Re: Spacecraft may surf the solar system on magnetic fields

On Wed, 14 Mar 2007 23:01:22 +0000, D from BC wrote:
On Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:50:12 -0400, "DaveM"
"GregS" <szekeres@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
In article <blbgv2lmaobpmnu57ardqfe99bu5h80iu5@xxxxxxx>, D from BC
On 14 Mar 2007 04:36:34 -0700, Winfield Hill
<Winfield_member@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Future spacecraft may surf the solar system on magnetic fields, according
to Mason Peck of Cornell, who's exploring the possibility with a NASA grant.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11375-spacecraft-may-surf-the-solar-sy
stem-on-magnetic-fields-.html

A Pessimistic View of Space
Space sucks for people...It's too hostile..
Every place takes too long to reach.
The solar system appears to be full of dead planets.
It's too hot, too cold and no air.
Lack of gravity makes movement awkward and affects health.
We're creatures of the earth and are not suitable for space.
Space is good place for robots.
Also, the cost seems to be more than the gain.
There's no place like home.
D from BC

We are very lucky to have what we have here.

greg

Every time somebody suggests "warp speed" and atomic engines for speeding
through the universe, I remember that all matter has a property called inertia.
If the warp engine can instantly accelerate a spacecraft from 0mph to a
gazillion mph, what happens to the occupants? My guess is that they are forever
plastered to the inner walls of the craft in a layer of one molecule thick.
That assumes, of course, that the matter that constitutes the spacecraft itself
can survive the inertial stresses.
How does "warp speed" get rid of that inertia thing that keeps bugging me?

I must be showing that I'm a bit of a sci fi buff..
I'll take some guesses....
For warp...
One explanation in sci fi is that everything can be controlled. Such
as space,all the energies, all types of matter and time. Inertia is
controlled.

Or...
The spacecraft is not accelerating at all, therefore no inertia.. It's
the warped space that's speeding by.
(Star Trek)

Or... there's the no movement necessary sci fi idea. One can pop into
another region of space.
(Galactica, Farscape)

Then there's hyperspace....My guess this sci fi idea is another
dimension that's like traveling in a compressed universe. Again there
maybe no inertia because it's not the spacecraft accelerating..it's
the space that's going fast.
(Star Wars, Babylon 5, Andromeda, Stargate SG1)


Well, if you acknowledge higher dimensions, you could simply take
a sheet of paper as a model of the universe, and draw one rectangle
near one corner, and another rectangle near another corner - they
could be billions of light-years apart - but with a well-placed bend
in the sheet that represents space, the two rectangles can be placed
smack-dab on top of each other - open the gate, and you'd step through
to the other world as if through a doorway.

You might want to put the doorway(s) inside an airlock, depending on the
source and destination's relative atmospheric pressures. :-)

This would be called a "space warp". :-) (cf "wormhole").

Cheers!
Rich

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Spacecraft may surf the solar system on magnetic fields
    ... through the universe, I remember that all matter has a property called inertia. ... That assumes, of course, that the matter that constitutes the spacecraft itself ... One explanation in sci fi is that everything can be controlled. ...
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  • Re: Spacecraft may surf the solar system on magnetic fields
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