Semi-OT: We will go to Stars.

[Ruatha]

Tunneling is an interesting phenomenon, that I'll have to read further into before I say anything, read along with me:

FTL Experiments
FTL PHysics

[ July 21, 2004, 06:45: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[dumbluck]

I see only one problem with the whole concept of establishing remote colonies that will never exchange population (ala remote seeding ships). That problem is called Evolution. When a population of critters is cut off from the main population of critters, the two populations evolve along different path. Eventually, the splinter critters aren't critters anymore, they're creepy crawleys, or what have you.

So if HUMANS establish remote colonies in other starsystems WITHOUT the ability to travel back and forth fairly regularly, those remote colonies will eventually not even be human colonies anymore. They'd be aliens!

[ July 21, 2004, 21:09: Message edited by: dumbluck ]

[Slick]

Logically, if we could get there to establish the colony in the first place, it shouldn't take much longer until we could make a round trip. But, yeah, that's why places like Austrailia have so many unique creatures.

The non-humans are different too. j/k

Slick.

[oleg]

Originally posted by dumbluck:
I see only one problem with the whole concept of establishing remote colonies that will never exchange population (ala remote seeding ships). That problem is called Evolution. When a population of critters is cut off from the main population of critters, the two populations evolve along different path. Eventually, the splinter critters aren't critters anymore, they're creepy crawleys, or what have you.

So if HUMANS establish remote colonies in other starsystems WITHOUT the ability to travel back and forth fairly regularly, those remote colonies will eventually not even be human colonies anymore. They'd be aliens!

Evolution requires the driving external pressure for the survival of the fittest. Progress in technology excused humans from the general natural order. Even primitive Stone age technology freezed our evolution for 400K years now - there were no changes in our nature since

[DarkHorse]

Originally posted by oleg:
QUOTE]Evolution requires the driving external pressure for the survival of the fittest. Progress in technology excused humans from the general natural order. Even primitive Stone age technology freezed our evolution for 400K years now - there were no changes in our nature since

Evolution still happens; as a small example, we are slowly doing away with wisdom teeth. It just happens a little more randomly without the natural selection pressures.

[DarkHorse]

Originally posted by oleg:
Screw FTL, genetic engeeeniring is our bright and shiny future

You might want to tell that to these people.

[Phoenix-D]

Originally posted by DarkHorse:
Evolution still happens; as a small example, we are slowly doing away with wisdom teeth. It just happens a little more randomly without the natural selection pressures.

Actually without natural selection (which we DO still have) it happens completely randomly. Especially if you get populations small enough for genetic drift to be a factor.

[geoschmo]

If we accept the assumption that FTL travel and communication is absolutly impossible (I don't, but you obviously don't want to argue about it. ) then I highly doubt that we as a species will ever travel beyond our solar system. The distances are just too great. And what reason would we have to go? There is plenty of things right here in our solar system to explore and plenty or room for colonies. Why spend decades or centuries travelling to another system when you can spend months or years and stay close by.

Even if you could expand the human life span to thousands of years, who wants to spend hundreds of years in the void between the stars? Very boring. And it would be an astronomical risk to go that far out with no hope of rescue if your ship broke down. And it hard to keep a complex mechanical device like a spaceship functioning that long while carrying everything with you you need to make repairs.

Perhaps if we make long distance contact with some alien race we'll want to meet them up close. But the distances would be so great it just wouldn't be practical.

[astruskustuvas]

who said that FTL travel must be in real space Star Trek, Star Wars or B5 FTL trevel is possible

if i only could find that damn book..........

[Suicide Junkie]

You sound pretty pessimistic, Geo...

Given all the people in the world, I'm sure there are enough that are willing to spend the rest of their life on the ship, especially if its big enough to be somewhat comfortable.

At the very least, you could fill it with a load of criminals, as an alternative to death row or life in prison...

-----

As for the mechanicals... if you hollowed out an asteroid, you wouldn't have to worry so much about mechanical problems...
Just keep the power plants running (fusion?), so you have light for your plants and the rest of the ecosystem. Backups, technically trained people, and a small custom parts factory should do it.
You could use Earth power to get boosted on your course, and then the colony needs only to deploy an engine to stop at the end. An ion drive and/or a magnetic sail would be fairly easy to do.
You could even build them just before you arrive, using the latest designs from Earth.

You don't actually need to do anything on the outside of the "ship" until you arrive, except perhaps the occasional telescope observations, and radio/lasered communications with earth.
And the rock will protect you from just about everything.