07 NOV 2019 by ideonexus
Space Colonists as Selfish Fools
Human beings live in ideas. That they were condemning their descendants to death and extinction did not occur to them, or if it did they repressed the thought, ignored it, and forged on anyway. They did not care as much about their descendants as they did about their ideas, their enthusiasms.
Is this narcissism? Solipsism? Idiocy (from the Greek word idios, for self)? Would Turing acknowledge it as proof of human behavior?
Well, perhaps. They drove Turing to suicide too.
No. No. It was not... 1 
notes
notesTold from the perspective of the AI running the ship.
05 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
We Have the Power to Accelerate Things to Near the Speed ...
Six years ago, in the distant Trisolaran stellar system, Trisolaris accelerated two hydrogen nuclei to near the speed of light and shot them toward the solar system. These two hydrogen nuclei, or protons, arrived at the solar system two years ago, then reached the Earth.Folksonomies: space travel speed of light
Folksonomies: space travel speed of light
1 notes
notesSomething to consider.
16 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Directionality in Zero-G
Phrases like “things are looking up” and “look at the upside” once
meant something like “consider the good in the situation,” but
they went through an ironic shift in the solar system’s early spacecolonial
culture, mutating in the microgravity of early tin-can
stations to mean a variety of practically sarcastic sentiments, typically
something like “be careful” or “let’s be realistic.” The joke
(that is, that there is no “upside”) wore off in a hurry, but use it
wit... 1 notes
notesMany of the phrases we use on Earth make no sense in space.
16 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
O'Neill Cylinders
The O’Neill cylinder is named after an American
physicist and space scientist who sought to engage
his students by getting them to think about big
problems—space settlement, in particular. He also led
symposiums where the concepts behind large, permanent
space habitats—including the cylinder that bears
his name—were hashed out.
The basic principle is fairly simple. Construct a
cylinder at least half a kilometer in diameter so that it
can be rotated at low speed and provide 1 g of art... 1 notes
notesConcept for a space station with gravity.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
What are Dilithium Crystals
Finally, the Star Trek writers added one more crucial component to the matter-antimatter drive. I refer to the famous dilithium crystals (coincidentally invented by the Star Trek writers long before the Fer-milab engineers decided upon a lithium target in their Antiproton Source).
...What do these remarkable figments of the Star Trek writers' imaginations do? These crystals (known also by their longer formula 26 dilithium 21 diallosilicate 1:9:1 heptoferranide) can regulate the matter-antima...Folksonomies: science fiction space travel
Folksonomies: science fiction space travel
1 notes
notesThe molecular composition and purpose of the Star Trek invention in space travel.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Enterprise's Impulse Drive
Moving back to the sub-light-speed world: We are not through with Einstein yet. His famous relation between
mass and energy, E=mc 2 , which is a consequence of special relativity, presents a further challenge to space travel at impulse speeds. As I have described it in chapter 1, a rocket is a device that propels material backward in order to move forward. As you might imagine, the faster the material is propelled backward, the larger will be the forward impulse the rocket will receive. Mater... 1 notes
notesThe ship uses hydrogen fusion to propel helium atoms at near the speed of light, but this hypothetical form of propulsion would require incredible amounts of hydrogen to work.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Picard Maneuver
Speaking of time, I think it is time to introduce the Picard Maneuver. Jean-Luc became famous for introducing this tactic while stationed aboard the Stargazer. Even though it involves warp travel, or super light speed, which I have argued is impossible in the context of special relativity alone, it does so for just an instant and it fits in nicely with the discussions here. In the Picard Maneuver, in order to confuse an attacking enemy vessel, one's own ship is accelerated to warp speed for a... 1 notes
notesThe captain of the Enterprise has the ship travel faster than light, leaving an image of itself traveling at the speed of light from its previous location; meaning Star Trek's universe would be filled with such apparitions.
28 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Thrill of Landing on a New Planet
To ANYONE who has been in space and experienced its changelessness, the real excitement of space flight comes when it is time to land on a new planet. The ground speeds backward under you as you catch glimpses of land and water, of geometrical areas and lines that might represent fields and roads. You become aware of the green of growing things, the gray of concrete, the brown of bare ground, the white of snow. Most of all, there is the excitement of populated conglomerates; cities which, on ...Folksonomies: space travel adventuring
Folksonomies: space travel adventuring
1 Each planet has its own distinct characteristics that are a welcome sight after spending a long time in the abyss of space.
