- #1
Roo
- 15
- 0
Hello everyone,
The topic of superluminal flight has intrigued me for decades but coming from an engineering background and not a strong physics background (although I have studied physics), I am finding the notions about how to possibly achieve such a system quite difficult to accept.
In a nutshell, all this talk of bending 'space/time', expanding space behind and shrinking space in front of a starship and discussions of dark matter and wormholes laced with exotic matter seem most odd indeed. I wonder how many other people who read of these topics question whether they actually exist in reality and are merely created to explain away something which hasn't as yet been physically created.
Certainly engineering in many ways is directly derived from physics, but so much of engineering is based on real life application. I feel that conventional rocketry is coming to its near end, as the system has almost achieved its peak of efficiency and shouldn't even be thought of when considering 'proper' distances due to the level of propellant needed etc. So for true interplanetary missions, a bold new approach needs to be created. It is clear that atomic or nuclear energy based power plants will be the next step forward in spacecraft propulsion. Ultimately, a matter/antimatter reactor will be the final goal - this seems to me to be the most logical approach. And as related technologies connected with safe human space travel expand, sooner or later, mankind will be faced with the great light speed barrier.
Yet, the problem I have with all of these incredible sounding theories is what do they mean in the physical universe and how would they physically work in reality? This has always been a massive problem with truly advanced subjects. For example, the current 'system' for possible FTL travel requires a starship to expand space behind and shrink space in front of it. Analogies have it being likened to a surfer on a large wave, where the wave carries the surfer. Analogies are great, but when someone states that space/time is expanded or shrunk, what does that practically mean? How is space actually expanded? What technology would actually do that? To me and many others, space is a vacuum filled with all sorts of natural matter in varying quantities, but mostly it is empty space. What is there to expand? Talking of expanding space to theoretically satisfy a need is all well and good but in reality, to me, such a notion is not a real one. If I am sitting in my living room and I want to get a beer from the fridge in my kitchen 30ft away, by expanding the space behind me etc, does that mean I can open the door from my seat because it physically pulls the entire kitchen towards me?
There are so many strange ideas associated with FTL travel that I wonder if the true ability to pursue such a technology (now or decades into the future) will be ignored in favour of bizarre ideas that will always be years into the future no matter how advanced we get. For example :-
The idea that time starts to slow down as a spacecraft approaches light speed is a concept I find most strange. Why would time 'slow down' just because you were approaching what is to all intents and purposes, just a very high speed? But this is a topic for another time as this is very interesting in its own right.
Anyway, I would like to end this first post by stating that this discussion is not about ridiculing physics at all, far from it. It is a very important point this. I just wanted to ask questions and raise some professional alternatives/views to the current theories regarding FTL, how it could work and its associated components.
Yours,
Roo.
The topic of superluminal flight has intrigued me for decades but coming from an engineering background and not a strong physics background (although I have studied physics), I am finding the notions about how to possibly achieve such a system quite difficult to accept.
In a nutshell, all this talk of bending 'space/time', expanding space behind and shrinking space in front of a starship and discussions of dark matter and wormholes laced with exotic matter seem most odd indeed. I wonder how many other people who read of these topics question whether they actually exist in reality and are merely created to explain away something which hasn't as yet been physically created.
Certainly engineering in many ways is directly derived from physics, but so much of engineering is based on real life application. I feel that conventional rocketry is coming to its near end, as the system has almost achieved its peak of efficiency and shouldn't even be thought of when considering 'proper' distances due to the level of propellant needed etc. So for true interplanetary missions, a bold new approach needs to be created. It is clear that atomic or nuclear energy based power plants will be the next step forward in spacecraft propulsion. Ultimately, a matter/antimatter reactor will be the final goal - this seems to me to be the most logical approach. And as related technologies connected with safe human space travel expand, sooner or later, mankind will be faced with the great light speed barrier.
Yet, the problem I have with all of these incredible sounding theories is what do they mean in the physical universe and how would they physically work in reality? This has always been a massive problem with truly advanced subjects. For example, the current 'system' for possible FTL travel requires a starship to expand space behind and shrink space in front of it. Analogies have it being likened to a surfer on a large wave, where the wave carries the surfer. Analogies are great, but when someone states that space/time is expanded or shrunk, what does that practically mean? How is space actually expanded? What technology would actually do that? To me and many others, space is a vacuum filled with all sorts of natural matter in varying quantities, but mostly it is empty space. What is there to expand? Talking of expanding space to theoretically satisfy a need is all well and good but in reality, to me, such a notion is not a real one. If I am sitting in my living room and I want to get a beer from the fridge in my kitchen 30ft away, by expanding the space behind me etc, does that mean I can open the door from my seat because it physically pulls the entire kitchen towards me?
There are so many strange ideas associated with FTL travel that I wonder if the true ability to pursue such a technology (now or decades into the future) will be ignored in favour of bizarre ideas that will always be years into the future no matter how advanced we get. For example :-
The idea that time starts to slow down as a spacecraft approaches light speed is a concept I find most strange. Why would time 'slow down' just because you were approaching what is to all intents and purposes, just a very high speed? But this is a topic for another time as this is very interesting in its own right.
Anyway, I would like to end this first post by stating that this discussion is not about ridiculing physics at all, far from it. It is a very important point this. I just wanted to ask questions and raise some professional alternatives/views to the current theories regarding FTL, how it could work and its associated components.
Yours,
Roo.