NASA Working On Faster-Than-Light Warp Drive 2013
Nasa Engineer Sonny White talks about Nasa's work on a faster-than-lightspeed warp drive.
Wave of the future, dudes - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdaMI2wnVBg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdaMI2wnVBg)
(http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/186icholf7galjpg/k-bigpic.jpg)
LOL, the dude was about as vague as he could be. At even sub-light relativistic speeds the near perfect vacuum of space is like hitting a radioactive brick wall with the force of an atom bomb and the nice thing about warp drive is it crushes and obliterates anything in your path. The latest designs I know of are similar to the tardis on Dr. Who and would allow astronauts to walk through a door on earth onto the ship halfway to wherever and go home at night once their shift was over. That's really cool dude, but the problem is the thing still requires converting an entire moon into energy just to power it even with the theoretical progress they've made. Like the moving walkway at the airport he mentioned it also has to be installed at slower than light speeds. You have to send a ship out to the destination first at slower than light speeds to provide the "anchor" so to speak.
At this point it's still highly theoretical stuff. If you are interested in such things, there is also a professor in Connecticut working to build the first time machine. He's using counter-rotating laser beams pushed through a bose-einstein condensate to slow the speed of light to a crawl and increase it's inertial mass. The experiments are really to see if the universe won't just laugh in their faces for their hubris and the thing won't just blow up in their faces or keep demanding more energy.
Sounds exhausting.
It's been a while since I've read up on FTL and Alcubierre drives and all that (yeah, I'm a major geek), but if I remember correctly, mathematically we can travel under and over the speed of light, but not at the speed of light. Which really makes no damn sense, because that's like saying you can drive at 53mph and 55mph, but not 54mph.
Also, a lot of these drives don't really have good explanations of how to exit the warp bubble upon reaching the destination. Lastly, I wonder how they're going to circumvent the lack of exotic matter in the original mechanism?
But to be honest, I hope it's possible. I'd love to take a vacation on a foreign planet. Can you imagine sitting on a freaky lake's bank, enjoying a homemade beer, and digging your toes into green sand or something? And without the use of recreational drugs?
:D
Quote from: Masked Dude on June 30, 2013, 04:28:41 PM
It's been a while since I've read up on FTL and Alcubierre drives and all that (yeah, I'm a major geek), but if I remember correctly, mathematically we can travel under and over the speed of light, but not at the speed of light. Which really makes no damn sense, because that's like saying you can drive at 53mph and 55mph, but not 54mph.
Also, a lot of these drives don't really have good explanations of how to exit the warp bubble upon reaching the destination. Lastly, I wonder how they're going to circumvent the lack of exotic matter in the original mechanism?
But to be honest, I hope it's possible. I'd love to take a vacation on a foreign planet. Can you imagine sitting on a freaky lake's bank, enjoying a homemade beer, and digging your toes into green sand or something? And without the use of recreational drugs?
:D
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 8)
"Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am your host for tonight, Max Quordlepleen, and I have just come straight from the other end of time where I have been hosting a show at the Big Bang Burger Bar and I will be your host for this historic occasion - the End of History itself."
If you've done six impossible things this morning why not round it off with breakfast, lunch or dinner at Milliway's, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe...
I'm staying, finishing my pan galactic gargle blaster - http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Restaurant_at_the_End_of_the_Universe (http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/The_Restaurant_at_the_End_of_the_Universe)
(http://www.beaugrande.com/Restaurant%20at%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Universe%201.jpg)
More new shit has come to light (speed).............
NASA Warp Drive Project - "Speeds" that Could Take a Spacecraft to Alpha Centauri in Two Weeks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRn4WpoNAyo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRn4WpoNAyo)
You would still have to send out a probe first at sub-light speeds to "anchor" the other end of the carpet so to speak. At relativistic speeds a trip to Alpha Centauri would require roughly 40 years one way earth time and to then send a warp drive ship after it would require the power equivalent of converting an entire moon into anti-matter.
Quote from: wuliheron on July 08, 2013, 09:17:11 AM
You would still have to send out a probe first at sub-light speeds to "anchor" the other end of the carpet so to speak. At relativistic speeds a trip to Alpha Centauri would require roughly 40 years one way earth time and to then send a warp drive ship after it would require the power equivalent of converting an entire moon into anti-matter.
Speed of Light Tour 8)
You could send a robotic drone which would take maybe four months to four years ship-board time, but there is no getting around the fact relativity places severe limits on interstellar travel that no one has figured out a way around yet. Warp drive may be the only alternative, but that's extreme future technology when you are talking about converting entire moons into antimatter to power the thing. A baseball sized piece of antimatter is enough to destroy the entire earth and, personally, I'm glad we don't have anywhere near that kind of power yet.
