Post your FTL discussions here

[MBobrik]

But there's a problem unless you used some kind of star gate/star trek style Hyper-Drive/Warp-Drive or the Alcubierre Drive, as the tiny traces of hydrogen in deep space throughout the universe would be coliding with you'r hull faster than light,

The point is moot because you can't get faster than light without something like Alcubierre Drive at all. And with Alcubierre, all incoming particles will be shredded by the warp bubble you are traveling in.

[Jones-250]

Reaching C is not the hard part, passing it however is. According to our current understanding of how the uni-/multiverse works it´s quite impossible to pass that upper limit under the influence of the laws of physics. The logical step would be to bypass these ´laws´, break them. That is the harder part.

[chri]

Reaching C is not the hard part, passing it however is. According to our current understanding of how the uni-/multiverse works it´s quite impossible to pass that upper limit under the influence of the laws of physics. The logical step would be to bypass these ´laws´, break them. That is the harder part.

with things like the Alcubierre drive or the wormholes you don't break any laws of physics, and you'r not physically moving at a greater speed than light, but in the case of wormholes you simply take a faster route, in the one of the alcubierre drive...well, never understood it well enough to explain it

[searlefm]

OK i was wrong i was treating the equivalent mass of the deep space hydrogen as being mass X acceleration,

that is only correct at relatively slow speeds.

so yer i was wrong, moving on.

an impact is the mass X acceleration over the squared root of 1 minus the velocity squared over the speed of light squared, this predicts compleatly the opasit to what i started incorrectly, instead when you exceed the speed of light your momentum would become a negative value.

this would mean the equation of impale would lead to silly results of having a negative value meaning no giant plasma trails, instead i don't know as iv not a clue what a negative impact value would create,

Have any of you?

[KOCOUR]

Something older for Alcubierre drive: http://www.technologyreview.com/view/412867/quantum-setback-for-warp-drives/

[Valley]

I think FTL travel is very much possible. Will we do it? Tests on the subatomic level suggests material and/or energy does it all the time. FTL space travel with people in ships? I don't think so. FTL information networks between planets, moons, mining operations, and colonies? Sure. But I picture people traveling in STL ships. If for nothing else I think they would enjoy the view.

[austin4050]

STL could maybe be fore tourism? Also I am not even sure if the human body could adapt to FTL, not going from standing still like it Trek, but maybe an acceleration time is needed to get to FTL.

[J0hnsmine]

But imagine if you wanted to FTL a family to a Moonbase and there was a minor calibration issue and you beamed them into a vacuum. yes. i have those thoughts sometimes. i think it might be some time after ftl is invented until it becomes commercailized, because you dont want alot of incidents.

[Pingonaut]

I don't see how some people can say it won't happen, that it is impossible. With all the theories about things being impossible proven wrong (moon landings, long duration space flight, flying, circumnavigating the planet) you'd think people would know by now not to doubt stuff like that.

[Kryten]

None of those broke any accepted physical laws. 'Impossible in practice' is not the same as 'Impossible even in theory'.

[Ben 9072]

I think FTL travel is very much possible. Will we do it? Tests on the subatomic level suggests material and/or energy does it all the time. FTL space travel with people in ships? I don't think so. FTL information networks between planets, moons, mining operations, and colonies? Sure. But I picture people traveling in STL ships. If for nothing else I think they would enjoy the view.

Can you clarify your statement? I'm assuming you're talking about massive matter, in which case I would love to see your sources.

[stallion x1]

even if we do figure out a way to go FTL we would need humongous quantitys of energy that it is just not realistically probable to create

[mobious44]

I think FTL travel is very much possible. Will we do it? Tests on the subatomic level suggests material and/or energy does it all the time. FTL space travel with people in ships? I don't think so. FTL information networks between planets, moons, mining operations, and colonies? Sure. But I picture people traveling in STL ships. If for nothing else I think they would enjoy the view.

As for FTL information networks, that isn't so far fetched. If we used quantum entangled particles that is. whatever you do to one particle happens to the other, no matter the distance. This being the case, it would be just a matter of working out how to contain the separated quantum entangled particles and how to develop a language like binary or such to be used when doing something to one of the particles. once that's done you can pretty much recreate communications and the internet at near instantaneous speeds.

I can't remember where i learned of quantum entangled particles, but I'll try to find the links to the studies on it and post them.

[Seret]

There isn't really any particular reason to think that FTL travel is possible, and a lot to think that it isn't. Alcubierre drives are a highly theoretical idea that relies on things we've never observed and dont' have any technology to control ("negative energy"). As such they aren't a serious option until that prerequisite has been taken care of, even before you try and deal with the heroic energy demands.

We should plan and assume that we'll be permanently limited to sub-light speeds. As others have mentioned the Fermi paradox seems to lend a lot of weight to the idea that all civlisations (even those vastly more advanced than us) face similar enormous barriers to interstellar flight. IMO we've got enough room and resources available in our own system for thousands of years at least, we may find we don't have any real need to send anything other than long-term probes on interstellar flights.

[mobious44]

here's some of the links on quantum communication.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120411161604.htm

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/515871/china-reveals-first-space-based-quantum-communications-experiment/