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This topic has moved here: Subject: How would you invent FTL travel?
  • Subject: How would you invent FTL travel?
Subject: How would you invent FTL travel?

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: Scarecrow118

Posted by: cameo_cream
I would open a wormhole in normal space by pulsing large amount of energy into defined atomic structures (tiny wormholes are always being created inside and around atoms. A large energy introduction may increase the size of these holes or an indroduction of an element which widens the wormhole out much like like pole sides of a magnet. I would then use the wormhole to 'bend' normal space or 'compress' it to travel extremely long distances in minutes perhaps less.

This is an actual theory though much of it is just theory and going off what sceintists believe what is happening. Though 'warping' normal space is a very real theory.

Thats how i would do it. Though i hear what they do in the game isnt all fiction!


At B2, I'm incredibly interested by this theory about the black hole from the LHC. I've heard a lot of rumours about this, mostly pertaining to 2012 -_-, but I honestly thought it would be impossible as a black hole is created from the gravitational collapse of a supermassive object. Even if somehow protons generated enough mass through their velocity, they would only create a micro-black hole which would dissipate extremely quickly from the Hawkins radiation. IF it were to happen, my thoughts would be that the LHC would be destroyed, but there wouldn't be much of a danger to the rest of the world. Would I be right in that assumption?


Well thats the common misconception about the LHC, and we could talk for hours on the possibilities of strangelets and metastable black holes. Like you said though, Hawking Radiation is the key point people miss here. Because the LHC could at best produce macroscopic black holes due to many variables, the size would simply not be stable enough to survive, the most powerful variable being the vacuum its in, therefore preventing mass from entering the MBH. there is literally nothing but protons it could possibly take, and due to Hawking Radiation, there is no risk of global catastrophe with a certainty of 99.99999999%. In fact, that percentage is so tiny, we can disregard it all together.

If, however that extremely miniscule percentage happens due to the idiocy of a researcher, the black holes engulfing of the LHC wouldnt be good news for anyone, as a black hole with a circumference of 27 kilometers would surely cause extensive damage, to the point where earth could literally implode itself into the black hole. But as I said, it would take supreme idiocy from a scientist at CERN to produce a black hole and allow it to grow that much via mass. You will be safe.

Oh, to answer to your reply to cameo, Antimatter production could be done naturally, if we can harness it properly. Electrical storms on earth like thunder have been proven to produce trillions of positrons in beams that shoot away from the Earth, with that and its capture, we must be able to do something with it. Nature vs Artificial production is something to consider, and so far, billions of positrons/anti-electrons sound better than 13 anti-hydrogen atoms per extreme amounts of collisions.

~B2


Anti matter was what i was thinking of intially. But it is extremely expensivw to manufacture. For example-

One just one teaspoon of antimatter would cost billions even trillions of dollars. However, bear in mind that 'one teaspoon' has the potential energy to carry multiple NASA rockets inro space. Perhaps in yhe future a more cost effective solution will be produced, much like your idea with lightning, but there is hope! I hear that a few of the worlds top physians and or scientists are working on faster than light travel. How about this to tease you?

In 30 or so years we may have our own personal jetpacks, much like in Halo Reach.

In another 50 years we may be able to have our own lightsabres and hoverboards.

Not everything is fiction!

There are many many more genious creations by these people, like for example time travel, but i personally think that the idea for that is somewhat pointless. Other inventions i have forgotten.

You can be amazed by what you 'think' is fiction when it may actually be reality.


Its why I always say, don't laugh at Sci-Fi fans, because 30 years from now, many technologies on the shows will be produced anyway. Capturing The billions of positrons ejected in an electrical storm would be 2.8 million times more efficient as Natural processes eliminate the need for us to do anything but capture and preserve. It is also economically feasible using a magnetic suction device of sorts to drive the positrons into a vacuum magnetic chamber, where it would be suspended. A pure ball of positive anti-energy. Imagine that.

In a year I built a pack that hovers up to a height of 2 ft with a catalyst and a solution in 2 separate tanks producing thrust in a controlled manner. Im sure in 30 they should be able to if I can with a physics teacher and some equipment. Lightsabres would require much more complex physics, as a Light sabre with todays technology would literally be infinitely long unless the light can be bent within a length. Laser Weaponry is much more cost-effective 50 years from now than light manipulation.

Right now, we have developed plasma based energy shields for the very smallest of grains of sand, that also can be developed further, to which we are even anticipating satellites with plasma shielding from micrometeoroids in the near future. This would stop physical force from damaging satellites, and with Photochromism, lasers could be deflected as well.

I don't believe that fiction is fictional. I believe that a lot of what we call fiction is simply reality waiting to be produced and manufactured.

~B2

  • 01.24.2011 4:05 PM PDT

In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her colonies.

