DC Tom Posted July 27, 2010 Posted July 27, 2010 The problems with that that sort of time travel it is only (theoretically) possible by leaving and returning to the same place, not travelling elsewhere. And one would need to travel at the SOL, which is impossible. Then you have the issue of knowing when to return. In the thousands of years that may have passed, humans will have been long-since extinct. Yeah, okay. You're welcome to demonstrate that to me mathematically.
Booster4324 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Get NASA working on warp light speed travel already. I want it working by 2020 So you doubt it is possible in a centuries+ time frame? Honest question.
DC Tom Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 So you doubt it is possible in a centuries+ time frame? Honest question. I'd like to see them make a successful fusion reactor first.
Booster4324 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 I'd like to see them make a successful fusion reactor first. To facilitate inter-system travel? Or just the next step in progression of science in your mind?
PromoTheRobot Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Well, we know we won't. Who know what will change in the next few hundred years though. We'll all be dead after the religious wars...and both sides will have won. PTR
DC Tom Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 To facilitate inter-system travel? Or just the next step in progression of science in your mind? Next step in the progression of engineering. Really, how are you going engineer a high-speed, long-distance space ship when you can't even manage the technology to control a fusion reaction?
Doc Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 I can't run a 4 minute mile either. It must be impossible! (It IS for me.) Okay, have you seen anyone go the SOL? And I take back the "impossible" and say "highly improbable." A few theorists think it can be done (traveling vast distances quickly, not faster than the speed of light). Did you read my link? Sure it may sound like science fiction now, but man has certainly not learned all of what is to know. Ruling out being able to travel to these planets (which may only be dozens/hundreds of light years away in some cases as they do not mention how far these planets are away or in what system) when considering how much technology may advance just seems wrong to me. I freely grant, probably not in anyone that posts on this board's lifetime. With the rate of population growth, the earth's resources will be exhausted well before we develop the ability to travel such distances, much less be able to pinpoint where we want to travel.
Doc Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Yeah, okay. You're welcome to demonstrate that to me mathematically. Which part?
Booster4324 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Next step in the progression of engineering. Really, how are you going engineer a high-speed, long-distance space ship when you can't even manage the technology to control a fusion reaction? That makes sense. I wasn't sure where you were going with that. Fusion is on the list of things that could help in way more than one area for sure.
The Dean Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Okay, have you seen anyone go the SOL? And I take back the "impossible" and say "highly improbable." Much better. Still I doubt plenty of what we think we are sure of, including much of what we think is impossible.
Booster4324 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 With the rate of population growth, the earth's resources will be exhausted well before we develop the ability to travel such distances, much less be able to pinpoint where we want to travel. So humankind is done in less than 200 years huh? The whole solar system devoid of resources at best, the earth at worst as we never made it off the planet in any significant fashion? Is that what you mean? Incidentally, I would assume we would be far more likely to determine where we want to go, way before we determine how to get there.
Doc Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 So humankind is done in less than 200 years huh? The whole solar system devoid of resources at best, the earth at worst as we never made it off the planet in any significant fashion? Is that what you mean? Incidentally, I would assume we would be far more likely to determine where we want to go way before we determine how to get there. This isn't a trip to Disney, Booster. If you're talking traveling tens of thousands of light-years (a light-year is 5.88 trillion miles per year, so multiply that by tens of thousands) and wish to get there in some human lifespan timeframe(s), you'd need to find a way to travel MUCH faster than the SOL. But since anything with a resting mass cannot travel at the SOL, much less above it, it's effectively impossible to travel those distances, outside of some conduit in the space-time continuum like a wormhole that somehow manages to transport you to where you want to be. But one of those would need to be discovered, someone or something put through it, and the findings relayed back, etc. As for when humans will cease to exist, I can't say. It could be 200 years, it could be 2,000 years. But I'd put my money on sooner rather than later.
