Semi-OT: We will go to Stars.

[dmm]

[decloaks]
I am from the future. It can be done.
[cloaks]

[oleg]

Anyway, back from FTL to the real world.

There is nothing prohibitive with light speed limit, it is our limited and very short life span that makes space travel so daunting. Just call our year a month and imagine you still live 70*12 of new months and you will realize that travel to Sirius is just a cruise.

[Gandalf Parker]

FTL isnt such a big factor now that Quantum string theory has broached the subject of matter/energy entering from another membrane (the new replacement for the big bang theory). It also has "solidified" on 11 dimensions (well 10 dimensions and "another for totally different reasons"). We are #4 if you are wondering.

Dont feel bad, they have nullified many standard arguments such as the "matter/energy cannot be made or destroyed" which was considered to have safely settled alot of subjects from UFOs to paranormal to religious to 42.

-- (appropriate sig for 42)
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer.
I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."

[ July 19, 2004, 20:55: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[Makinus]

oleg: sorry if you got affended by my commentaries, it was not my intention, and, by the way, my area of expertise is not physics, i´m only saying what i read on the net and what i thought were solid theories (while far fetched).... maybe i believed too easily in wrong theories because i do wish that humanity spread to the stars and FTL drives would be a novel way to do it...

As the comparasion of the sound barrier and the light barrier i do realize that they are completely different barriers... one being an engineering barrier and another a physical barrier, i only was pointing that, when the sound barrier was not broken yet "scientists" said that the barrier would be impossible to be broken, in the exact way the actual physicists (is my term correct?) are saying today... i never said that the 2 barrier were impossible for the same reason... i was only comparing the reactions of the old scientists to the actual ones, and while the reasons for the impossibility of breaking the barriers (sound and light) are completely different, the reactions of the scientists are the same...

Since you look like to have far better credentials than me to speak about physics i bow to your knowledge and admit that i´m only a curious about physics, being law my area of expertise...

btw: there is any good net resources about physics, mainly about advanced physics (like quantum physics) that can be (more or less) inteligible to just curious people like me?

Oleg: i really don´t wish to offend you in any way, and i really understand your indignation if the theories i talked about are already proved wrong, because i too would be indignant if someone spoke about brazilian law saying things that don´t represent the reality, i only spoke the theories because i didn´t knew they are alredy proved wrong and, if you can, can you point to me the reasons that they were wrong? i really want to know...

[oleg]

Damn I knew it would drift once again to FTL, Quantum thory and Einstein-is-idiot rant. Please, take note of my point: the perception of time is relative. We measure it to our life, or even more accurate to our reproduction cycle. But compared to fundamental constants, like light speed, it is purely accidental and should not dominate our perceptions.

The way to stars is through the changes in our body maintenance, not by futile attempts to overcome the laws of nature.

Speed of light is incrediable fast by itself, we can only reach fractions so far. But take a look around, we are living longer and longer. Soon enough we may contemplate a trip to Alpha Centauri and back/

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by Makinus:
btw: there is any good net resources about physics, mainly about advanced physics (like quantum physics) that can be (more or less) inteligible to just curious people like me?

You mean "Quantum Theory for Dummies"? NO
And I know because I have searched for it often. I can tell you lots of places NOT to go to. If you want to swim your brain with some of the many things that QT is mucking up, try this site.
http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/f-66

[cshank2]

So...if FTL travel is impossible (or possible) then are there other means to get to other systems in a timely manner? I mean, by the time we were to get a ship or sattelite to the closest star system (um... I forget which one it is) the people on the ship and the ground would be...what? 70 years old?

[Spoo]

I think the real problem is the effect of time-dilation (when travelling near the speed of light, time "slows down" by a factor of 1/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2), so travelling at 99.99% the speed of light makes 5000 years seem like 1 year).

In other words, the Earth goes through another ice age every time you go on vacation.

[Katchoo]

Nothing is impossible. The solution may be unfathomable and may take centuries to solve, but to say something is impossible is to close your mind to the possibility of succeeding in the face of stubborness.

The realization of a successful FTL application may be as foreign and inconcieveable to us as splitting an atom would be to a caveman.

Just try to remember: An open mind is an open door.

[Aiken]

oleg, you're speaking from physical point of view, not biological - your assumption that one day we will live thousands years is as voluntaristic as FTL gibberish. Even best medicine can't overcome biological imperfection.
And even if we could slow down subjective time perseption, it's impossible to slow down chemical reactions in our body (unless you're hibernated).