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Faster than Light-Breaking the Interstellar Distance Barrier

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16 years 3 months ago #60280 by JohnMurphy
I wouldn't worry yet about breaking the light speed barrier. Even to approach a sizeable fractional portion of C (say 2/3rds) with a massive object - even a few Kilograms would be extremely impressive. Fact is we wont ever even reach light speed let alone break it. We may subvert light speed by travelling great distances through warped space time but in fact the laws of physics will still not be broken and we will not in fact really ever reach light speed.
In order for any massive particle (even a single electron) to even reach light speed would take literally an infinite amount of energy - which the universe simply does not have.
Think about it - its really rather simple. In order to warp spacetime you need either mass or energy (interchangeable and finite). To travel from one side of the Universe to the other in a reasonable amount of time - say a human lifespan - you would need to warp spacetime in order to shrink the distance, and this would take many many orders of magnitude more mass (energy) than currently exists in our universe.
Warp drive is certainly a theoretical possibility - put practically speaking it is and always will be an impossibility on a usable scale.
Still it's nice to dream and some good may come from striving for the impossible.

Clear Skies,
John Murphy
Irish Astronomical Society
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16 years 3 months ago #60281 by pj30something
How about teleportation. Hasnt there been SOME success in that area?

Paul C
My next scope is going to be a Vixen VMC200L Catadioptric OTA

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16 years 3 months ago #60288 by JohnMurphy

How about teleportation. Hasnt there been SOME success in that area?


Again its another pipedream. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle means we can never know the position and velocity of even a single particle (a prerequisite for teleportation you would reckon) as all the particles in your body or even a lump of coal are constantly on the move.
Therefore whatever you put back together at the far end will not be the "same" as what you were trying to send. We may well get a reasonable facsimile of a teleportation machine - but I reckon it will only go so far as transmission of single element molecules and will never advance to transmission of large complex molecules or ever approach the complexity of an organic unit such as an amoeba - complete with life intact.

Clear Skies,
John Murphy
Irish Astronomical Society
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16 years 3 months ago #60289 by pj30something
I believe they (whoever the hell they are) have "teleported" a piece of fruit from one side of a lab to the other side?.

Thats my understanding.

On a MUCH smaller scale i believe that Hypo-spray injections have been very successfully tried and tested by the US military..................

Nothing to do with light speed travel or teleportation but they are Star Trek technology.

Paul C
My next scope is going to be a Vixen VMC200L Catadioptric OTA

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16 years 3 months ago #60296 by JohnMurphy
If you can find the data or any reasonable info on teleportation of fruit from one side of a lab to another then please send me the details.

On the issue of Hypo-Spray - yes that is one that is valid. It is technically feasible and even the BMJ (British Medical Journal) has some detailed information regarding its use and applicability, and practical uses. Being a diabetic myself and taking at least 4 injections a day means that I will be one happier camper if the Hypo-Spray comes into common use. But it is only applicable for certain applications - These have been around long before Star Trek though - they were used for mass-innoculation for smallpox and cholera in the USA and East Pakistan back in 1955 and 1960. So fiction follows fact in this case, its been around a long time and is still not in common use - why? Occams Razor! simplicity, cost effectiveness, and return on investment - i.e. great idea that doesn't work.

Clear Skies,
John Murphy
Irish Astronomical Society
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16 years 3 months ago #60299 by pj30something
It was a few yrs ago that i saw a show on tv about the teleportation of an piece of fruit. I wouldnt know where to begin looking for the data on it.

But i as far as i know it was done.

Paul C
My next scope is going to be a Vixen VMC200L Catadioptric OTA

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