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Can We Ever Colonize Space?

Started by Zatoichi, March 05, 2013, 01:38:33 AM

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Davka

Radar relies on bouncing radio waves off of objects. Radio waves will travel through vacuum. It's only an "echo" in the sense that a wave is bouncing back off of something.

Lasers are too narrow to be of much use, unfortunately. But they might be useful for determining the exact nature of an object after it's detected by radar.

_Xenu_

Stupid me, I thought radio waves were slower than light for some reason. Yes, use radar, but only intermittently to save energy. Still, this overall setup sounds more practical than anything else I've heard of, and might be doable within centuries.
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Davka

You do realize that as soon as they learn to freeze and thaw people, they'll be stacking us on airplanes like cord-wood?   :shock:

Hydra009

Quote from: "Davka"You do realize that as soon as they learn to freeze and thaw people, they'll be stacking us on airplanes like cord-wood?   :shock:
Only if they do the babies and loud talkers first.   :)

_Xenu_

Well, it beats those dinky seats...
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FrankDK

>  Theres no reason we can't colonize the galaxy at sublight speeds, it will just much, much longer.

If that were the case, assuming there are other civilizations in the galaxy, and some are billions of years older than humanity, where are they?  Why haven't they colonized the earth yet?

See Fermi Paradox.

Frank

moog

Quote from: "Davka"Detecting large bodies in interstellar space would be a serious pain in the ass. They would be so far from any light-source that they would reflect almost no light, and block almost no light. Reflection and eclipse are the two methods we use to detect extra-Solar planets, so I'm not sure how we would be able to detect any large body in deep space. All the space sci-fi shows that depict planets and asteroids in deep space which are magically visible are completely wrong. The Enterprise would not be able to put a deep-space asteroid on-screen, because the asteroid would be as black as the rest of space.

What might work is radar, but it would require constant energy output in pinging the path ahead and reading the reflections. And it might even restrict the possible speed of the craft, since you wouldn't want to approach the speed of light, because that would render the radar useless.
....

I'm not sure this would be a big problem, space is big. Very big.
And the chances of hitting anything in interstellar space larger than an atom would be vanishingly small.

_Xenu_

Quote from: "FrankDK">  Theres no reason we can't colonize the galaxy at sublight speeds, it will just much, much longer.

If that were the case, assuming there are other civilizations in the galaxy, and some are billions of years older than humanity, where are they?  Why haven't they colonized the earth yet?

See Fermi Paradox.

Frank
Can't say for sure, but theres quite a few possibilities. In any case, we're talking more about how to colonize the galaxy ourselves than alien civilizations. If we ever meet any, its likely to be in the very distant future.
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Hydra009

Quote from: "FrankDK"If that were the case, assuming there are other civilizations in the galaxy, and some are billions of years older than humanity, where are they?

There, there, there, and you can barely see it, but over there, too.  Probably.

QuoteWhy haven't they colonized the earth yet?
Same reason.

GurrenLagann

Actually, using radar at sub-luminal speeds would be perfect. You wouldn't have to be constantly pinging stuff. You would only have to do it every so often. Since basically any oving object in space is going to be moving fantastically slower than light speed, it would be VERY easy for even the technology we presently have to predict with great accuracy where the moving object will be in the future, relative to us. So, sending out radio waves (which can penetrate through pesky dust clouds) all around us might work well. Or not. ;)
Which means that to me the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can\'t give way, is the offer of something not worth having.
[...]
Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty & wisdom, will come to you that way.
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FrankDK

> If we ever meet any, its likely to be in the very distant future.

That's the point.  This is the very distant future for many civilizations.  The universe was already 9 billion years old when the earth formed, so there must be other civilizations that have a several-billion year head start on us.  If civilizations can colonize the galaxy, then someone should have gotten here by now.

Simply moving to another location as the sun ages is a different matter.  Colonizing one planet is different from colonizing the galaxy.

Frank

Plu

QuoteIf civilizations can colonize the galaxy, then someone should have gotten here by now.

Who says they can or want to colonize all of it? The place is vast beyond belief, there's no reason to think that they'd be trying to control all of it. We're just an insignificant speck of dust floating about amongst trillions of other planets. There's no reason why any race of galactic beings would be coming specifically to this little corner of the galaxy.

Thumpalumpacus

Quote from: "Davka"What might work is radar, but it would require constant energy output in pinging the path ahead and reading the reflections. And it might even restrict the possible speed of the craft, since you wouldn't want to approach the speed of light, because that would render the radar useless.

I would imagine that gravity sensors would be much more reliable, and perhaps be managed passively, reducing the energy demands on a ship's propulsion.
<insert witty aphorism here>

VaasMontenegro

You'd be mistaken to think that we wont colonize space. The human race has adapted to every situation that has arisen and it will continue to do so.

It is also imperative that we colonize space if we are to thrive as a species in the long term.
"I\'m not a schemer. I just try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are."

Nonsensei

Quote from: "VaasMontenegro"You'd be mistaken to think that we wont colonize space. The human race has adapted to every situation that has arisen and it will continue to do so.

It is also imperative that we colonize space if we are to thrive as a species in the long term.


Technically it isn't though. We have two avenues: Expand into space or learn how to manage our existence on this planet. Frankly the latter is the harder one but if we can manage it we have quite a while until the sun burns out and perhaps by then we will have somehow found a solution to that problem as well.

To me expanding into space isnt about that we HAVE to its that theres no reason not to.
And on the wings of a dream so far beyond reality
All alone in desperation now the time has come
Lost inside you\'ll never find, lost within my own mind
Day after day this misery must go on