General Discussion

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)

138. If you have the resources of an entire solar system things start to look different

Fri Oct 30, 2015, 02:10 PM

Oct 2015

Take a couple or a dozen minor planets and make them into a laser and solar power plant, your probe is a light sail propelled by the laser. You don't have to carry propellant or provide energy onboard, both thrust and power on board come from the laser back in solar orbit.

If we ever get to the point of sending out interstellar probes we'll have quite a good idea of what's there before we start, remote sensing technology is growing by quantum leaps and space based instruments can be arbitrarily large and have arbitrarily fine resolution.

Not to mention that sending human bodies over interstellar distances is ludicrous, biological carbon based life requires ridiculously stringent environmental constraints lest it become inadvertently inert. Much better to send downloaded or even artificial personalities in some considerably less perishable and bulky form.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

181 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Will we find aliens first or will they find us? [View all] Renew Deal Oct 2015 OP

They already found us. Rex Oct 2015 #1

It's possible Renew Deal Oct 2015 #4

I was worried I should have put in the sarcasm emo. Rex Oct 2015 #7

Please. take a look at ANY major religion; bobalew Oct 2015 #158

This. They are among us. Observing. NT Ex Lurker Oct 2015 #90

But to what end? Rex Oct 2015 #96

Perhaps they view us as a SNL skit. I really can't imagine an advanced species having interest RKP5637 Oct 2015 #108

SO we are the "ouch my balls" reality TV of the galaxy? Rex Oct 2015 #114

Really? Scootaloo Oct 2015 #152

Time will tell, it could be interesting if they did. I do have to agree with what Stephen Hawking RKP5637 Oct 2015 #162

I find Hawking's fear of alien contact a little silly Scootaloo Oct 2015 #163

Interesting!!! Sadly, I doubt either of us will ever see anything happen in our lives, I guess. n/t RKP5637 Oct 2015 #167

I'm young enough to look forward to inheriting a Mad Max wasteland Scootaloo Oct 2015 #170

Yep! n/t RKP5637 Oct 2015 #172

I sincerely wish you the best of luck. I think you have been left a real mess. Many of us did not RKP5637 Oct 2015 #177

Science... It's all part of Observation and Research. Glassunion Oct 2015 #109

True, but by that token wouldn't the alien species want to go back to their past Rex Oct 2015 #111

That is basically what I was getting at. Glassunion Oct 2015 #115

That is fascinating, in that it could give them clues as to why they are like they are today. Rex Oct 2015 #116

It could be that we are both plentiful and tasty to them. hifiguy Oct 2015 #144

Hehe... Rex Oct 2015 #145

Careful eating the hippies, man... hifiguy Oct 2015 #148

Bring me the horn from the human known as Fry! Rex Oct 2015 #150

Couldn't find a short clip of that. hifiguy Oct 2015 #154

The Republican debates skepticscott Oct 2015 #98

Yep. Lizard people. No bout adoubt it. hifiguy Oct 2015 #146

I agree, they were on CNBC TV Wednesday night. LiberalArkie Oct 2015 #156

David Icke is right! TheSarcastinator Oct 2015 #165

No, we already found them. KamaAina Oct 2015 #173

Well you know what FDR said about TVEEs and the Internets! Rex Oct 2015 #174

they know we are here and want nothing to do with us? Skittles Oct 2015 #180

They have already found us Duckhunter935 Oct 2015 #2

Other. First off, interstellar travel is so resource intensive, that it would be a waste. onehandle Oct 2015 #3

Now it is Renew Deal Oct 2015 #5

Well, my good friend, the rocket equation is not likely to be overthrown any time soon. longship Oct 2015 #16

I doubt it is possible to ever visit other galaxy's. nt Logical Oct 2015 #27

Yup! And interstellar travel too. longship Oct 2015 #32

Maybe worm holes are real! :-) nt Logical Oct 2015 #36

Or possibly the Alcubierre warp drive. hifiguy Oct 2015 #175

You're thinking about it the wrong way - I don't know if humans will ever MillennialDem Oct 2015 #62

It's too bad we won't be able to conquer death in our lifetime. Deadshot Oct 2015 #70

Might for me. I'm 35 and have good longevity genes (most grand and great grandparents living into MillennialDem Oct 2015 #72

We don't have to totally concour death for it to benefit you. Hassin Bin Sober Oct 2015 #81

Yeah, that's true. MillennialDem Oct 2015 #83

Not only that.... Xithras Oct 2015 #102

The rocket equation... krispos42 Oct 2015 #31

Or just send the middle managers, hair dressers, and telephone sanitizers. longship Oct 2015 #33

I'll volunteer to smash the bottle of champagne on the bow of... krispos42 Oct 2015 #40

Or just send the middle managers, hair dressers, and telephone sanitizers. AlbertCat Oct 2015 #52

