Given the vast distances of the Universe, almost
infinite, and our finite life spans, in order
for us to go anywhere, we have to achieve
a speed close to, or at, the speed
of light.
Beyond the fact that we will probably never
do this, the thing that says to me, we
are stick on this planet forever is,
even if we could achieve light
speeds, that would destroy the fabric
of civilization and our concept of time,
because we can't get around
the time dilation effect.
Humans exploring the Universe will effectively
cut themselves off from Earth. Even if they
traveled to the center of the Milky Way and back,
aging only 44 years in the process, they
would return to an Earth 104,000 years in
the future as measured from Earth Clocks!!
Basically, any humans traveling to the
stars, would forever leave behind their
families, their society, and even their
species.
Can anyone postulate how space travel
can get around time dilation??
CORRECTION: "stuck"
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
interesting!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
I don't think it will ever be practical to achieve speeds where relativity plays such a significant part.
To do interstellar travel, you would have to have one of three things: longevity, suspended animation, or unlimited generations. It is conceivable that a large craft like a colony, could do it through many generations. I think you are correct in considering such a mission to be a one-way venture. The only contact they would have with earth is through radio transmissions. And once they achieved interstellar distances, even radio waves would take years to reach their destination.
So I don't think time dilation would ever be an issue. The technological challenge would be with the distance and duration of the trip. It would take thousands of years in the best case scenario.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
I wouldn't say that we are stuck at all. First we should consider that our solar system is far larger and intricate then anyone has ever imagined. We have enough there to occupy us for thousands of years, and we shouldn't take it for granted. It may seem scary and inhospitable now; but, no more so then Europe or North America once seemed to our ancestors in the Nile river valley.
Also, for most of human history, exploration involved migration. It is only really in the 20th century, with the advent of industrialization that people begin touring and trips become shorter. Those wagon trains headed West were decidely on a one way mission, and most never returned; and, our oceans were once an obstacle every bit as challenging as interstellar space.
I am optomistic that our future lies in the stars; however, it will be a long time before we are ready to go there.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
What happens to an astronaut who travels at light speeds? My surmise is that one would split into clones, simultaneously existing as separate entities, split personalities. When one dropped out of warp, the distinct personalities would coalesce back into one personality. This is due to the uncertainty of position that occurs when one is travelling at FTL or light speeds. One would live more than one life, for a while.
Time dilation has been observed as occuring, but I think that one simply has "more time" available for use. How do you add time to a clock? You reverse it. This is the apparent "slowing down" of time that is measured when a craft accelerates. It is really extra time that is avialable for use, not a slowing down of time. That is what happens when one begins to enter different dimensions, because light exists in extreme quantum flux. Available time for use has expanded.
I do not believe that one ages less during space travel, but that one ages more. However, at such a high rate of acceleration the quantum flux is extremely superfluidic and results in what I call "free time". This is time that elapses without harming the body, due to its very neutral and balanced nature. In this scenario, perception is what matters concerning the passage of time. If one is not observably aging, one cannot have a reference to one's aging process. If a person in this state believes he is aging thousands of years, he may indeed do so. The first astronauts who travel at light speed or beyond may come back very ancient men. Or dead. However, if one sent monkeys, who are not aware of the passage of time in terms of a clock or calendar on a space trip, one could ascertain that perception is involved in the aging process at hyper accelerated speeds. The monkeys would live while the humans perished.
Once people understand that perception is involved in the aging process, we will be able to circumvent problems with time dilation. This would of course mean that people live far longer in terms of years, although it would seem like less time than that. Such a light speed trip might seem like a couple of weeks passing, for traveller and Earth host alike. I imagine that such an existence is a very dreamy, altered state, with time being bended and warped in a multitude of fashions. Humans would warp time to meet the traveller, so it would be a routine event.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
basically you are right about the time difference , but there is an alien ship, about a little over a mile wide or long, I don't know which occupied by whole familes that make the entire universe their home, and I guess the ship itself is their planet, so to speak. They are familiar with life on earth,as they come somewhat often, but I'm not sure if that's often in earth years or often in their context of it. I could tell a lot more, but I'm simply not intelligent enough to describe anything I saw that would be enough to convince anyone of my experience. No one will believe a word of this anyway,I don' even know why I bothered
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
They used to say that heavier-than-air flight would always remain impractical and undoable. That's why I'm always reluctant to say that a thing will always be undoable. I just have a very strong feeling that there's still a great deal about our universe and how it works that we just don't know yet.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
impractical, yes, undoable, no. we could certainly advance our propulsion systems enough to achieve great speeds (maybe not the speed of light, but even half the speed of light would be fast enough to get to some places), but you are pretty much correct in saying that we would be leaving earth behind forever.
As far as postulating ways to get past time dilation and the limit of the speed of light, I'm a star trek fan, so I'm full of those:
warp drive number 1:
this warp drive is based on the principle that 'space' can expand faster than light, even though actual objects can't. This theoretical device creates a kind of bubble which warps space around the spacecraft, contracting space in the front, and letting i expand back to normal in the rear. the ship would ride on a wave of contracted space, which, locally, would not be exceeding the speed of light, making it completely possible, with the exception of needing space to contract at will.
warp drive number 2:
this one is a bit more far fetched, but it requires an alternate universe in which light can travel faster than it can in this universe. the space craft would create a bubble of this alternate universe around it, traveling through it. this specific warp drive was explained in Star Trek: The Wounded Sky, by Diane Duane. since the spacecraft is technically in another universe, anything it comes in "contact" with in this universe is affected in different ways. in this book, a comet was hit by the Enterprise, and it shattered, but since in this universe, nothing actually stuck it, it's course remained unaltered. this warp drive, (if possible) would be the warp drive of choice, since collisions would have practically no effect on the ship.
warp system number 3:
supposedly, if one travels faster than the speed of light, they go backwards in time. if you accelerate past warp 1, then since you would go backwards in time, you could travel at multi warp speeds, traveling back in time the whole way, and as you approached your destination, simply travel at near-light speeds, where you would once again experience time dilation. Since this method of warp does not require a "bubble" of altered reality, then if we could achieve these speeds by conventional means, we could use this system. If warp is possible, then this would be the most probable means.
warp hole:
supposedly, exceptionally high gravitational fields bend space enough that moving through a section of highly altered space would be locally the same speed as elsewhere, but in the actual universe, you would be moving at a much greater speed. if we were able to intentionally alter space, we could create a warp hole, through which we could walk, instantly transporting us to any location in between the regions of altered space.
transporter beam:
yes this is a little "star trekky," but suppose for one moment, we were able to break down anything into individual atoms. now suppose for a moment that we were able to further break down those atoms into electrons, protons, and neutrons. electrons can be in more than one place at once. According to the June 2005 edition of Discover magazine, this is because they have a very low gravitational field. If we could somehow harness the power to control where that electron was, then we could certainly do the same with individual protons and neutrons, seeing as they also are very low in gravitational forces. now suppose for a moment, that a computer at the other end of this stream of electrons protons and neutrons was able to assemble the particles in the same way as the atoms were assembled. now imagine if this computer were actually powerful and fast enough to reconstruct the exact molecules, molecular structures, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and finally, a full human body. This would circumvent time dilation.
These warps drives, warp systems, and the transporter beams are not feasible with present technology, but perhaps sometime in the future, we will actually be able to control the warping of space. also, keep in mind that you asked to postulate. I do not actually think that these things will work.
Yes, as of now, we would be leaving everything behind, simply to further explore space.