wait too long and burn up the required cheap hydrocarbons on Hemis first.

We can be quite foolish and short sighted at times.

 

[Goshin]

Do you think man will ever advance to the point where Space will be explored?

Do you have any theories on how this will happen?

(punting off a satellite probe and seeing what happens in 20 years doesn't count)

Depends on what you mean. In one sense, we've been exploring space for quite some time now. We've been to the Moon and spent quite a lot of time in orbit.


If you mean human bootprints on Mars, that's probably going to be another decade or two.


If you mean interstellar travel... that is extremely hard to speculate upon.

Conventional propulsion won't get it obviously.

We have one POSSIBLE method of sidestepping lightspeed, the Alcubierre Warp Drive theory... which was recently modified to reduce the energy requirements at least 10 fold, bringing it closer to the realm of the possible.

But we're still a long way from being able to engineer negative-energy densities. How far away?


No way to tell. Some budding supergenius might figure it out in the next few years... or it might take centuries of plodding scientific effort to get to that point... or it might turn out to be flat impossible.


Smart money says there IS a way.... but smart money also says it won't be easily or quickly made into reality either. :shrug:

 

[Dittohead not!]

Humans are just an intermediate step between carbon based life and silicone based life. Eventually, we'll develop artificially intelligent machines, then find a way to upload our thoughts, our spirits if you will, into these IA machines. We'll then have bodies that can stand up to the rigors of space travel and will be long enough lived to travel to distant stars.

I know this because god told me.

Or, it might be just wild speculation.

take your pick.

 

[BmanMcfly]

Do you think man will ever advance to the point where Space will be explored?

There's a fair chance, if saner heads prevail that we will begin spreading out to new planets.

Do you have any theories on how this will happen?

(punting off a satellite probe and seeing what happens in 20 years doesn't count)

Just because of the sheer vastness of space, even leaving to the next closest star would take an unreasonable amount of time.

To travel great distances we would have to figure out either or both non-linear travel and non-linear communication.

Otherwise the time gap + time dilation would mean that anyone leaving would never return to anyone that they knew.... Or would require generational ships.

 

[Occam's Razor]

This article covers most of the current cutting edge research into interstellar exploration

Star Trek Warp Drive Physics and Future Space Travel Op-Ed | Space.com

Wormholes and warp drives— approaches to FTL flight — are theoretically possible, but the theory has not yet advanced to guide their construction. These theories are based on Einstein's theory of general relativity. The ongoing progress mostly focuses on the energy conditions — how to lower the energy required and how to create and apply the required "negative energy." One conclusion we have already found is that wormholes are more energy-efficient at creating FTL than warp drive. For more, see Eric Davis' “Faster-Than-Light Space Warps, Status and Next Steps” paper from last year's 48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit.

and this article... Real-life warp drive may power future spaceships | SciTech | GMA News Online

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking at a reimagined version of the controversial Alcubierre Drive to build a "faster-than-light" warp drive that can cut travel time to the nearest star to just weeks.

Physicist Harold White's design is based on an equation by physicist Miguel Alcubierre, who in his 1994 paper suggested a mechanism where space-time could be "warped" both in front of and behind a spacecraft.

 

[BmanMcfly]

This article covers most of the current cutting edge research into interstellar exploration

Star Trek Warp Drive Physics and Future Space Travel Op-Ed | Space.com



and this article... Real-life warp drive may power future spaceships | SciTech | GMA News Online

Yes, but even at 100x light speed it would take around a decade to cross half the milky way, and by the time you got back with the time dilation on earth would be thousands of years past the departure date.

 

[fmw]

There is a way to go. The nearest star, Alpha Proxima, is about 4 light years away. With current technology it would take about 30,000 years to travel there. That's about as long as we could go back and call ourselves humans. To travel to the galactic center would take millions of years. To travel to the nearest galaxy would take..........well, you get the idea. There is plenty of time to work on it, though. Our planet still has billions of years before being swallowed up by our star as it becomes a red giant. That assumes that a black hole doesn't arrive on the scene before that. I'm more worried about solving a video streaming problem I have with my home theater. Fixing that could happen in my lifetime and while my species still exists.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Yes, but even at 100x light speed it would take around a decade to cross half the milky way, and by the time you got back with the time dilation on earth would be thousands of years past the departure date.

Why cross that much distance when there are likely tens of thousands of planets in our own neighborhood, dozens with life...

.. and I don't think you read far enough. Non-relativistic FTL is the holy grail.

 

[chromium]

I would bet on the species becoming extinct first. There are probably tens of thousands of planets with life, yet as far as we know, none have visited earth. The universe is just too vast and travelling at anywhere near light speed would require a shield impossibly thick just to protect against radiation.

