baggers

A war between 2 planets is like a "war" between 2 small alone island in the pacific ocean: Probably full of nothing and some periodics invasions on transports ships. Having a warspace fleet for an invasion every 4-5 centuries (or way more) is certainly a big vaste. I want to see a war between two archipelagos At relativistic speeds, it's still full of nothing.

With that sort of coating on the other side of the mirror, would'nt it emit very few radiations? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_blanket

Since you can't detect (get information about) a laser shot before it reach you (unless you have non-relativist sensors), is that really a "dodge"? ^^ (still a good evasion manoeuver, for that matter) About stealth in space, wouldn't a "fully mirrors camo" starship work? A pointed front toward the target, to reflect any radiation or "active" sensor outside a 90 degree arc in the front. A envellope (like a survival blanket), that keep all sort of radiations (engines too) go forward, for passive sensors. So, undetectable from a 90 degree arc in the front even if on the move. Enought for strike first?

If I'm not mistaked, there's a recent congress about interstallar starship, and I know one of the speakers, that have presented some "intergenerationnal motherships" concepts and limitations. (fuly autonomous and enormous ship capable of sustaining long interstellar travel at a fraction of speed-ligth generations after generation of humans inside) http://www.icarusinterstellar.org/sc2015-announcement/ Note that a war between two "mother ships" like that is probably a bit unlikely: both side can easily lost everything in a conflict. Better a negociation... 2 mothership and some automated suicide-probes is probably like 2 country and nuclear submarines: mutual assured destruction ^^

Maybe we should pick up a scenario or 2: Like: - "invasion: from a planetary system to another" - Or "war between 2 planets in the same planetary system" - Or "war between 2 factions for ressource control in a third planetary system" This could go in differents ways.

At what sort of distance could you detect an automated and armed probe? Especialy if in a incoming trajectory like a whole bunch of asteroïds. Using small ion-like thruster for rare small adjustement, should'nt it be indistinguishable from any inert object?

The best projectiles will probably "flak-like": guided as close as possible to the target, and explose/spray pellets like "ball-trap shooting" ^^ That sort of ammo will probably the best if you need to blockade an ennemy planet too: a whole bunch of theses peelets in every orbits will greatly impair the hability to launch ships safely. Note that any ammo pellet that miss his target will not fall anywhere, and continue to orbit until it hit something. A planetary system at war could be quickly and durably polluted by big amount of projectiles orbiting everywhere!

If you look closely, "sleep paralizis" initialy serve a purpose: Without sleep paralizis at all, a human could easily fall off his couch when sleeping, hurt itself or close sleepers, make noises and impair his own and neightbour sleep, ect. So, an "imperfect" sleep paralizis, that for example last a bit too long when awakening is better than no sleep paralizis at all. That trait does'nt work exactly in the same manner from one human to another, it's small variations of the same very usefull trait. Genes perpetualy mutate and make (usually small) variatons from one human to another. So, as long humans will have the "sleep" trait, as long some humans will have "strong" sleep paralizis, and other "weak" sleep paralizis. That's how genetics work.

More of a "invisible/eyes corner intruder" not clearly see, but that have strong physical effects (the paralizis) So, the imagination work at full speed. Any shadow/ligth on the not-so-awake eyes/brain brutally full of adrenaline and panic can take the form of this "intruder" that paralize you. At a side note, the "panic process" of the human brains is a process that can really "take control" over the "conscious process": I remember my first or so diving, when I let my small "apprehension" and oppresive feeling go to full panic: My hand go itselve to the respiratory mouthpiece to take it off. It was a really stupid move when diving, but absolutely not conscious or controled in that case. Fortunately, I was able to retake control of myself immediatly after the sense of water in mouth, go back the respiratory device correctly in mouth, and so on. I did some research and ask questions after that. It seem that in a situation when a human sense a oppresive feeling, but his "conscious brain" cannot find the threatens, some unconscious process will take the lead (called "panic") and try to flee the hell away this uncontrolled situation. Our brain does not let you "alone" when you (as a conscious process) are unable to handle a situation ^^. It take the lead and try to do something. Usually stupid, but hey! Do what it can. Today, I've learned some tricks to don't let an oppresive feeling go to panic and lost of control in diving: just some respiratory exercices accomplished that. It seem that if my brain "see" that my conscious process seem to handle well the actual situation, it will not snap and switch to "panic process" and let me keep the lead ^^ At a side note too, I must probably say that my "fear of water" and sub(or on-) water appressive feeling was initially probably carried - among other things - by the fact that when I was child, I was thrown off the sea by my father as a first step of a one step way to swim learning. It did not work at all with me. Diving was for me part of "face my fears". I think I success that.