<big downer warning>
Back when I was a kid in the sixties, the future predictions were very lofty, as they are now. Somehow, we have this presupposition that science and technology are the main driving forces for societal evolution; our hope for a brighter future even. Sorry kids, it turns out the ISS is pretty well the best we've done. No flying cars. No plug and play body parts, no inter-planetary travel - let alone colonization.
Science and technology have contributed hugely in the last 30 or 40 years to society, but it's greed and politics that drives our evolution as a world for the most part. Look at how fat the top one-tenth of one percent of the world live, owning more money than most country's budgets. Then there's the slow and insidious conversion of people to centuries-old religion - 60% or the western world are either converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back. Pick your Adamic religion flavour; it's becoming more and more popular to fly a religious flag and claim "harm done" when you can't wear your [insert religious clothing or article] through customs at an airport, or soccer field.
That's like, my opinion man. Dreaming is nice, and everyone should have a little Gene Rodenberry in them. Meanwhile, we have a fucked up world to fix.
</big downer warning>
Anyone want a peanut?
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:25:59 AM
<big downer warning>
Back when I was a kid in the sixties, the future predictions were very lofty, as they are now. Somehow, we have this presupposition that science and technology are the main driving forces for societal evolution; our hope for a brighter future even. Sorry kids, it turns out the ISS is pretty well the best we've done. No flying cars. No plug and play body parts, no inter-planetary travel - let alone colonization.
Science and technology have contributed hugely in the last 30 or 40 years to society, but it's greed and politics that drives our evolution as a world for the most part. Look at how fat the top one-tenth of one percent of the world live, owning more money than most country's budgets. Then there's the slow and insidious conversion of people to centuries-old religion - 60% or the western world are either converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back. Pick your Adamic religion flavour; it's becoming more and more popular to fly a religious flag and claim "harm done" when you can't wear your [insert religious clothing or article] through customs at an airport, or soccer field.
That's like, my opinion man. Dreaming is nice, and everyone should have a little Gene Rodenberry in them. Meanwhile, we have a fucked up world to fix.
</big downer warning>
Anyone want a peanut?
Yeah, have to say, violent religion is getting a bit out of control. Lack of coitus is my theory, and the lack of a dude-like attitude, as is the lack of the distribution of the world's wealth.
This is realistic, if we just get out head out of asses - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cqe9Wq9gqo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cqe9Wq9gqo)
The Jesus is coming back? I did not know that.
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:25:59 AM
...Then there's the slow and insidious conversion of people to centuries-old religion - 60% or the western world are either converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back.
60% turned to Abrahamic religion. Can you please quote your source for this statistic.
Reason I ask is the 80% drop in the UK census count of Christians in the last census because the Humanists lobbied for a change of the wording.
For years the UK was listed as about 80 to 90% christian, but that figure now proves to be more like 20% (much to my delight).
the closest I can get is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups.
Sorry religious statistics and their validity is a big thing with me. (I am a practicing Pagan as well as a Dudeist and have lectured on the subject so am genuinely interested).
This figure may be true of the USA but I have doubt for the rest of the western world.
More worrying is the missionary movement that is invading China and trying to fill the "spiritual void" left by the cultural revolution.
Quote from: meekon5 on July 09, 2013, 12:31:30 PM
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:25:59 AM
...Then there's the slow and insidious conversion of people to centuries-old religion - 60% or the western world are either converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back.
60% turned to Abrahamic religion. Can you please quote your source for this statistic.
Reason I ask is the 80% drop in the UK census count of Christians in the last census because the Humanists lobbied for a change of the wording.
the closest I can get is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups.
Sorry religious statistics and their validity is a big thing with me. (I am a practicing Pagan as well as a Dudeist and have lectured on the subject so am genuinely interested).
This figure may be true of the USA but I have doubt for the rest of the western world.
More worrying is the missionary movement that is invading China and trying to fill the "spiritual void" left by the cultural revolution.
Read the whole sentence! It's the "or" that makes a difference. I could have said "60% of the western world either believe Jesus is coming back, or have converted to Islam", and it means the same thing. It wasn't my intent to put more emphasis on one or the other; just making the point that we seem to be moving backwards with this whole religion thing... I blame it on the poor education system, but that's me.
We need more beer girls.