March 3, 2553


Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: Scarecrow118

Posted by: cameo_cream
I would open a wormhole in normal space by pulsing large amount of energy into defined atomic structures (tiny wormholes are always being created inside and around atoms. A large energy introduction may increase the size of these holes or an indroduction of an element which widens the wormhole out much like like pole sides of a magnet. I would then use the wormhole to 'bend' normal space or 'compress' it to travel extremely long distances in minutes perhaps less.

This is an actual theory though much of it is just theory and going off what sceintists believe what is happening. Though 'warping' normal space is a very real theory.

Thats how i would do it. Though i hear what they do in the game isnt all fiction!


At B2, I'm incredibly interested by this theory about the black hole from the LHC. I've heard a lot of rumours about this, mostly pertaining to 2012 -_-, but I honestly thought it would be impossible as a black hole is created from the gravitational collapse of a supermassive object. Even if somehow protons generated enough mass through their velocity, they would only create a micro-black hole which would dissipate extremely quickly from the Hawkins radiation. IF it were to happen, my thoughts would be that the LHC would be destroyed, but there wouldn't be much of a danger to the rest of the world. Would I be right in that assumption?


Well thats the common misconception about the LHC, and we could talk for hours on the possibilities of strangelets and metastable black holes. Like you said though, Hawking Radiation is the key point people miss here. Because the LHC could at best produce macroscopic black holes due to many variables, the size would simply not be stable enough to survive, the most powerful variable being the vacuum its in, therefore preventing mass from entering the MBH. there is literally nothing but protons it could possibly take, and due to Hawking Radiation, there is no risk of global catastrophe with a certainty of 99.99999999%. In fact, that percentage is so tiny, we can disregard it all together.

If, however that extremely miniscule percentage happens due to the idiocy of a researcher, the black holes engulfing of the LHC wouldnt be good news for anyone, as a black hole with a circumference of 27 kilometers would surely cause extensive damage, to the point where earth could literally implode itself into the black hole. But as I said, it would take supreme idiocy from a scientist at CERN to produce a black hole and allow it to grow that much via mass. You will be safe.

Oh, to answer to your reply to cameo, Antimatter production could be done naturally, if we can harness it properly. Electrical storms on earth like thunder have been proven to produce trillions of positrons in beams that shoot away from the Earth, with that and its capture, we must be able to do something with it. Nature vs Artificial production is something to consider, and so far, billions of positrons/anti-electrons sound better than 13 anti-hydrogen atoms per extreme amounts of collisions.

~B2


Anti matter was what i was thinking of intially. But it is extremely expensivw to manufacture. For example-

One just one teaspoon of antimatter would cost billions even trillions of dollars. However, bear in mind that 'one teaspoon' has the potential energy to carry multiple NASA rockets inro space. Perhaps in yhe future a more cost effective solution will be produced, much like your idea with lightning, but there is hope! I hear that a few of the worlds top physians and or scientists are working on faster than light travel. How about this to tease you?

In 30 or so years we may have our own personal jetpacks, much like in Halo Reach.

In another 50 years we may be able to have our own lightsabres and hoverboards.

Not everything is fiction!

There are many many more genious creations by these people, like for example time travel, but i personally think that the idea for that is somewhat pointless. Other inventions i have forgotten.

You can be amazed by what you 'think' is fiction when it may actually be reality.


Its why I always say, don't laugh at Sci-Fi fans, because 30 years from now, many technologies on the shows will be produced anyway. Capturing The billions of positrons ejected in an electrical storm would be 2.8 million times more efficient as Natural processes eliminate the need for us to do anything but capture and preserve. It is also economically feasible using a magnetic suction device of sorts to drive the positrons into a vacuum magnetic chamber, where it would be suspended. A pure ball of positive anti-energy. Imagine that.

In a year I built a pack that hovers up to a height of 2 ft with a catalyst and a solution in 2 separate tanks producing thrust in a controlled manner. Im sure in 30 they should be able to if I can with a physics teacher and some equipment. Lightsabres would require much more complex physics, as a Light sabre with todays technology would literally be infinitely long unless the light can be bent within a length. Laser Weaponry is much more cost-effective 50 years from now than light manipulation.

Right now, we have developed plasma based energy shields for the very smallest of grains of sand, that also can be developed further, to which we are even anticipating satellites with plasma shielding from micrometeoroids in the near future. This would stop physical force from damaging satellites, and with Photochromism, lasers could be deflected as well.

I don't believe that fiction is fictional. I believe that a lot of what we call fiction is simply reality waiting to be produced and manufactured.

~B2


Plasma shielding? That is something i didnt think would happen for a while. You'll be surprised how simple the concept of a lightsabre is. It actually isnt a 'light' sabre more light a 'plasma' sabre. Its very simple, the handle piece of the sabre has a plasma chamber, inside of that is an alloy which is extremely resistant to heat and does not break nor warp under immense heats. The plasma is then heated by millions of tiny nano batteries and is cycle through the emmited section of the lightsabre which comes out of the handle and is made of the same heat resistent material. The lightsabre in theory should be able to do all the things seen in the movie except deflect lasers!