ajzepp Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 But we don't know how advanced they are and if they have the capability to reach us. I have no desire to reach them anyway, I'm more of a homebody. But my dream before I die is to see a UFO land. Okay, how bout you, me, and Lana take a trip to Gillilands Ranch? http://www.ahealedplanet.net/ufo.htm
Booster4324 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 This isn't a trip to Disney, Booster. If you're talking traveling tens of thousands of light-years (a light-year is 5.88 trillion miles per year, so multiply that by tens of thousands) and wish to get there in some human lifespan timeframe(s), you'd need to find a way to travel MUCH faster than the SOL. But since anything with a resting mass cannot travel at the SOL, much less above it, it's effectively impossible to travel those distances, outside of some conduit in the space-time continuum like a wormhole that somehow manages to transport you to where you want to be. But one of those would need to be discovered, someone or something put through it, and the findings relayed back, etc. As for when humans will cease to exist, I can't say. It could be 200 years, it could be 2,000 years. But I'd put my money on sooner rather than later. Tens of thousands... well at least we are down from millions. See how quickly we can cut the distance. Where are you pulling this tens of thousands from? I am actually curious. I wanted distances on these 140 planets. So give with the data. Of course, if we are pulling data from planets 10,000 light years away, that is !@#$ing impressive. I should note that it also invalidates your idea that we won't figure out where to go before we can go there.
ajzepp Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Next step in the progression of engineering. Really, how are you going engineer a high-speed, long-distance space ship when you can't even manage the technology to control a fusion reaction? Exactly....or to clean up a little oil in the Gulf!
Doc Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Tens of thousands... well at least we are down from millions. See how quickly we can cut the distance. Where are you pulling this tens of thousands from? I am actually curious. I wanted distances on these 140 planets. So give with the data. Of course, if we are pulling data from planets 10,000 light years away, that is !@#$ing impressive. I should note that it also invalidates your idea that we won't figure out where to go before we can go there. Please; it's a semantic point. Even 1 light-year away is a pipe-dream at this point. And yes, I'd like to know what data they have, where these "candiddates are, etc."
CosmicBills Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Doc, You're not much of an optimist are you? Lest you forget, we are a species that landed on the moon a mere 66 years after the Wright Brother's took to the air for the first time. 66 years!!! From a paper and wooden plane to sophisticated rockets and space travel. Technological advances are exponential. In fact, technology is advancing so quickly that it's difficult to keep up. Just look at the last 50 years and what's been developed and how quickly it's changed the world. From the internet to the iPad -- things are only going to continue to advance at an even quicker rate. In another 50 years there will be new tech that will make the iPad look like a dinosaur. There's absolutely no doubt that technology WILL keep advancing to a point where interstellar travel is not only possible, but common. Your point about whether or not the human race will survive long enough to reach that point is a far more valid and compelling argument. Because yes, there's a chance we kill ourselves or this planet long before we reach that. But, to say that it's impossible for humans to develop the capabilities to travel across vast distances is just plain false and shows a complete ignorance of how far we've come as a species in a very, very short period of time.
DC Tom Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 Which part? Time travel requiring the end point to be same as the start point. This isn't a trip to Disney, Booster. If you're talking traveling tens of thousands of light-years (a light-year is 5.88 trillion miles per year, so multiply that by tens of thousands) and wish to get there in some human lifespan timeframe(s), you'd need to find a way to travel MUCH faster than the SOL. But since anything with a resting mass cannot travel at the SOL, much less above it, it's effectively impossible to travel those distances, outside of some conduit in the space-time continuum like a wormhole that somehow manages to transport you to where you want to be. But one of those would need to be discovered, someone or something put through it, and the findings relayed back, etc. It should be fun, since you demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of general relativity in the above...
Philly McButterpants Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 It won't matter because you can't change the laws of physics. These planets are millions of light years away. Even if they were just thousands of light years away, it would still be impossible to reach them, and thousands of years before we could communicate with them. Not to mention, I don't know if humans will be around in several hundred years. These planets are not "millions" of light years away. The entine galaxy is "only" 100,000 light years across. Many of these are within one to two hundred light years away. Not that these distances are conducive to a two-way conversation, but maybe we can pick up their TV and/or radio signals . . .
DC Tom Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 These planets are not "millions" of light years away. The entine galaxy is "only" 100,000 light years across. Many of these are within one to two hundred light years away. Not that these distances are conducive to a two-way conversation, but maybe we can pick up their TV and/or radio signals . . . Radio fades into the background within a light-year. TV even quicker.
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