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on July 08, 2013, 05:37:55 PM
Quote from: wuliheron on July 08, 2013, 09:17:11 AM
You would still have to send out a probe first at sub-light speeds to "anchor" the other end of the carpet so to speak. At relativistic speeds a trip to Alpha Centauri would require roughly 40 years one way earth time and to then send a warp drive ship after it would require the power equivalent of converting an entire moon into anti-matter.
Speed of Light Tour 8)
That sounds like a Metallica gig ;)
Star trek type warp drive is a bit contradictory I think as it is intended for inter stellar space transit yet most stories have them exiting warp next to planets which would bugger the planet as the space it occupies is affected by the ships warp bubble. The theory is the ship moves space rather than moves through space so it doesn't actually move faster than light in relative terms. But the energy required to do it is astronomical, no pun intended.
Quote from: milnie on July 09, 2013, 02:52:20 PM
Star trek type warp drive is a bit contradictory I think as it is intended for inter stellar space transit yet most stories have them exiting warp next to planets which would bugger the planet as the space it occupies is affected by the ships warp bubble. The theory is the ship moves space rather than moves through space so it doesn't actually move faster than light in relative terms. But the energy required to do it is astronomical, no pun intended.
Mistakes in Star Trek Science and Other...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkLxFLOW9ew (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkLxFLOW9ew)
Thank you for your reply
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:47:15 PM
Read the whole sentence! It's the "or" that makes a difference.
I did do (Read the whole sentence) and no it doesn't make a difference.
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:47:15 PM
I could have said "60% of the western world either believe Jesus is coming back, or have converted to Islam", and it means the same thing. It wasn't my intent to put more emphasis on one or the other;
Not what I meant.
Quote from: Hominid on July 09, 2013, 12:47:15 PM
just making the point that we seem to be moving backwards with this whole religion thing... I blame it on the poor education system, but that's me...
Yes that's what I understood.
The Abrahamic religion (religion descended from Abraham) is both sides. To look for Jesus coming back is to believe in his resurrection which I was taking as basically christian, and converting to Islam, is the second of the abrahamic religions (Judaism being the third).
What you are saying is six out of every ten people is either christian (looking for the end of times, Jesus' return, the anti-christ risen) or turning to islam.
It was the whole statement I was disagreeing (imhdo) with.
This may be coloured by your particular environment.
It's not my experience.
In fact there is a point of view that though younger people are converting to Islam more are coverting away to christianity (Every year six million Muslims convert to Christianity (http://catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/jesus-instead-of-jihad-every-year-six-million-muslims-convert-to-christianity/)).
You have said sixty percent of the western world is either (or) christian or Muslim, I am saying that is not true.
I am asking for you to give the source of your figure.
I quoted the recent change in numbers of reported christian in the UK as an example of how coverage of religion can be misrepresented.
I feel your point of view may be biased by the gross over coverage by the media of certain individuals who have converted to Islam and been involved in recent attempts at terrorism.
By the figures I can find the coverage of any religious persuasion in the western world is not much over about twenty five percent (that includes other religions like Hindu and Buddhism, as well as Judaism, Islam and christianity).
I think just because they are the loudest people shouting on the television/down the pub/ on the street corner, all it does is make you concentrate on them and miss the majority of other (mostly atheist, or agnostic) people going quietly about their business.
Again if you can give the source of your sixty percent I would be glad to discuss this further.
QuoteAgain if you can give the source of your sixty percent I would be glad to discuss this further.
It was an opinion piece in the newspaper about the last American election. It said something to the effect that "more people are becoming religious, and that 60% are either people who have converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back". So, not the western world - my bad... my concept of the western world is continent-centric being North American. But my point stands... If you look at an American map of the distribution of Republican vs Democrats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states), it's scary to know that you cannot get elected as a Republican if you're not a Christian. Claiming to be an atheist or agnostic is political suicide.
Quote from: Hominid on July 11, 2013, 09:53:15 AM
QuoteAgain if you can give the source of your sixty percent I would be glad to discuss this further.
It was an opinion piece in the newspaper about the last American election. It said something to the effect that "more people are becoming religious, and that 60% are either people who have converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back". So, not the western world - my bad... my concept of the western world is continent-centric being North American. But my point stands... If you look at an American map of the distribution of Republican vs Democrats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states), it's scary to know that you cannot get elected as a Republican if you're not a Christian. Claiming to be an atheist or agnostic is political suicide.
