Will we see FTL travel in our life time?

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Darth Jello
There are several hypothetical ways to cheat the laws of physics and break the cosmic speed limit. Do you think this will happen in the next 70-80 years?

Symmetric Chaos
I think we might see them in our life time if technology extends our lifespans enough. I seriously doubt it could happen in even a hundred years or so, mainly because the various ways of cheating lightspeed require either materials that violate basic principle of mechanics, technology that shatters well tested physical laws or just makes a random guess that we'll discover hyperspace for no adequately explained reason.

Darth Jello
Well isn't star trek style warp travel technically possible without necessarily violating any laws of physics in a relative way?

Darth Macabre
Tachyon fields might also be possible, though you would need, like just about everything, more energy than we could produce.

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Darth Jello
Well isn't star trek style warp travel technically possible without necessarily violating any laws of physics in a relative way?

At a minimum a Class II civilization (we're .75 and it's exponential) would be required to provide enough antimatter to power even a single ship unless we discover a way to suddenly turn matter directly into antimatter en masse.

dadudemon
We have already observed MATTER traveling faster than light in our particle colliders. I have been out of the particle physics "community" for so long that I am not sure on any of the details. However, that is supposed to be impossible, but it happened. I'm not sure if it is some sort of temporal illusion that on the "books" has FTL matter travel or if it is grade-A FTL with no tricks or convoluted explanations.

Grand-Moff-Gav
edit

Darth Macabre
Originally posted by Grand-Moff-Gav
edit Wow, awesome contribution to the thread. stick out tongue

Grand-Moff-Gav
Originally posted by Darth Macabre
Wow, awesome contribution to the thread. stick out tongue

I wrote something and thought..."No, too many paedophile jokes will come from this"

Now your going to be scratching your head to think of what it could have been...

Darth Jello
It was my impression that you would have to cheat in some way since only something with 0 mass travels at the speed of light and only something with a negative mass travels faster.

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Darth Jello
It was my impression that you would have to cheat in some way since only something with 0 mass travels at the speed of light and only something with a negative mass travels faster.

Actually I think an object with negative mass would destroy the universe or something. At the very least it wouldn't be able to interact with anything and thus wouldn't be able to move at all.

dadudemon
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Actually I think an object with negative mass would destroy the universe or something. At the very least it wouldn't be able to interact with anything and thus wouldn't be able to move at all.


Nah, it would move in a different set of dimensions. We wouldn't detect it because it wouldn't follow our set of physics, etc.

Darth Macabre
Originally posted by dadudemon
Nah, it would move in a different set of dimensions. We wouldn't detect it because it wouldn't follow our set of physics, etc. yes I would imagine it would be able to slip through the very fabric the various universes are made out of.

Mindship
Barring some unforeseen discovery or development: No. The energy requirements alone (let alone some new physical loophole law) are waayyy beyond our current tech capability.

Originally posted by dadudemon
We have already observed MATTER traveling faster than light in our particle colliders. I have been out of the particle physics "community" for so long that I am not sure on any of the details. However, that is supposed to be impossible, but it happened. I'm not sure if it is some sort of temporal illusion that on the "books" has FTL matter travel or if it is grade-A FTL with no tricks or convoluted explanations. Are you referring to the quantum teleportation experiments with photons (IIRC)? I don't know if that's exactly what we're referring to in this thread (or is it?). I mean, if that's case, we've known about quantum leaping/tunneling for decades. But my impression is, in this thread, we're discussing nontelelportive, macroscopic FTL. And I'm pretty sure that has not been done, because if it had -- hell, if the physics community had managed to propel even a single subatomic particle faster than light (in nonteleport fashion), this would be historic news, on par with the discovery of extraterrestrial life. The details would be well documented, not to mention the flurry of additional experiments conducted to confirm this result.

