DescentBB

It seems that the last paragraph of the impossibility of ultra-large and simultaneously fast, travel of people in the universe (namely, the inability of the technical implementation), sooner or later it will be possible.



the points:
1. application of the general theory of relativity - YES
2. slower-light-speed movement of a physical object - YES
3. the possibility of moving into the future - YES
4. the possibility of moving into the past - YES
5. transport of matter - YES
6. transportation information - YES
7. technical feasibility of this - NO
8. the ability to produce spacecraft without exotic materials - YES
9. small power source - YES

Quote:
"NASA scientist Harold White and graphic designer Mark Reydmeyker submitted a draft of the spacecraft that could allow people to travel through the universe at a speed exceeding the speed of light. Traveling with superluminal velocity is theoretically possible using the so-called warp drive, which creates a warp field bends the space-time continuum, which leads the ship in motion. White - a physicist who has spent years for tackling the speed of light on the spacecraft. In 2011, he published a report, which first introduced the concept of movement with superluminal velocity. At this time, his team presented the draft of the ship, embodies this concept..."

Nevertheless, in my opinion, it is obvious that the astronauts pioneering ultra-long-haul travel in space can not be returned to the Earth, because the impact of cosmic radiation on the human reproductive and too little understood. And more so, can not admit the possibility of the return of the astronauts on the Earth, if they find the biological life in other galaxies. This is the elementary principles of biosecurity. It is easy to understand that even people in the world who visit the other countries do not have sufficient immunity to the unusual nature. We can only guess what their children and new forms of life can bring astronauts from outer space to Earth.

You mean this baby? Looks pretty cool. They're naming it the "Enterprise".

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1841 ... -of-course



Providing that space can actually be warped by a man-made power source and machine, essentially creating an FTL drive.

http://www.space.com/17628-warp-drive-p ... light.html

The idea of Warp drive in Star Trek was based on an existing theory not much different than what Sigma's posting. ..but there's the problem power. LOTS of it.

Great link TC. here's a link to the vid in the article. http://youtu.be/9M8yht_ofHc

Perhaps this mistranslation. I'm talking about the fact that the astronauts who go into deep space, you can not return to our planet, just because of biosecurity compliance. If astronauts can stay in orbit research stations which that particular time, or even space tourists, which will be built hotels on the Earth's orbit, then researchers deep space way back to Earth is actually closed, as it is unknown what the biological threat they could bring to Earth. And their descendants, including! In fact, you can not return to Earth not only astronauts from super-long space missions, but even ships.

Pathogens on earth are adapted for the physiology of various specific species, and generally can't infect much else. I doubt we'll have any problems with extra-terrestrial pathogens, biologically we'll have so little in common that they won't know what to do with us.
Think of a Pine tree contracting HIV (a mammalian virus), it's impossible, yet these species are from the same planet, share a distant common ancestor, and are thus actually rather similar. How much more impossible will it be for us to be infected by an pathogen which has evolved completely independent of our own planet, which we share 0% DNA with. It's genetic coding structure likely wouldn't even be DNA*. Forget a pine tree contracting HIV, this would be like a 2004 Hyundai Getz contracting HIV.

*(It (or it's creators) WILL have a method of genetic coding though, since this is necessary for evolution. You can't have life without evolution, a method of information storage (ie: a genetic code) is the only way we yet know of for life to arise from non-life without assistance. You need a method of information storage and a method for the information to change, or incremental/generational improvements won't be possible, which means life won't be possible.)

I could be wrong. We'll likely meet environmental conditions and contaminants which disagree with our physiology in ways we can't yet imagine, but i doubt we'll ever meet a disease which attacks us in the same manner as it does to the alien host species it had originally evolved to infect. Our physiologies will be too different. I've been mainly talking about viruses and biological poisons so far though... But if we extend the discussion beyond that: Single celled life-forms on earth (like Bacteria, Amoeba, etc) can indeed attack many types of life-forms on our planet, but we have also evolved protections against them. What if it's some some sort of hostile life-form like THE BLOB which attacks it's host in more of a sledge-hammer manner, utilising crushing force and fast locomotion abilities which would ordinarily only be employed by larger complex multi-cellular predators. Threats of this type would include hostile self-replicating nano-bots.
If at any stage in it's life-cycle it is small enough to evade detection, then i guess you could categorize it as a contagious disease... maybe? It's a stretch.

My personal feeling is that any sufficiently dangerous extra-terrestrial pathogen which actually poses a threat to us, would also have the ability to threaten us whether or not we explored deep space. If we don't find it over there, it'll eventually find us over here on it's own. I say this, because i think it un-likely that any simple pathogen we find in deep-space could possibly infect us, for all the reasons i already mentioned about differing physiologies. If it could infect us, it's probably due to an incredible level of sophistication, perhaps better categorized as a space-based (and/or intelligent) life-form, and thus could make it's way here on it's own anyway.

Sigma, if your idea is that all deep-space explorers will be quarantined before returning to earth. This might not be such a problem, because any technology which enables easy deep-space exploration will also enable easy non-earth habitation. We'll be spread out across space, living everywhere, less centralized, so it will be harder for a single pathogen to effect the entire species.

(note: i must have just finished editing this after TopGun posted below)

This is all reminding me of that quarantine trailer that awaited the Apollo 11 astronauts, because of the fear of exotic "moon germs." Those turned out to be every bit as fictional as what sigma is proposing.

Keep in mind, as far as we've seen, every single organism or virus on our planet operates using the same genetic language. Codons are read and transcribed to the same amino acids in everything. ACU codes for Threonine in everything from archebacteria to lobsters, trees to humans, sponges to rotifers. In fact, one of the BIG things biologists look for as evidence of multiple origins of life on Earth is an organism that has a different language for reading genetic information (which so far, we have NOT discovered).

Should there be a pathogen from a different planet, they're probably not going to have a compatible genetic language. Exobiotic pathogens may not even work through genetics, and just work by physiology (like bacteria often do).

The truth is, we can only barely speculate about what we MIGHT find on another planet, if anything. We can think of variations in our own biology, and think of different paths our biology could have taken, but there's also the possibility that other life would have evolved with completely different chemistry than us, and take us by surprise. That is, if the fermi paradox doesn't end up resulting from a flaw in our calculations about how probable life is to start.

In terms of the first warp astronauts going on a one-way trip, why would it be one-way? The reason why Mars would be a one-way trip right now is because the technology we have to get from astronomic body A to body B is designed around rockets and craft that are designed to just BARELY get there, and BARELY poke themselves onto a course to fall back to Earth. I think the idea of a warp drive is a system that does more than burn 90% of its fuel just getting out of our gravity well.

Fnoigy wrote:The truth is, we can only barely speculate about what we MIGHT find on another planet, if anything. We can think of variations in our own biology, and think of different paths our biology could have taken, but there's also the possibility that other life would have evolved with completely different chemistry than us, and take us by surprise. That is, if the fermi paradox doesn't end up resulting from a flaw in our calculations about how probable life is to start.

This makes me think of Orson Scott Card & Ender's Game... He took bizarre differences & explored how that could translate into cultural misunderstandings.