It is truely amazing what technologies can become reality!

  • 01.24.2011 4:44 PM PDT

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2

Well thats the common misconception about the LHC, and we could talk for hours on the possibilities of strangelets and metastable black holes. Like you said though, Hawking Radiation is the key point people miss here. Because the LHC could at best produce macroscopic black holes due to many variables, the size would simply not be stable enough to survive, the most powerful variable being the vacuum its in, therefore preventing mass from entering the MBH. there is literally nothing but protons it could possibly take, and due to Hawking Radiation, there is no risk of global catastrophe with a certainty of 99.99999999%. In fact, that percentage is so tiny, we can disregard it all together.

If, however that extremely miniscule percentage happens due to the idiocy of a researcher, the black holes engulfing of the LHC wouldnt be good news for anyone, as a black hole with a circumference of 27 kilometers would surely cause extensive damage, to the point where earth could literally implode itself into the black hole. But as I said, it would take supreme idiocy from a scientist at CERN to produce a black hole and allow it to grow that much via mass. You will be safe.

Oh, to answer to your reply to cameo, Antimatter production could be done naturally, if we can harness it properly. Electrical storms on earth like thunder have been proven to produce trillions of positrons in beams that shoot away from the Earth, with that and its capture, we must be able to do something with it. Nature vs Artificial production is something to consider, and so far, billions of positrons/anti-electrons sound better than 13 anti-hydrogen atoms per extreme amounts of collisions.

~B2


Anti matter was what i was thinking of intially. But it is extremely expensivw to manufacture. For example-

One just one teaspoon of antimatter would cost billions even trillions of dollars. However, bear in mind that 'one teaspoon' has the potential energy to carry multiple NASA rockets inro space. Perhaps in yhe future a more cost effective solution will be produced, much like your idea with lightning, but there is hope! I hear that a few of the worlds top physians and or scientists are working on faster than light travel. How about this to tease you?

In 30 or so years we may have our own personal jetpacks, much like in Halo Reach.

In another 50 years we may be able to have our own lightsabres and hoverboards.

Not everything is fiction!

There are many many more genious creations by these people, like for example time travel, but i personally think that the idea for that is somewhat pointless. Other inventions i have forgotten.

You can be amazed by what you 'think' is fiction when it may actually be reality.


Its why I always say, don't laugh at Sci-Fi fans, because 30 years from now, many technologies on the shows will be produced anyway. Capturing The billions of positrons ejected in an electrical storm would be 2.8 million times more efficient as Natural processes eliminate the need for us to do anything but capture and preserve. It is also economically feasible using a magnetic suction device of sorts to drive the positrons into a vacuum magnetic chamber, where it would be suspended. A pure ball of positive anti-energy. Imagine that.

In a year I built a pack that hovers up to a height of 2 ft with a catalyst and a solution in 2 separate tanks producing thrust in a controlled manner. Im sure in 30 they should be able to if I can with a physics teacher and some equipment. Lightsabres would require much more complex physics, as a Light sabre with todays technology would literally be infinitely long unless the light can be bent within a length. Laser Weaponry is much more cost-effective 50 years from now than light manipulation.

Right now, we have developed plasma based energy shields for the very smallest of grains of sand, that also can be developed further, to which we are even anticipating satellites with plasma shielding from micrometeoroids in the near future. This would stop physical force from damaging satellites, and with Photochromism, lasers could be deflected as well.

I don't believe that fiction is fictional. I believe that a lot of what we call fiction is simply reality waiting to be produced and manufactured.

~B2


Plasma shielding? That is something i didnt think would happen for a while. You'll be surprised how simple the concept of a lightsabre is. It actually isnt a 'light' sabre more light a 'plasma' sabre. Its very simple, the handle piece of the sabre has a plasma chamber, inside of that is an alloy which is extremely resistant to heat and does not break nor warp under immense heats. The plasma is then heated by millions of tiny nano batteries and is cycle through the emmited section of the lightsabre which comes out of the handle and is made of the same heat resistent material. The lightsabre in theory should be able to do all the things seen in the movie except deflect lasers!

It is truely amazing what technologies can become reality!


Well in the literal sense, scientists are thinking of light rather than plasma for light sabres, although plasma weaponry would be much more powerful as it is naturally dangerous if used as a weapon.

Plasma Shielding has been worked on since the 90s, and is only now becoming a very real plausibility due to advances in the bending of it around objects. Im not well informed in the subject, so I cannot exactly tell you the details, but when I went to the University of Washington for a day to see around the place with my uncle who studied there, seeing it in action was breathtaking. Not that it was hugely spectacular, but the fact they have an "orb" of plasma shielding already is incredible.