We need a big change in rover wheels design:

Yes and no. 2 facts: - First, the main part of our brains is made of "unspecialized" neurons: it's what we use for advanced reflexions, and the use and arrangement of the process made by theses neuronal web is dynamic. - We, humans, have developped a symbiotic entity to the humanity: Culture. It the sum of experiences and knowledge of humanity, and today, no one single human can say that "Culture" have largely overmingled our single brain capacities. - We already use and abuse of "brain extensions" for experimentations and storage of knowledges: all our data and computers are no more. What can be a "singularity" is what I will call a "super-culture". Our symbiotic "culture" is already beyond any control from the humans. Nobody, even the more powerfull politicians can fully drive a culture: every humans take his knowledge from this symbiotic sapiens entity, and add a bit of something in here. But really, today, "cultures" are already driving most of our lives. A "super-culture" will be a culture that drive itself, and most of the humanity behind. For almost all humans, it will change nothing. They alway have lost the control of their destinity.

Superior tech doesn't mean superior government/religious leader or superior puppets

If I assume that we have detected and captured that "arecibo" scout ship...

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, has conquered the New World with 11 ships and 500 mens... I bet we need no more!

"Ho, really, I live in some wonderfull times!" Note that "The contact" doesn't really matter. It is the "hidden" information behind that matter: How many. Where. When. With what. How has been send this message, when, what power of transmission device, from where, and to where can it be hear. It is a "bottle in the see" or a message dedicated to our planet? Especially the identification of the alien star system and all work for gaining more information about it should be very interressing.

Reducing "the global output" of the universe by half doesn't account about local conditions. If you read carrefully, it just mean less creations of new stars each year. (half less every 2 billions years) But our star and star life is the same of many star from the beggining of the universe.

Nah: Just the fact that our universe exist, mean it's possible to create an universe. We just have to found the source code and how to compile it ^^. I'm pretty confident with that.

And what about time distortion when approaching ligth-speeds? counting 3x10^12 cesium-3 oscillations in a spacecraft watch may not take the same "time" on another target planet?

Nah, stars don't really "orbit" in a galaxy. Yes, they make a revolution in about 230 millions years (for the sun), but this is pretty random and subject to big variations from one rotation to another. This is how our star make a revolution in milky galaxy: Please note another thing: in less than 16 sun milky way revolutions, a big, big thing will make a ....ing mess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda%E2%80%93Milky_Way_collision

You speak about groud Vs air, but what about underground exploration? Some caves exists on Mars, and some are accessible from the surface. https://caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V74/cave-74-01-33.pdf Would'nt these "protected area" (protected from the sun radiation, the high and low temperatures...) be of some interrest?

Let's say a nano-bot isn't alive, like a Virus isn't alive because it can't reproduce itself without paraziting a "real" living cell. What about a self-replicating nanobot?

This thread start another question: how to see "in" the Jupiter's "clouds and liquids"? What sort of probe do we need for that? Will it be still able to communicate with "surface" pass a few meters in the "clouds"? In one word: how to "explore" Jupiter?

Sailing ship top, lighthouses top... why do you see further if you are in higher positions? And why the first thing you see of another distant incomming sailing ship is first his top, and gradually his mast and finally his hull? It's well know from the ancient ages... Height -> Maximum vison 1,70 m -> 4,7 km 3,00 m -> 6,2 km 10 m -> 11,3 km 50 m -> 25,4 km 75 m -> 31,1 km 100 m -> 36,0 km 250 m -> 56,9 km 500 m -> 80,4 km 750 m -> 98,5 km 1 km -> 113 km 1,5 km -> 139 km 2 km -> 160 km 3 km -> 197 km 4 km -> 227 km http://www.weatherwise.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2013/March-April%202013/titanic-mirage-full.html

This is a gravity lense: I love this one: It's the effect of a curvature of distant light passing in a heavy gravity field before reaching Earth: An evidence for the existence of very heavy objects that curve light by gravity. A Dark Hole maybe. An abundance of Dark Hole is one of the possibility for Dark Matter.