Prior to an invasion no doubt... HEHE. Or we may just have discovered one at Giza and have it in Colorado...
Amazing how easy this stuff is in science fiction.

Actually the power requirements of such a device are beyond us. So even if we had one, we couldn't use it. I'm reminded of that Microprose game Xcom where you needed elerium 115 to power all the alien stuff. In my first game the engines of all the alien ships kept getting destroyed so I couldn't get any.... DAMN IT JIM!!!!

Woohoo! X-Com rocked! Except when the aliens would mind-control you...

Interesting well thought out post ook ook. One or two comments if you don't mind



Dude, there is no light that is too red for photosynthesis - a simple modification of the plant light harvesting complex's genetic structure can enable photosynthesis with any wavelength of light.



FTL travel has already been demonstrated in principle using photons. Achieving it consistently is the next problem :notsure:

Hi, sorry Exar, my mistake about the light, you're absolutely correct. I should really have said too red for existing Earth-type plants. *smack wrists*

Are you referring to an experiment at the University of Rochester where they were able to speed up light through a crystal at faster than the speed of light?
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Robots have a lot of potential, I have to agree. Their requirements are a lot less than what we fragile humans need. The robot only needs power and instructions inside of a forgiving set of engineering parameters in regard to temperature, gravity, and weather conditions, where we need to be provided with all sorts of things both physical and psychological in nature.

The problem is that there are some things a robot cannot simply do yet. Humans have a lot of needs, but also a wide variety of sensors and thought processes that can act in mere moments in response to unknown situations. Sometimes we make bad decisions, but a robot can only respond with pre-recorded commands in the heat of the moment when it is light minutes or farther into space. If the situation is outside of the program, time must be spent asking for instructions and then teams of people must spend time thinking through the situation on Earth and relaying time delayed commands back.

There are things in the human spirit that are currently far superior than cheaper robotic exploration. The robots could be told what to do, and some can even learn from previous mistakes, but a person has free will and a drive, a need to press on. It is very much worth the money to screen out the right astronauts with the traits to succeed, at least until the day some advanced computers could be autonomous enough to make the tough decisions themslves. As long as the volunteers are aware of the dangers and willing to take the risks, I say spend the money and keep manned exploration going.Space exploration has advanced technology significantly over the years. I think it is rather short sighted to discount what future breakthroughs could do for us in exchange for fulfilling short term Earthly needs that do not solve the problem. Sure, feeding the hungry, immunizing the sick, and defending national borders are important short to medium term goals, but what if manned space exploration opens new avenues in biotechnology and reduces the threat of wholesale warfare? Science is partly about gambling on the future, a faith all its own some may say. The past is full of famine, disease, and war that could be prevented with modern technology. Lost life is always bad when it happens, but the question really should be whether a single life saved now with short term expenditures is worth the future ten, one hundred, or one thousand lives saved with better technology.

Those are just Gerakken's rambling thoughts for this night.

Gerakken is absolutely right. I hate to say it this way but if you want to make an omelette you have to break some eggs. This is human nature, we are compelled to explore, compelled to learn, compelled to do the unimaginable. The man space program cannot be disassembled, it has done so much already. Doppler Radar, X-Rays, Tang --> These are all things that NASA has created and that have spun off into our society. There are too many possiblities that will be quelled if we allow the space program to simply die.

Uhh, the x-ray (as used in medical applications) was discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, long before the manned space program.

I have no idea about Tang, but the Doppler radar's development isn't, as far as I know, well documented (heck, there are people out there who think Mr. Doppler invented it!).

I agree with Gerakken though about the limitations of robotic exploration. Our AI simply isn't a good enough substitute at present for human reasoning and problem solving skills, and a separation of several light minutes, plus the inability to communicate with a robot if it cannot receive (say on the far side of a planet) limits what can be done if it runs into trouble.

The thing is though that the potential cost of failure of a manned space mission (in financial, human and political terms, especially political terms) is huge, and few politicians would be willing to risk it. Bush can say all he likes, he isn't the one who is going to have to shoulder the blame if it all goes wrong. It only takes an Apollo 13 or Challenger type disaster to put the great unwashed public off space exploration.

Sorry it took so long to reply but have been busy , the researchers used photons to alter the flow of time in a specific space - it effectively stood still the problem is that you can only go backwards. Poor explanation I know but then so is my understanding.

That's ok, we all get busy

It's possibly not the same experiment I'm thinking of, but there was one where, IIRC, they fired light through caesium gas up to 310 times the speed of light.

My understanding of it is very limited as well, but I've seen a few articles debunking the experiment. I haven't seen anything though on how causality can be preserved if the light speed barrier is broken (unless, I guess, you take an absolute space/time frame of reference instead of a relative one), but my understanding of that is even more limited

I'd love to believe that FTL travel is possible within our lifetimes. Bring on the pointy eared aliens, we're ready for them

Nope, not that one, this one was done in a lab under standard conditions.



I think, not 100% sure, that by going FTL you are inherently moving outside the spacetime continuum so causality is suspended/doesn't exist if you are FTL. I think.

In regards to Alpha Centuri being a binary type star system; it has been said that binary star systems are just as, or even more so, likely to have earth-like planets.
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Depends really on the separation/masses of the two stars as to whether a planet would have a stable orbit. Alpha Centauri AB are about 11AUs apart at closest approach, which is more than likely far enough, although in binary systems, the companion star's gravity might also cause more objects to fall inwards, increasing the risk of comet/meteorite collisions.

LOL I got that Psi-amp researched asap and then got rid of the weak azz psi guys. Of course that usually meant I had to tank a dang Colonel.
I loved X-com. Boy Microprose was THE company for a time. Then they sold out.