~B2

  • 01.25.2011 2:49 AM PDT

Twitter | Nothing


Posted by: falconslayer93
Being serious/realistic, how would you invent FTL(faster than light) travel?


I like the fact you want a serious discussion on FTL, with serious suggestions on how to actually go about inventing it.

Anyway, why travel faster than light when you can just travel through time. Much easier all round.

  • 01.25.2011 3:29 AM PDT

Eternal Refuge Remains Out Of Reach. (Reclaimercomic.com)
Join the Unmatched Photographers if you want help with your screenshots.
If you enjoy making maps, then Forever Forgers is for you!!!

@ B2, that is why I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi, because some of the best is based off modern physics and quantum theories, and actually attempts to explain it in a realistic and believable manner. Plus, a lot of concepts from Sci-Fi are used as inspiration for futuristic developments.

See, plasma shielding and anti-matter is something most people would only believe to exist in sci-fi, but it is being created today.

As to the lightsabre discussion, I would like to point out that future developments would work much more like an energy sword from Halo than the lightsabre as we know it. Light is not a particularly efficient weapon, and there would be no way to contain it in a sword like fashion, as it would act more like a laser.

The energy sword however is plasma contained within a magnetic field. Obviously power generation is a major issue here, but THEORETICALLY it would be more likely than a typical lightsabre.

The plasma shielding is definitely an interesting concept to me, as from all the sci-fi I know, shields are the epitome of a space age culture, and would allow advancement of a dozen different fields of sci-fi. However, as with everything discussed, the major issue is with power generation. Unless major advances are made in the field of power generation, all of this will effectively remain sci-fi, with widespread implementation impossible.

  • 01.25.2011 4:04 AM PDT

<(-_-)> Teh mokey is not amused


Posted by: modest too
Matter is to Energy, as Energy is to Time, thus convert Matter to Energy then Energy to Time, and revert in a different location where Time is constant. Thus location changes but Matter and Energy remain constant.

All of this assumes Energy is in relation to time!

But that would mean creating energy which goes against one of the primary laws of physics.

  • 01.25.2011 4:46 AM PDT

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: Scarecrow118
@ B2, that is why I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi, because some of the best is based off modern physics and quantum theories, and actually attempts to explain it in a realistic and believable manner. Plus, a lot of concepts from Sci-Fi are used as inspiration for futuristic developments.

See, plasma shielding and anti-matter is something most people would only believe to exist in sci-fi, but it is being created today.

As to the lightsabre discussion, I would like to point out that future developments would work much more like an energy sword from Halo than the lightsabre as we know it. Light is not a particularly efficient weapon, and there would be no way to contain it in a sword like fashion, as it would act more like a laser.

The energy sword however is plasma contained within a magnetic field. Obviously power generation is a major issue here, but THEORETICALLY it would be more likely than a typical lightsabre.

The plasma shielding is definitely an interesting concept to me, as from all the sci-fi I know, shields are the epitome of a space age culture, and would allow advancement of a dozen different fields of sci-fi. However, as with everything discussed, the major issue is with power generation. Unless major advances are made in the field of power generation, all of this will effectively remain sci-fi, with widespread implementation impossible.


Indeed, very few ideas from Sci-Fi are "absolutely" impossible, as even the U.S.S Enterprise off Star Trek is a type of ship design that is plausible in space, although atomically, there is VERY slight drag from ships passing through hydrogen clouds and such, miniscule, but still accumulative enough to warrant some form of aerodynamic design in the very far flung future. Inevitably, man will have 4 choices in aeronautics:

-Planetary Travel (London to New York)
-Interplanetary Travel (Mars to Titan)
-Interstellar Travel (Sol (Our System) to Sirius)
-Inter-Galactic Travel (Milky Way to Andromeda)

The First two are fairly easy to work around. The third is a complication that can be worked on with Anti-matter, and as I said before, positronic capture is over two hundred thousand times more efficient than the LHC in producing Anti-particles, an orb of pure positronic particles is pretty much all we need for propulsion between stars with of course, the ship being able to contain and efficiently use the fuel so we dont all blow up into hell. Plasma shielding will also ensure we are saved from micrometeoroids and such that would otherwise cause extensive damage at even 10% of c, and with Photochromism, radiation from pulsars and other radiations can be deflected and absorbed, making Space Travel safe.

As for Inter-Galactic Travel, I have the feeling Dark Energy is our biggest ally, but until we see Dark Energy being proven as an existant thing off paper and its properties are studied, for now, Inter-Galactic travel could only be done with either an Alcubierre Drive, Extensive Knowledge of 11-D space, hundreds of years worth of travel through a long enough wormhole via suspended animation during the trip, or generational ships. If we can get this done, perhaps these other, extremely theoretical concepts can be done:

-Inter-Group travel (Travel within the Local Group of Galaxies)
-Intra-Cluster Travel (Travel within our Virgo Supercluster)
-Inter-Clustic Travel (Travel within the Pisces-Cetra Supercluster Complex)
-Interverse Travel (An inevitability if we survive as a species to the dying days of the universe.)