Some 87% of republicans are now Lilly white, 60% describe themselves as evangelical and 60% are rural, with an average of 22 times the wealth of blacks and 15 times that of Hispanics. A lot of senior citizens in particular making a killing off the stock market. Their wealth has increased 80 times over the last 40 years, while the average American has been lucky if they can tread water fast enough to keep from going under. Note that the stock market has become one of the few investments available after the banks were allowed to commit outright fraud and run the housing market and world economy into the toilet.
The irony is that during the 1930s progressives went to these same southern states and warned people if they did not rotate their crops and do stupid simple things like plant cover crops it would lead to disaster. The progressives were willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to such things, but the conservatives laughed at them. Then the dust bowl hit and the progressives went in and cleaned up the mess. Last year with global warming the stupid rednecks had to kill half their cattle. The same ignorant rednecks in the same states that collect the lion's share of federal assistance including farming subsidies and insist on cutting any other type of federal spending. They've become so foam at the mouth their own children have been abandoning fundamentalist churches and the republican party which are both going down the toilet fast while grandma and grandpa watch Fox news and rant and rave about the wages of sinful illegal aliens, food stamps, homosexuality, and welfare. Obama was overwhelmingly elected by the growing urban populations which have only now begun to exceed those of the rednecks.
Quote from: Hominid on July 11, 2013, 09:53:15 AM
QuoteAgain if you can give the source of your sixty percent I would be glad to discuss this further.
It was an opinion piece in the newspaper about the last American election. It said something to the effect that "more people are becoming religious, and that 60% are either people who have converted to Islam, or believe Jesus is coming back". So, not the western world - my bad... my concept of the western world is continent-centric being North American. But my point stands... If you look at an American map of the distribution of Republican vs Democrats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states), it's scary to know that you cannot get elected as a Republican if you're not a Christian. Claiming to be an atheist or agnostic is political suicide.
Much like Blair converting to Catholicism.
Actually I can see that more, but there is still an aspect of the media throwing pictures of young white boys with big beards being arrested or questioned after converting to Islam.
The growing majority of developed world countries are now secular with a majority of the population not claiming any religious affiliation. Religion has even been on the decline in the US for the last half century and what religions remain have diversified. Evidently once a government manages to promote a decent standard of living and provide a comprehensive safety net people drop religion like a wet cat and suddenly have more faith in their governments. In the US the poor have abandoned religion en mass as entitlements have expanded and the young have abandoned fundamentalist churches as their pulpits have become political stumps claiming taxes are a sin and we must keep the present taxes on the wealthy at lower than 1950s levels and cut entitlements to the bone.
According to the National Science Foundation one in five Americans still believes the sun revolves around the earth which is the same number who believe Jesus will return in their lifetime. That's not a problem with education, but flat out denial on massive scale driven by economics.
Not that I mind the push for secular rights and ideas for scientific advances (I wish we would)...
I hope some sort of Alcubierre or space-folding drive is possible. Sure, mathematically it's probably impossible or at best improbable. However, many things we knew for sure in the past were later proven to be false. For instance, how much phlogiston is in your chair? Right, none. But a long time ago, that was fact, not just a formula.
Whether we have space folders or jump gates, I hope we finally start looking elsewhere. Are we ready for that right now? Probably not. However, some times we need a huge kick in the ass before things can happen. If we keep waiting, we might be waiting forever. Yes, just as pioneers and explorers had bad luck, we need to start seriously looking into such things. Before that, however, we might want to consider responsible undersea or Antarctic domiciles.
Eventually we'll go out of our comfort zone and atmosphere for another planet. But the only way we can do that is if we stop using personal feelings and emotions to say what we can and can't do.
If there's a deity, and we are coming up with theories on how to do it... It's possible.
If there's not a deity, we're not going to fly up its ass up there in space. Therefore let's go.
The problem I see it, and that's just, like, my opinion, is that we're just too damn afraid to do certain things. Space folding engines, city farms, gene therapy, all that, we're just so damned afraid of something. We're still prey animals in our minds and we're still afraid of the big boom in the sky.
Let's grow up, do it right, and do what we do best: grow.
"Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus."
Just take it easy, man, lets go bowling, no need to develop interstellar warp drives now...I mean, they already gave dude a beeper, and I don't think they even have oat sodas in space, think about dudes, I mean, has that ever occurred to you?
True...you might find a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster...but I personally prefer a caucasian Gary....and even though I like your style, you got a whole futuristic thing goin, I gotta tell you....warning bells ringin dudes....
Sometimes you eat space but sometimes space...well, he eats you.
Oompa Loompa Doopity Dude...
Besides, I still jerk off manually.