FTL

[SckizoBoy]

I would like the Escapist's views on the following:

Alcubierre drive

Do you believe it is possible? & why? If not, what would be your alternative?

One rule: do not mention the Scharnhorst effect (myself notwithstanding... 'cos I'm a dick that way).

 

[Hungry Donner]

I think something along those lines is an interesting way to get around special relativity, and while the energy requirements are no doubt obscene they're probably less than what you need to create a wormhole (since the wormhole requires maintaining the entire thing while you're using it, the Albucierre drive is a much smaller and more localized effect).

 

[Redingold]

Well, the Alcubierre warp drive requires negative energy (I think it needs more negative energy than exists positive energy in the whole universe), and I believe that one consequence of using it is that the front of the ship becomes causally disconnected from the back of the ship, meaning you can't steer or turn it off. I think.

 

[Purple Shrimp]

I don't have anywhere close to the knowledge to make a judgment on the actual workings of the Alcubierre drive, but personally I doubt that FTL travel is possible

The Scharnhorst Effect

 

[JUGGERNAUTBITCH]

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/FTL.html

good read.

OT:
doubt it will work. you need the power to controle black holes.

 

[Gotterdammerung]

An easier way to reach FTL speeds is a "quantum bulldozer". You see, the only reason that light has a maximum value is that there are all these annoying sub-atomic particles in the vacuum, getting in its way. If you can force then apart, doing your sub-atomic Moses impression, then you can increase c. Furthermore, when the passage collapses behind it, the shockwave (of sorts) will drive the light forward faster.

Unfortunately, as with any FTL drive, the energy needed for this is impossibly large, and so is incredibly economically unfeasible, but less So than "bubbling" the ship, or creating a wormhole, as it does not need to be stable for long periods of time (unlike the bubbling), nor do you have to be at the destination first (the wormhole, unless you find one in the wild, which is incredibly unlikely).

Ah well, that's my view, anyway.

 

[MercurySteam]

Alcubierre drive

Or the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine if you don't watch Star Trek.

It would certainly help with space exploration that's for sure, but what will we find out there?

 

[SckizoBoy]

An easier way to reach FTL speeds is a "quantum bulldozer". You see, the only reason that light has a maximum value is that there are all these annoying sub-atomic particles in the vacuum, getting in its way. If you can force then apart, doing your sub-atomic Moses impression, then you can increase c. Furthermore, when the passage collapses behind it, the shockwave (of sorts) will drive the light forward faster.

Unfortunately, as with any FTL drive, the energy needed for this is impossibly large, and so is incredibly economically unfeasible, but less So than "bubbling" the ship, or creating a wormhole, as it does not need to be stable for long periods of time (unlike the bubbling), nor do you have to be at the destination first (the wormhole, unless you find one in the wild, which is incredibly unlikely).

Ah well, that's my view, anyway.

Yah, this was why I said: don't mention the Scharnhorst effect, because to get a(n applied) Casimir vacuum of that size... and to control it is damn near impossible. And as far as undistorted space is concerned, I don't think mankind has the capacity to accomplish it.

Off topic: is your avatar 'Wrath of God'?

It would certainly help with space exploration that's for sure, but what will we find out there?

A lot of hot gas and some mineral laden ice I'd imagine. *shrug*

 

[DefunctTheory]

I prefer the reality bending, time altering, shot in the dark methods of the Kearny-Fuchida Drive myself.

As for faster then light travel in reality... this is one of those instances where I think Star Trek got it wrong.

 

[Gotterdammerung]

An easier way to reach FTL speeds is a "quantum bulldozer". You see, the only reason that light has a maximum value is that there are all these annoying sub-atomic particles in the vacuum, getting in its way. If you can force then apart, doing your sub-atomic Moses impression, then you can increase c. Furthermore, when the passage collapses behind it, the shockwave (of sorts) will drive the light forward faster.

Yah, this was why I said: don't mention the Scharnhorst effect, because to get a(n applied) Casimir vacuum of that size... and to control it is damn near impossible. And as far as undistorted space is concerned, I don't think mankind has the capacity to accomplish it.

Off topic: is your avatar 'Wrath off God"?

Personally, I believe that we will,one day be able to use entropic manipulation, and it's the only one that doesn't need something impossible (negative energy, I'm looking at you), and you can both lab-test it, and interact with the object whilst it is travelling. But don't worry, I won't bring it up again.

Also, yes, it is Wrath of God. Gain 5 geek points, and destroy all street cred you have. It can't be regenerated.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Also, yes, it is Wrath of God. Gain 5 geek points, and destroy all street cred you have. It can't be regenerated.

'Destroy', more like 'remove from the game'! And it happened to me years ago, though haven't played in some time (money... always money...)

 

[Gotterdammerung]

Also, yes, it is Wrath of God. Gain 5 geek points, and destroy all street cred you have. It can't be regenerated.

'Destroy', more like 'remove from the game'! And it happened to me years ago, though haven't played in some time (money... always money...)

Magic: the Gathering's my anti-drug. When I play Magic, I can't afford no drugs. .

 

[shadowslayer81]

I don't just because it seems like such a silly idea.
It's a lot easier to just go into cryostasis and call it a day.

Yeah you could warp space-time, but you would have to mess with gravity to do to that, and gravity is probably the most annoying force there is (no particle and all that).

 

[Gotterdammerung]

Not counting the problems with supplies and maintenance, the main problem of cryostatis and colony ships is the technological leapfrogging that occurs. Here's an example;

We have terraformed a moon/planet/whatever in Alpha Centauri, which is about 4 light-years away. The first ship should take, say, 100 years to get there. Back on Terra, however, Moore's Law still applies, and nearly 35 cycles have elapsed by the time the first signal comes back, saying everything's fine, come in over, the water's lovely. So another ship sets off, tooled up with all the latest tech after a short development and construction cycle, due to all the wunder-tech floating around - 15 years.

Now, when it sets off, 40 Moore Cycles have passed, and the tech is 1.1trillion times faster than the tech the original colonists have, as it is unlikely that they will be able to have even rudimenterally advanced technology at this point, due to the small size of the population and the lack of infrastructure.

It will take a long, long time (discounting robots, or nanomachines, or similar) for the colony to achieve any real level of technological development, and the gap (4 years at the minimum) means that it will be hard for Terra to provide aid for them. It would be like if we had to help with Steam-technology. We have lost most if our practical knowledge of the subject, purely due to the fact that it is no longer practiced. And if the colony wad further out than Alpha Centauri, by the time the colony had got there, transmitted the A-OK message, and we had set off, millennia may have passed.

If we confine ourselves to sublight speeds, then there will always be this gap for any world that isn't Terra. Only with superlight speeds can an extrasolar civilisation truly be viable.

(Now excuse me, I need to put my soapbox away now.)