Either way, the initial 3 of the 4 theoretical concepts are, the most extreme forms of travel, and would most DEFINITELY mean that once you travel, don't expect to come home and see Earth as it is when you left. The 4th can be done simply at the point of reaching Planck's Energy in a single point, where the fabric of Spacetime bubbles, and we can literally jump between universes. Either way, those 4 require a truly strong person to handle, all because of Time Dilation effectively wiping everyone that person he loved from Earth, even long before the person made it to his/her destination, unless of course, physical immortality is achieved thanks to technology. I know that if I had the chance to live for billions of years, I'd take it, if only to see mans advances.

But I'm going off topic, back to weaponry. The Energy Sword is no doubt the direction we will head, and in fact, one could say that we are going the paths of the Forerunners off the Halo series, with Energy based weaponry, ever evolving AI, and even World-Building far flung into the year 165,000 or something. Either way, Energy is the future of weaponry,l at least until we get to a Tier 0 stage and produce biotic, living weapons.

To be honest, a Magnetic field is not hard to do, even if the shaping of the field does make it more complex, but that could be fixed if the sword is built around an initial mould, which retracts after use. Plasma is the difficult part about the sword, as the ionisation of matter can be a pain. We do have the tech though, we just need to evolve it.

With Power generation, fusion is inevitably our cheapest answer for plasma shielding and space-travel within this century, with Anti-material coming at a close second. I have no doubt that major advances will be made, it all depends if the funding is available, and of the drive for the future is still prominent.

~B2

  • 01.25.2011 2:46 PM PDT

In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her colonies.

March 3, 2553


Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: cameo_cream

Posted by: Bungie2

Well thats the common misconception about the LHC, and we could talk for hours on the possibilities of strangelets and metastable black holes. Like you said though, Hawking Radiation is the key point people miss here. Because the LHC could at best produce macroscopic black holes due to many variables, the size would simply not be stable enough to survive, the most powerful variable being the vacuum its in, therefore preventing mass from entering the MBH. there is literally nothing but protons it could possibly take, and due to Hawking Radiation, there is no risk of global catastrophe with a certainty of 99.99999999%. In fact, that percentage is so tiny, we can disregard it all together.

If, however that extremely miniscule percentage happens due to the idiocy of a researcher, the black holes engulfing of the LHC wouldnt be good news for anyone, as a black hole with a circumference of 27 kilometers would surely cause extensive damage, to the point where earth could literally implode itself into the black hole. But as I said, it would take supreme idiocy from a scientist at CERN to produce a black hole and allow it to grow that much via mass. You will be safe.

Oh, to answer to your reply to cameo, Antimatter production could be done naturally, if we can harness it properly. Electrical storms on earth like thunder have been proven to produce trillions of positrons in beams that shoot away from the Earth, with that and its capture, we must be able to do something with it. Nature vs Artificial production is something to consider, and so far, billions of positrons/anti-electrons sound better than 13 anti-hydrogen atoms per extreme amounts of collisions.

~B2


Anti matter was what i was thinking of intially. But it is extremely expensivw to manufacture. For example-

One just one teaspoon of antimatter would cost billions even trillions of dollars. However, bear in mind that 'one teaspoon' has the potential energy to carry multiple NASA rockets inro space. Perhaps in yhe future a more cost effective solution will be produced, much like your idea with lightning, but there is hope! I hear that a few of the worlds top physians and or scientists are working on faster than light travel. How about this to tease you?

In 30 or so years we may have our own personal jetpacks, much like in Halo Reach.

In another 50 years we may be able to have our own lightsabres and hoverboards.

Not everything is fiction!

There are many many more genious creations by these people, like for example time travel, but i personally think that the idea for that is somewhat pointless. Other inventions i have forgotten.

You can be amazed by what you 'think' is fiction when it may actually be reality.


Its why I always say, don't laugh at Sci-Fi fans, because 30 years from now, many technologies on the shows will be produced anyway. Capturing The billions of positrons ejected in an electrical storm would be 2.8 million times more efficient as Natural processes eliminate the need for us to do anything but capture and preserve. It is also economically feasible using a magnetic suction device of sorts to drive the positrons into a vacuum magnetic chamber, where it would be suspended. A pure ball of positive anti-energy. Imagine that.

In a year I built a pack that hovers up to a height of 2 ft with a catalyst and a solution in 2 separate tanks producing thrust in a controlled manner. Im sure in 30 they should be able to if I can with a physics teacher and some equipment. Lightsabres would require much more complex physics, as a Light sabre with todays technology would literally be infinitely long unless the light can be bent within a length. Laser Weaponry is much more cost-effective 50 years from now than light manipulation.