Bicnarok
Nope, but something different is possible.

dadudemon
Originally posted by Mindship
Are you referring to the quantum teleportation experiments with photons (IIRC)? I don't know if that's exactly what we're referring to in this thread (or is it?). I mean, if that's case, we've known about quantum leaping/tunneling for decades. But my impression is, in this thread, we're discussing nontelelportive, macroscopic FTL. And I'm pretty sure that has not been done, because if it had -- hell, if the physics community had managed to propel even a single subatomic particle faster than light (in nonteleport fashion), this would be historic news, on par with the discovery of extraterrestrial life. The details would be well documented, not to mention the flurry of additional experiments conducted to confirm this result.

What you're describing is a bit more recent than what I'm describing. It was probably over 5 years ago when I found out about it.


I'll see if I can look it up.


For all intents and purposes, it would have required an infinite amount of energy to get one subatomic particle to travel FTL...so it's probably not euclidean FTL.

It's Face
Originally posted by Darth Jello
There are several hypothetical ways to cheat the laws of physics and break the cosmic speed limit. Do you think this will happen in the next 70-80 years?

Hell No !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who would pay for that ???

Red Nemesis
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Actually I think an object with negative mass would destroy the universe or something. At the very least it wouldn't be able to interact with anything and thus wouldn't be able to move at all.

Would it have negative gravity? As in, the law of universal attraction would actually repel other matter?

Robtard
Breaking the LS barrier is only one of many problems, we'd also theoretically have to provide the environment/protection for that future traveller(s) to survive going that fast, let alone at light-speed.

If it happens, it will be far far into the future. Barring any outside nonhuman help.

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Would it have negative gravity? As in, the law of universal attraction would actually repel other matter?

I don't think so, but I'm not a physicist.

Darth Macabre
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Would it have negative gravity? As in, the law of universal attraction would actually repel other matter? Wouldn't it just be like white holes? Instead of taking in matter, it would push it out: so, in that way, its the opposite of an opposite.

Red Nemesis
Except that a white hole is a source of matter (I think- that has always confused me) while this is a piece of matter.

Grinning Goku
I highly doubt it.

KidRock
I hope so.

If I had one wish I think it would be to have a time machine, to at least go back in time I guess.

Jack Daniels
to erase your existance? jus messin... no I was thinking though the only way would be the star trek method of travel..I read how that works once...but then again 2012 we might discover a new dimension or two eh?..lol

Mindship
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Would it have negative gravity? As in, the law of universal attraction would actually repel other matter? The easiest way to grasp this may be the spacetime rubber sheet analogy, where positive mass produces a "well" in spacetime, and negative mass produces a "hill" (a "well" from the other side of the sheet).

jinXed by JaNx
I think the only evolution in travel that i will see in my lifetime is in magnetism. This, however, is a big if. We could very easily be achieving speeds of up to 3000 MPH in mag rails. There is also evidence to prove that we can utilize magnetism as an energy source in automobiles. Our societies do not strive to better ourselves but to better our societies financial wealth. The fact that we are still dependent on Fossil fuels should prove that we will never see an energy source that can support FTL travel.

Maybe, within the next few hundred years the world will see teleportation in goods. There are incredible things happening in teleportation. As far as FTL travel though, well the world would have to change drastically to see a technological advancement like that. If FTL travel were ever achieved it would not be known to the public. It would be a military asset. The world we live in...,could you imagine the potential destruction that would come with FTL travel? No, we would destroy ourselves. This doesn't matter though, because FTL travel is still theory and considering that as well as everything else going on in the world. FTL is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Jack Daniels
Originally posted by Mindship
The easiest way to grasp this may be the spacetime rubber sheet analogy, where positive mass produces a "well" in spacetime, and negative mass produces a "hill" (a "well" from the other side of the sheet).

thats not what I read but sounds feasible your floating through on the hill right?

Magee
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I think the only evolution in travel that i will see in my lifetime is in magnetism. This, however, is a big if. We could very easily be achieving speeds of up to 3000 MPH in mag rails. We will probably see these between continents in our life time.

I can't see ftl happening in the next 100 years although we will probably have sent probes that are capable of reaching a good percentage of light speed to our nearest stars.