But we know the fate that befell the Gulgafrinshans. lumberjack_jeff Oct 2015 #65

Or this one quickesst Oct 2015 #56

Nuclear pulse is available now, if fusion doesn't pan out. MillennialDem Oct 2015 #64

While I am a big fan of science. ZX86 Oct 2015 #41

Agreed Travis_0004 Oct 2015 #46

You don't have to go a billion years. ZX86 Oct 2015 #50

Yep!!! Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t RKP5637 Oct 2015 #112

Thinking too linearly forsaken mortal Oct 2015 #71

Maybe we can learn to... 3catwoman3 Oct 2015 #79

Well, the responses to the Alcubierre drive suggestion... longship Oct 2015 #84

No no...everything must be referenced through rockets! Rex Oct 2015 #126

Right. There are billions of star systems, billions of years ahead of us. onehandle Oct 2015 #78

From our point of view, it's expensive Shankapotomus Oct 2015 #85

Well, that's another matter altogether. longship Oct 2015 #86

Well, if we're looking for Shankapotomus Oct 2015 #87

Light sail! longship Oct 2015 #89

From a human POV, that sounds about right and is the only mindset we can imagine. Rex Oct 2015 #94

Well, the universe is governed by universal laws. longship Oct 2015 #100

Yet the way you type it, they seem set in stone and you know that is not true. Rex Oct 2015 #101

The universe is what it is. longship Oct 2015 #104

You must not like theoretical science much. Rex Oct 2015 #106

Well, that would be a straw man. longship Oct 2015 #110

Sorry did not mean you in particular. Rex Oct 2015 #113

Creativity in science does not mean making shit up. longship Oct 2015 #119

Who cares about warp drives? Geez is that all you got? Rex Oct 2015 #120

We know them all yet zipplewrath Oct 2015 #157

We would need stable wormholes Oneironaut Oct 2015 #121

Yup! That is my reading of the universe as well. longship Oct 2015 #123

Yw. If you used a warp drive that brought you even very close Oneironaut Oct 2015 #129

Don't forget time dilation. longship Oct 2015 #137

True. That would be hilariously pointless. Oneironaut Oct 2015 #139

We think. Rex Oct 2015 #124

If you have the resources of an entire solar system things start to look different Fumesucker Oct 2015 #138

Yes, but there's still the problem of huge distances. longship Oct 2015 #142

Distance is immaterial to immortal beings who can manipulate their sense of time at will Fumesucker Oct 2015 #155

True. In our current stage of understanding the universe, that makes sense. Glassunion Oct 2015 #149

Well, relativity kind of puts any such advancements aside. longship Oct 2015 #153

I don't know where you got the idea that I was implying that new scientific Glassunion Oct 2015 #160

Sadly for some it stopped with Einstein. Rex Oct 2015 #161

Interstellar travel. That's the thing here. longship Oct 2015 #166

Goldfish in a bowl. Glassunion Oct 2015 #168

Huh? nt longship Oct 2015 #169

98 to 99% Glassunion Oct 2015 #179

See? Stuck in another time period. Rex Oct 2015 #171

Indeed Glassunion Oct 2015 #181

Who's to say, maybe we're from another planet. B Calm Oct 2015 #6

With close to 7 billion people that we know of, it makes me wonder Rex Oct 2015 #9

Our creators were...we were built here .... nt fadedrose Oct 2015 #17

I know my next door neighbor has to be!! Kilgore Oct 2015 #38

I find it far more likely that we'll find evidence of an extraterrestrial civilization than that one Rond Vidar Oct 2015 #8

That makes sense Renew Deal Oct 2015 #10

It's unlikely we'll spot them through visual evidence. Radio emissions are much easier to detect. Rond Vidar Oct 2015 #11

Always thought they'd avoid us. JonathanRackham Oct 2015 #12

That will take patience. Renew Deal Oct 2015 #13

The aliens seeded the planet fadedrose Oct 2015 #14

"We are no accident." LuvNewcastle Oct 2015 #34

Who did this to you? tkmorris Oct 2015 #51

I am not a solid believer in anything I said fadedrose Oct 2015 #59

I saw your critical thinking flying around in a spaceship with aliens wheniwasincongress Oct 2015 #77

What's your critical thinking filled explanation of our origins? n/t prayin4rain Oct 2015 #97

Have you ever read any non-fiction by Carl Sagan? Shankapotomus Oct 2015 #91

Sigh. nt Codeine Oct 2015 #69

You forgot the sarcasm smilie. nt Curmudgeoness Oct 2015 #122

Message auto-removed Name removed Oct 2015 #140

No. Molten Core fadedrose Oct 2015 #147

Some astrophysicists make the argument that... krispos42 Oct 2015 #15

My guess is we find then first, and they are Yupster Oct 2015 #24

And then we keep them from evolving into an advanced life-form. krispos42 Oct 2015 #26