Right now, we have developed plasma based energy shields for the very smallest of grains of sand, that also can be developed further, to which we are even anticipating satellites with plasma shielding from micrometeoroids in the near future. This would stop physical force from damaging satellites, and with Photochromism, lasers could be deflected as well.

I don't believe that fiction is fictional. I believe that a lot of what we call fiction is simply reality waiting to be produced and manufactured.

~B2


Plasma shielding? That is something i didnt think would happen for a while. You'll be surprised how simple the concept of a lightsabre is. It actually isnt a 'light' sabre more light a 'plasma' sabre. Its very simple, the handle piece of the sabre has a plasma chamber, inside of that is an alloy which is extremely resistant to heat and does not break nor warp under immense heats. The plasma is then heated by millions of tiny nano batteries and is cycle through the emmited section of the lightsabre which comes out of the handle and is made of the same heat resistent material. The lightsabre in theory should be able to do all the things seen in the movie except deflect lasers!

It is truely amazing what technologies can become reality!


Well in the literal sense, scientists are thinking of light rather than plasma for light sabres, although plasma weaponry would be much more powerful as it is naturally dangerous if used as a weapon.

Plasma Shielding has been worked on since the 90s, and is only now becoming a very real plausibility due to advances in the bending of it around objects. Im not well informed in the subject, so I cannot exactly tell you the details, but when I went to the University of Washington for a day to see around the place with my uncle who studied there, seeing it in action was breathtaking. Not that it was hugely spectacular, but the fact they have an "orb" of plasma shielding already is incredible.

~B2


I would love to see that in action. To youtube!

  • 01.25.2011 5:51 PM PDT

very carefully.

  • 01.25.2011 8:38 PM PDT

Don't worry, you're still your mom's favorite Bnet member.

E = MC^2 + 1

  • 01.25.2011 8:40 PM PDT

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: MegaMuffin16
E = MC^2 + 1

:|

~B2

  • 01.25.2011 9:21 PM PDT

Eternal Refuge Remains Out Of Reach. (Reclaimercomic.com)
Join the Unmatched Photographers if you want help with your screenshots.
If you enjoy making maps, then Forever Forgers is for you!!!


Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: MegaMuffin16
E = MC^2 + 1

:|

~B2


Whoa, deja vu -_- Hasn't someone else already said this, and also not knew what it meant??

  • 01.26.2011 4:04 AM PDT

Eternal Refuge Remains Out Of Reach. (Reclaimercomic.com)
Join the Unmatched Photographers if you want help with your screenshots.
If you enjoy making maps, then Forever Forgers is for you!!!


Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: Scarecrow118
@ B2, that is why I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi, because some of the best is based off modern physics and quantum theories, and actually attempts to explain it in a realistic and believable manner. Plus, a lot of concepts from Sci-Fi are used as inspiration for futuristic developments.

See, plasma shielding and anti-matter is something most people would only believe to exist in sci-fi, but it is being created today.

As to the lightsabre discussion, I would like to point out that future developments would work much more like an energy sword from Halo than the lightsabre as we know it. Light is not a particularly efficient weapon, and there would be no way to contain it in a sword like fashion, as it would act more like a laser.

The energy sword however is plasma contained within a magnetic field. Obviously power generation is a major issue here, but THEORETICALLY it would be more likely than a typical lightsabre.

The plasma shielding is definitely an interesting concept to me, as from all the sci-fi I know, shields are the epitome of a space age culture, and would allow advancement of a dozen different fields of sci-fi. However, as with everything discussed, the major issue is with power generation. Unless major advances are made in the field of power generation, all of this will effectively remain sci-fi, with widespread implementation impossible.


Indeed, very few ideas from Sci-Fi are "absolutely" impossible, as even the U.S.S Enterprise off Star Trek is a type of ship design that is plausible in space, although atomically, there is VERY slight drag from ships passing through hydrogen clouds and such, miniscule, but still accumulative enough to warrant some form of aerodynamic design in the very far flung future. Inevitably, man will have 4 choices in aeronautics:

-Planetary Travel (London to New York)
-Interplanetary Travel (Mars to Titan)
-Interstellar Travel (Sol (Our System) to Sirius)
-Inter-Galactic Travel (Milky Way to Andromeda)

The First two are fairly easy to work around. The third is a complication that can be worked on with Anti-matter, and as I said before, positronic capture is over two hundred thousand times more efficient than the LHC in producing Anti-particles, an orb of pure positronic particles is pretty much all we need for propulsion between stars with of course, the ship being able to contain and efficiently use the fuel so we dont all blow up into hell. Plasma shielding will also ensure we are saved from micrometeoroids and such that would otherwise cause extensive damage at even 10% of c, and with Photochromism, radiation from pulsars and other radiations can be deflected and absorbed, making Space Travel safe.