 

[Occam's Razor]

I would bet on the species becoming extinct first. There are probably tens of thousands of planets with life, yet as far as we know, none have visited earth. The universe is just too vast and travelling at anywhere near light speed would require a shield impossibly thick just to protect against radiation.

Yes yes.. and man will never fly..

...reaching the moon is impossible, we'd need a rocket the size of a skyscraper... check, next

...crossing the oceans without sails is talk of black magic... close, black gold

Wormhole physics allows for FTL with almost no relativistic effects...

A warp drive already has a massive field around it, shielding may not be necessary, also taking it out of relativistic time.

Trust me, these are smart guys... they are way past the traditionally believed limitations. But quite far from a working drive.

I'll be happy just to see space elevators.

Graphene (one atom thick carbon sheet) holds the weight of an elephant standing on a single point
Elephant Illustrates Important Point: Scientific American

 

[ChuckBerry]

I'll be happy just to see space elevators.

me too they're my favorite theoretical technology

 

[Occam's Razor]

me too they're my favorite theoretical technology

Yup, startin my plannin now. Space Romance Tourism... think about it... 'nough said.

Can you imagine... bid to be the first to conceive a child in space!

The Reality Show angles are HUGE!

Yup... already counting my royalties...

And... ain't not pesky laws in space yet...

 

[Helix]

If we can get past the imaginary borders, cultural clashes, and tribalism, yes.

It's interesting times. We're at the first point in human evolution where geographical seperation has been almost eliminated. There's a lot of volitility to come. Being the peacenik that I am, I go with the belief that we will get past it without destroying our technology.

 

[the_recruit]

Humans are just an intermediate step between carbon based life and silicone based life.

Silicone = fake boobies.

Silicon = computer chips.

Just sayin'...

 

[the_recruit]

There's a fair chance, if saner heads prevail that we will begin spreading out to new planets.



Just because of the sheer vastness of space, even leaving to the next closest star would take an unreasonable amount of time.

To travel great distances we would have to figure out either or both non-linear travel and non-linear communication.

Otherwise the time gap + time dilation would mean that anyone leaving would never return to anyone that they knew.... Or would require generational ships.

Non-linear travel?

 

[Dittohead not!]

Silicone = fake boobies.

Silicon = computer chips.

Just sayin'...

wups. My bad.

OK, so fake boobies could have life too!

 

[the_recruit]

wups. My bad.

OK, so fake boobies could have life too!

Hey, I'm with you man! I'm pro-boobies!

 

[ecofarm]

A life based on boobies, real and or fake, is perfectly respectable.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Yes, but even at 100x light speed it would take around a decade to cross half the milky way, and by the time you got back with the time dilation on earth would be thousands of years past the departure date.

Considering there are ~2000 stars within 50 light years we shouldn't be too worried about that at this time.

 

[MoSurveyor]

wups. My bad.

OK, so fake boobies could have life too!

There sure are times when it looks like they have a life of their own! :tongue4:

 

[BmanMcfly]

Non-linear travel?

Linear travel is where you have a propulsion system pushing in the direction intended.

Non- linear would be something akin to teleportation, probably an extension of teleportation using quantum entanglement.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Non-linear travel?

Wormholes or jump-drives as opposed to warp drive (Alcubierre) that actually moves 'through' the intervening space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_drive



Dune uses one type of jump drive (a type of space folding) that doesn't require mechanisms at both ends, Stargate uses another ("man-made" wormholes) that does require mechanisms at both ends. In both cases the payload goes from one point to another without passing through any intervening space.

 

[Grand Mal]

It's why the meek will inherit the earth. The bold will go to the stars.

 

[German guy]

Depends on what you mean. In one sense, we've been exploring space for quite some time now. We've been to the Moon and spent quite a lot of time in orbit.


If you mean human bootprints on Mars, that's probably going to be another decade or two.


If you mean interstellar travel... that is extremely hard to speculate upon.

Conventional propulsion won't get it obviously.

We have one POSSIBLE method of sidestepping lightspeed, the Alcubierre Warp Drive theory... which was recently modified to reduce the energy requirements at least 10 fold, bringing it closer to the realm of the possible.

But we're still a long way from being able to engineer negative-energy densities. How far away?


No way to tell. Some budding supergenius might figure it out in the next few years... or it might take centuries of plodding scientific effort to get to that point... or it might turn out to be flat impossible.


Smart money says there IS a way.... but smart money also says it won't be easily or quickly made into reality either. :shrug:

That.

And until we're so far ... I'll gladly watch another rerun of Star Trek or two.