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One would assume that if interstellar travel was possible (or "implementable" if you prefer), then we would have been visited by now.
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Or, we could become the first in the local area to figure it out.
It makes just as much sense to think that intelligent life, once it expands over the galaxy, will prevent intelligent life from appearing spontaniously like we did.
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Well, that's my point. I said I could envisage interstellar probes. At least, some far time into the future. But not interstellar colony ships. As Hobes said, humans are "nasty, brutish and short", and we're doomed to extinction on this rock. I don't think we'll even last the 5-6 billion years before it's swallowed by the sun.
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We send non-life. It arrives, and builds stuff. Mines asteroids and shit. Builds solar panels, seals a rock up. It then starts doing biochemistry, and builds an ecosystem.
Eventually it makes humans.
To pull this off successfully, we'd have to do some simply monsterous experiments -- raise humans without human interaction, experiment with what makes successful human-type beings, within the solar system, until we learn how to bootstrap human intelligence.
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I shall have to check this. I'm surprised if that's the figure.
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Pluto is about 72 AU out.
1 AU = 8 light minutes.
A-C is about 4 light years away.
4 * 365 * 24 * 60 = 2102400 light minutes
8 * 72 = 576 light minutes
AC/Pluto = 3650
Oops, you are right. I forgot to multiply by 24. =(
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I'm not a fan of the anthropomorphic principle. It seems to be a trite cyclical and self-sustaining argument.
It's kinda like saying that Australia exists, and was created for my existence, because I exist in it. Bah...
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That's the strong anthropomorphic principle.
The weak one says "we are in the time and place in the universe where life can exist, because otherwise we wouldn't be here to see it".
Most planets aren't suitable to life. Most starts aren't suitable to planets with life. Most periods of the universe aren't suitable to life. (by life, I mean 'life as we know it')
It is shocking how well designed Earth is to life -- far less shocking when you realize that if Earth wasn't good for life, we wouldn't be shocked by it.
Someone has to be first.
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Originally Posted by GMontag
It seems right now that quantum entanglement makes instantaneous communication (and therefore instantaneous travel) possible.
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Actually, it seems as if instantanious communication can't be exploited. There is
either FTL information transfer that can't be exploited for any reason other than generating the proper quantum probabilities, or the many-universe explanation of Q-M is by far the simplest explanation.
Now, the many-universe interpritation makes it really clear that no FTL-communication is possible via those mechanisms. Both the FTL-info-transfer and many-universe interpritation have the same mathematical models -- they both explain the exact same phenomina -- thus, the FTL-info-transfer you are putting your hopes on won't let you send a postcard.
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Originally Posted by pan6467
Why would aliens that can travel space and would be far far superior to us try to make contact?
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Because technology and energy manipulation is loud.
I believe that we are significant enough to bother hiding from is a tad egotistical.
Now, it could be that the galaxy-occupying intelligence allows intelligent life to develop within fallow areas for whatever reason. But it would be a matter of doing it on purpose.
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Originally Posted by Kadath
Einstein's Theory of Relativity can hardly be considered a proven law of physics.
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Actually, Einstein's Theory of Relativity is one of the most proven laws of physics out there. It matches more of reality he hadn't had experience with than pretty much anything else I can think of.
Newton described how things fell, and wrote it up quite well. Einstein
predicted that light would be bent by gravity, that frame-dragging would occur. The equations describe and explain red-shift, model the existance of black holes, and have lasted through more scientific testing than was done in all the centuries before he was born.
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Originally Posted by MrM
Well, there's the pen that can write upside down. And then there's the... erm... Hmmm
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CCDs. Hubble CCD technology is used in breast cancer screening.
Various and sundery Semiconductor technologies.
Baby food (two essential fatty acids added, part of NASA long-term space ration research)
Water purificationsystems (Regeneratble Biocide Deliery Unit, uses Iodine instead of Cholrine)
Pool Purification
Ribbed Swimsuits, Better Golf Balls, Sports Training, Shoes, Flat Panel TV, Better Batteries, Trash compactors, freeze-dried foot, sports bras, smoke detectors
Solar power
Continuous Baroroator
Forest management
Fire-resistant material
Aluminized polymer film (thin, high-insulation, material, for homes)
Laser Angioplasty with 'cool' lasers
Child Ocular Screening
Magnetic Liquids (used in semiconductor manufacture)
Robotics (ex: welding sensor system)
Microlasers (mmm, fibreoptics)
Magnetic Bearing System (power generation, gas tranportation, oil refining, etc)
Computer training
High-pressure waterstripping
Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (advanced welding torch)
Personal Alarm System (used by prison guards, amoung other things)
Jaws of Life
Fireman's Air Tanks (20 lbs for 30 minutes of air -- double pressure, 33% of weight)
Doppler radar
Firefighter's radios
Better brakes
Toolbooth air purification
Lighter helicopters, better aircraft engines
Better wings on corperate jets
Better school buses
A good chunck of NASA is a bunch of extremely smart people solving problems and working on something they truely believe in. This means they do good work, and the solutions to the problems they run into tend to have other uses.