As for Inter-Galactic Travel, I have the feeling Dark Energy is our biggest ally, but until we see Dark Energy being proven as an existant thing off paper and its properties are studied, for now, Inter-Galactic travel could only be done with either an Alcubierre Drive, Extensive Knowledge of 11-D space, hundreds of years worth of travel through a long enough wormhole via suspended animation during the trip, or generational ships. If we can get this done, perhaps these other, extremely theoretical concepts can be done:

-Inter-Group travel (Travel within the Local Group of Galaxies)
-Intra-Cluster Travel (Travel within our Virgo Supercluster)
-Inter-Clustic Travel (Travel within the Pisces-Cetra Supercluster Complex)
-Interverse Travel (An inevitability if we survive as a species to the dying days of the universe.)

Either way, the initial 3 of the 4 theoretical concepts are, the most extreme forms of travel, and would most DEFINITELY mean that once you travel, don't expect to come home and see Earth as it is when you left. The 4th can be done simply at the point of reaching Planck's Energy in a single point, where the fabric of Spacetime bubbles, and we can literally jump between universes. Either way, those 4 require a truly strong person to handle, all because of Time Dilation effectively wiping everyone that person he loved from Earth, even long before the person made it to his/her destination, unless of course, physical immortality is achieved thanks to technology. I know that if I had the chance to live for billions of years, I'd take it, if only to see mans advances.

But I'm going off topic, back to weaponry. The Energy Sword is no doubt the direction we will head, and in fact, one could say that we are going the paths of the Forerunners off the Halo series, with Energy based weaponry, ever evolving AI, and even World-Building far flung into the year 165,000 or something. Either way, Energy is the future of weaponry,l at least until we get to a Tier 0 stage and produce biotic, living weapons.

To be honest, a Magnetic field is not hard to do, even if the shaping of the field does make it more complex, but that could be fixed if the sword is built around an initial mould, which retracts after use. Plasma is the difficult part about the sword, as the ionisation of matter can be a pain. We do have the tech though, we just need to evolve it.

With Power generation, fusion is inevitably our cheapest answer for plasma shielding and space-travel within this century, with Anti-material coming at a close second. I have no doubt that major advances will be made, it all depends if the funding is available, and of the drive for the future is still prominent.

~B2


Well, on comment about anti-matter capture, would it be theoretically feasible to have a large containment sphere filled with a stable gas, and generate artificial lightning to create this anti-matter? Positrons would then like you say be drawn towards a vacuum sealed chamber and captured with a magnetic field before being "combusted" as it were to generate thrust and power.

As it stands, anti-matter is really the only feasible way to produce thrust in space, due to simple Newtons Laws of Motion. Because space lacks a sufficient medium to act as a propellant, thrust is generated purely by equal and opposite reactions. Unfortunately, any modern fuel sources are too inefficient to constantly provide acceleration, and would likely be immensely hard to come by in space. Anti-matter overcomes this as it can be generated from anything, gases more easily. When they are combusted, it produces a reaction of 100% efficiency, something which is impossible with ANY modern technology, due to simple thermodynamics.

  • 01.26.2011 5:05 AM PDT

has dark matter already been discussed?
maybe if we could harness dark matter like they did in mass effect there might be a way but many questions arise

  • 01.26.2011 10:50 AM PDT

never mind

  • 01.26.2011 10:51 AM PDT

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: Scarecrow118

Posted by: Bungie2
Posted by: Scarecrow118
@ B2, that is why I am a huge fan of Sci-Fi, because some of the best is based off modern physics and quantum theories, and actually attempts to explain it in a realistic and believable manner. Plus, a lot of concepts from Sci-Fi are used as inspiration for futuristic developments.

See, plasma shielding and anti-matter is something most people would only believe to exist in sci-fi, but it is being created today.

As to the lightsabre discussion, I would like to point out that future developments would work much more like an energy sword from Halo than the lightsabre as we know it. Light is not a particularly efficient weapon, and there would be no way to contain it in a sword like fashion, as it would act more like a laser.

The energy sword however is plasma contained within a magnetic field. Obviously power generation is a major issue here, but THEORETICALLY it would be more likely than a typical lightsabre.

The plasma shielding is definitely an interesting concept to me, as from all the sci-fi I know, shields are the epitome of a space age culture, and would allow advancement of a dozen different fields of sci-fi. However, as with everything discussed, the major issue is with power generation. Unless major advances are made in the field of power generation, all of this will effectively remain sci-fi, with widespread implementation impossible.