Mindship
Originally posted by Jack Daniels
thats not what I read but sounds feasible your floating through on the hill right? Well, basically, just as you'd roll toward a (positive) mass because of its gravity well, you'd roll away from a negative mass because of its "antigravity" hill.

What I find interesting, now that I think about it, is that when the "antigravity" effect of dark energy is discussed, no one talks about spacetime curvature but rather Planck-scale spacetime "frothing" possibly being responsible for the repulsion. I guess one is a relativity POV, the other is a quantum-mechanical POV, and for now the latter is preferred because it jives better with the search for a quantum-gravity understanding, ie, the joining of the two major, but apparently incompatible theories: relativity and quantum mechanics.

Red Nemesis
Originally posted by Mindship
The easiest way to grasp this may be the spacetime rubber sheet analogy, where positive mass produces a "well" in spacetime, and negative mass produces a "hill" (a "well" from the other side of the sheet).

Exactly.

Phantom Zone
Well the President of United States is black...so why not? laughing out loud

Robtard
Half.

Sadako of Girth
It has already happened.




I saw it last night.





We were round a mate of mines having a smoke.
The announcement that a joint was being passed.





And I swear my mate Dunc broke the light barrier.


(Jumping in there so quick to intercept the motherf**er.)

Robtard
He jumped in and broke the set chain of smoke? That is a no-no. Puff Puff Give; no cuts.

Mindship
He was fast enough to give off Cherenkov radiation. That deserves, I think, one complimentary toke.

dadudemon
Originally posted by Mindship
He was fast enough to give off Cherenkov radiation. That deserves, I think, one complimentary toke.


The drive to smoke the weed so bad was probably a Smith-Purcell effect. laughing

Sadako of Girth
ROFLMAO laughing out loud

I also theorise that he must've ruptured space/time also, as the situation seems to repeat itself over and over when hes about.

To be fair it was offered to "he who gets their first" but before the the "Ffffff..?" bit of the word "Spliff...?" has left the smoker's lips, that bastard's hand in already on the J/on its way to the J.

He normally like an aged old man on his unfortunate last stages of Kidney disease.

Yet somehow when the smell of weed fills the air, he suddenly possesses the ability to move so fast that he achieves superpositioning.

dadudemon
Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
ROFLMAO laughing out loud

I also theorise that he must've ruptured space/time also, as the situation seems to repeat itself over and over when hes about.

To be fair it was offered to "he who gets their first" but before the the "Ffffff..?" bit of the word "Spliff...?" has left the smoker's lips, that bastard's hand in already on the J/on its way to the J.

He normally like an aged old man on his unfortunate last stages of Kidney disease.

Yet somehow when the smell of weed fills the air, he suddenly possesses the ability to move so fast that he achieves superpositioning.

I know it's not as "mobile" as a volcano, but why don't you guys vaporize?

lol @ superposition.

Sadako of Girth
stick out tongue It might be the THC glueing our component molecules together.

Darth Jello
Originally posted by jinXed by JaNx
I think the only evolution in travel that i will see in my lifetime is in magnetism. This, however, is a big if. We could very easily be achieving speeds of up to 3000 MPH in mag rails. There is also evidence to prove that we can utilize magnetism as an energy source in automobiles. Our societies do not strive to better ourselves but to better our societies financial wealth. The fact that we are still dependent on Fossil fuels should prove that we will never see an energy source that can support FTL travel.

Maybe, within the next few hundred years the world will see teleportation in goods. There are incredible things happening in teleportation. As far as FTL travel though, well the world would have to change drastically to see a technological advancement like that. If FTL travel were ever achieved it would not be known to the public. It would be a military asset. The world we live in...,could you imagine the potential destruction that would come with FTL travel? No, we would destroy ourselves. This doesn't matter though, because FTL travel is still theory and considering that as well as everything else going on in the world. FTL is nothing more than a pipe dream.

teleportation will never happen both because of its ethical implications and because the heisenberg uncertainty principle makes it impossible. and while 3,000 mph is impressive, something over 300,000 kmps would impress me more.

Kuntalini
Fook No

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