They ARE us. We just haven't figure it out yet. n/t Avalux Oct 2015 #18

Donald Trump has to be an alien, there's no other explanation! Initech Oct 2015 #19

I tend to believe we are under quarantine. roamer65 Oct 2015 #20

Now that makes sense. 2naSalit Oct 2015 #80

Well, as some have said ... RKP5637 Oct 2015 #117

We will find them in the end... Paulie Oct 2015 #21

They are all over the place. We're simply to dim witted to notice. hunter Oct 2015 #22

They found us terminally useless and moved on. alphafemale Oct 2015 #23

Actually, your answer is logically the best. Any species with the high-intelligence to travel the.. BlueJazz Oct 2015 #43

Thankfully we do not taste good. alphafemale Oct 2015 #47

They probably didn't want to take the chance they'd catch something. BlueJazz Oct 2015 #53

Not Necessarily forsaken mortal Oct 2015 #68

Ants are interesting. nt alphafemale Oct 2015 #74

No..I doubt that very seriously ( ew era ton essopsus ot klat tuoba taht !) BlueJazz Oct 2015 #76

Given the fact that we are in our technological childhood... longship Oct 2015 #25

Given how young our universe is compared to the others... Kalidurga Oct 2015 #28

They will come here to serve Man 6chars Oct 2015 #29

Well Played Kilgore Oct 2015 #37

Well, I for one won't be lining up for a rocket trip Art_from_Ark Oct 2015 #42

Yes. H2O Man Oct 2015 #30

Obvious simple answer, they just want to Serve Man Kilgore Oct 2015 #35

They're already here. ZX86 Oct 2015 #39

I think, as we are probably Shankapotomus Oct 2015 #93

History 2 Channel has some UFO stuff on now fadedrose Oct 2015 #44

It's very difficult to refute the evidence IMO that some really interesting, mysterious and RKP5637 Oct 2015 #127

It is mathematical impossible for there to be no other intelligent civilizations in our galaxy Half-Century Man Oct 2015 #45

Nope. Spider Jerusalem Oct 2015 #48

Life is a property of matter. L. Coyote Oct 2015 #49

I think Fermi Paradox makes for interesting reading Travis_0004 Oct 2015 #54

Already here.... peace13 Oct 2015 #55

They have already found us - and kept on going... LiberalElite Oct 2015 #57

Anyone who has ever had a premonition knows that thinking is the best way to travel. leveymg Oct 2015 #58

We'll find them... nonexistent. n/t lumberjack_jeff Oct 2015 #60

We first arrived on your Earth year 1967. Throd Oct 2015 #61

there was a gaggle of 'em in Boulder last night spanone Oct 2015 #63

A ton of energy is needed for space travel. Deadshot Oct 2015 #66

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe... beevul Oct 2015 #67

Message auto-removed Name removed Oct 2015 #73

Have you read Carl Sagan's Contact? wheniwasincongress Oct 2015 #75

If we keep 2naSalit Oct 2015 #82

They came, took a look, and put us on a quarantine list. hobbit709 Oct 2015 #88

I agree, they were smart and left us alone. n/t Paper Roses Oct 2015 #92

they already found us then ran the other way. nt Javaman Oct 2015 #95

They'll Find Us First ProfessorGAC Oct 2015 #99

We are the Aliens and they are us... yuiyoshida Oct 2015 #103

aliens have already found us. n/t Scout Oct 2015 #105

Some estimates are they could be about two billion years more advanced than us. RKP5637 Oct 2015 #107

Thank you! Rex Oct 2015 #118

Also, here's a humbling thought: Oneironaut Oct 2015 #125

Unless you know how to bend space and time to make two points anywhere in the universe met. Rex Oct 2015 #128

Exactly. I can't claim to be an expert or even close. Oneironaut Oct 2015 #130

Agree...the more outrageous we get, the crazier it gets. Rex Oct 2015 #132

What kind? get the red out Oct 2015 #131

Maybe they already did and wisely decided to ignore us. Tierra_y_Libertad Oct 2015 #133

Or maybe we are so alien to them and them to us, that neither group even notices the other. Rex Oct 2015 #134

I think you may be right. Kind of like sponges studying ballerinas and vice-versa. Tierra_y_Libertad Oct 2015 #136

They're here: DFW Oct 2015 #135

That's Not My Picture! ProfessorGAC Oct 2015 #141

Hold on, I have others: DFW Oct 2015 #151

Given the luck the human race has had hifiguy Oct 2015 #143

Ranch dressing, human flavor? Rex Oct 2015 #159

there is NO intelligent life in Universe TheSarcastinator Oct 2015 #164

They've already found us. They are now waiting to see whether PatrickforO Oct 2015 #176

I think we will find basic lifeforms in our solar system Marrah_G Oct 2015 #178