Indeed, very few ideas from Sci-Fi are "absolutely" impossible, as even the U.S.S Enterprise off Star Trek is a type of ship design that is plausible in space, although atomically, there is VERY slight drag from ships passing through hydrogen clouds and such, miniscule, but still accumulative enough to warrant some form of aerodynamic design in the very far flung future. Inevitably, man will have 4 choices in aeronautics:

-Planetary Travel (London to New York)
-Interplanetary Travel (Mars to Titan)
-Interstellar Travel (Sol (Our System) to Sirius)
-Inter-Galactic Travel (Milky Way to Andromeda)

The First two are fairly easy to work around. The third is a complication that can be worked on with Anti-matter, and as I said before, positronic capture is over two hundred thousand times more efficient than the LHC in producing Anti-particles, an orb of pure positronic particles is pretty much all we need for propulsion between stars with of course, the ship being able to contain and efficiently use the fuel so we dont all blow up into hell. Plasma shielding will also ensure we are saved from micrometeoroids and such that would otherwise cause extensive damage at even 10% of c, and with Photochromism, radiation from pulsars and other radiations can be deflected and absorbed, making Space Travel safe.

As for Inter-Galactic Travel, I have the feeling Dark Energy is our biggest ally, but until we see Dark Energy being proven as an existant thing off paper and its properties are studied, for now, Inter-Galactic travel could only be done with either an Alcubierre Drive, Extensive Knowledge of 11-D space, hundreds of years worth of travel through a long enough wormhole via suspended animation during the trip, or generational ships. If we can get this done, perhaps these other, extremely theoretical concepts can be done:

-Inter-Group travel (Travel within the Local Group of Galaxies)
-Intra-Cluster Travel (Travel within our Virgo Supercluster)
-Inter-Clustic Travel (Travel within the Pisces-Cetra Supercluster Complex)
-Interverse Travel (An inevitability if we survive as a species to the dying days of the universe.)

Either way, the initial 3 of the 4 theoretical concepts are, the most extreme forms of travel, and would most DEFINITELY mean that once you travel, don't expect to come home and see Earth as it is when you left. The 4th can be done simply at the point of reaching Planck's Energy in a single point, where the fabric of Spacetime bubbles, and we can literally jump between universes. Either way, those 4 require a truly strong person to handle, all because of Time Dilation effectively wiping everyone that person he loved from Earth, even long before the person made it to his/her destination, unless of course, physical immortality is achieved thanks to technology. I know that if I had the chance to live for billions of years, I'd take it, if only to see mans advances.

But I'm going off topic, back to weaponry. The Energy Sword is no doubt the direction we will head, and in fact, one could say that we are going the paths of the Forerunners off the Halo series, with Energy based weaponry, ever evolving AI, and even World-Building far flung into the year 165,000 or something. Either way, Energy is the future of weaponry,l at least until we get to a Tier 0 stage and produce biotic, living weapons.

To be honest, a Magnetic field is not hard to do, even if the shaping of the field does make it more complex, but that could be fixed if the sword is built around an initial mould, which retracts after use. Plasma is the difficult part about the sword, as the ionisation of matter can be a pain. We do have the tech though, we just need to evolve it.

With Power generation, fusion is inevitably our cheapest answer for plasma shielding and space-travel within this century, with Anti-material coming at a close second. I have no doubt that major advances will be made, it all depends if the funding is available, and of the drive for the future is still prominent.

~B2


Well, on comment about anti-matter capture, would it be theoretically feasible to have a large containment sphere filled with a stable gas, and generate artificial lightning to create this anti-matter? Positrons would then like you say be drawn towards a vacuum sealed chamber and captured with a magnetic field before being "combusted" as it were to generate thrust and power.

As it stands, anti-matter is really the only feasible way to produce thrust in space, due to simple Newtons Laws of Motion. Because space lacks a sufficient medium to act as a propellant, thrust is generated purely by equal and opposite reactions. Unfortunately, any modern fuel sources are too inefficient to constantly provide acceleration, and would likely be immensely hard to come by in space. Anti-matter overcomes this as it can be generated from anything, gases more easily. When they are combusted, it produces a reaction of 100% efficiency, something which is impossible with ANY modern technology, due to simple thermodynamics.


It is feasible to produce artificial lightning, however the problems at this time with positron creation in artificial lightning is still however much more than the pros of it. Even if we could produce lightning clouds, we do not understand it completely, and there are a lot of holes that need to be patched in our understanding of it. Until we understand how positrons form within electrical storms so brilliantly, electrical storms on Planet earth to produce positrons like a factory is far flung into the future. One could also consider generating positrons while in space with a ship that can produce an artificial storm which continually fuels the positronic mass until the source of the electrical storm runs dry, extending the life-span of the anti-matter fuel almost indefinitely.

The only thing closer to Anti-matter is Nuclear Fusion, and with our tech, we could reach maybe 10% of c, but compared to anti-matter, which could thrust us to an immediate 11% of c +, Nuclear fusion is the equivalent of a water wheel vs a dam. I do hope to live to see the day lightning is used in mass-production, if they even consider the idea. Imagine a building with a central chamber in a complete vacuum, with capture technology feeding positrons into magnetic fuel cells high above the earth, ready to be taken. Ive already designed the building myself on paper :P.

~B2

  • 01.26.2011 1:24 PM PDT