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Skywyze

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Everything posted by Skywyze

  1. Could you explain to me why you came to such a conclusion, or have you, like so many others, outright rejected Heim's theory based solely on the fact that you dont understand it?
  2. A real cat has only 1026 atoms!?!?!?!? Hmmmm... maybe add x 10^26 or so... Or I'm just misunderstanding what they mean by "real cat." :hyper:
  3. I don't think science is taught as a universal truth... It's more a method of finding the truth. In my experience, those who believe in the scientific method are more able to think critically and seek after knowledge with the conviction that it can be found. Those who believe in divine truth tend to close themselves off to the ideas of anyone who is not proclaiming themselves to be "of god." These people also tend to brush off the pursuit of knowledge, saying "God" as a response to any how or why.
  4. :shrug: This time I got it all figured out: All I know is that I dont know, All I know is that I don't know nothin'! And thats fine! -Operation Ivy :hyper:
  5. Heim Quantum Theory proposes a test that would prove or disprove it, I say we try it. If it works it would give us greater understanding and control of gravity, and would even allow for anti-grav and "Gravity-Inducers." If Burkard Heim is right, Star Wars won't be all that far off...
  6. Good point! :shrug:
  7. Here's a thread full of stupid song lyrics... http://hypography.com/forums/watercooler/3417-stupid-lyrics.html
  8. This wouldn't be a problem. The heat of reentry is caused by friction when a high-velocity object comes in contact with the atmosphere. A slow moving elevator wouldn't generate the same intense heat as a high-speed spacecraft. Space debris IS a potential problem. The solution would probably be an electromagnetic shield. Carbon nanotubes have been shown to be able to carry a current. (I believe they can also generate a current by moving through a magnetic field) This property could be used to generate a field that would repulse most small debris. Larger stuff would have to be removed by orbiting robots or clean-up crews. The elevator would need to consist of several ribbons, so if one breaks we will be able to go up and repair it with relative ease. If they all break, the outer end flys off into space, and the lower end falls to the earth, causing much damage to the surrounding area. (Imagine several miles of cable and equipment falling from space...) Portland is a great place to live! :) Glad there are so many of us on here.
  9. I agree that colonization is possible without these technologies, and in fact I think colonization is possible NOW. However, I believe you are underestimating the rate of technological advancement, which is proceeding at an exponential rate itself. A few centuries is a VERY long time for technological growth, just look at the last century...
  10. No, we are certainly not evolved for life in zero G, which means we would have to either adapt biologically (which would take too long), or use artificial gravity to exercise a few times every day. For this we can use a centrifuge on the Moon or Mars, and live in spinning colonies in space. Also, if Heim theory is correct (or any number of others), we should be able to produce artificial gravity fields at some point in the next century. Yes I think I've read something like that as well, and that's probably the best way to do it. :) Yeah, I've since done a little reading on lunar geosync and it seems its a bit too far away from the moon to be of much use... However, it's pretty easy to land a lot of material on the moon so a luna elevator isn't all that important. We need to develop strong/long nanotube ribbons. It would be nice to also have faster propulsion, artificial gravity fields, hyperspace travel, anti-gravity, and indefinately extended life spans... But I'll be happy with the elevators for now. We can do a lot with just that.
  11. How about solving the problems of overpopulation, hunger, disease, environmental destruction, and social stagnation! The human race NEEDS to expand, and if we don't move outward we will continue to crush ourselves here. Also, the longer we keep "all our eggs in one basket," so to speak, the risk of total annihilation increases. Granted, it's not a very high risk, but why not make a backup, eh? And last, but not least: I don't know about you, but I'd like to live to see a Mars colony or two...
  12. Once we develop cheap, reliable transport to LEO and Geosync, the colonization of the solar system ought to proceed quickly. So, first we get off Earth using an orbital elevator (a thin strand of woven carbon nanotubes, anchored at the equator on this end and a counterweight in geosync). This would allow massive amounts of materials to be lifted from Earth's surface into orbit using a very small amount of energy, opening up all of Earth orbit to colonization and industry. Once we get up there, I envision a series of linked colonies in geosync orbit, with several orbital elevators at various points around the globe. Over time, the colonies could even be expanded to encircle the entire planet with a man made ring that could house billions or trillions of people... But that will come with time. Meanwhile, as soon as we have developed the space elevator on Earth, we should send a ship carrying a second elevator setup to the moon. We place this setup in Lunar geosync, possibly on the Earth-facing side, and start shipping equipment for a permanent colony base down to the surface. Once the moon base is at least partially operational, a similar mission should be sent to Mars. Even if it's the first manned mission to Mars (which it hopefully wont be), it is extremely important to get the elevator installed as early as possible. Once it's up and running massive amounts of materials and colonists will be able to spread out across the Martian surface. While Luna and Mars are being colonized, mined, and developed, other missions should be made to set up a permanent resource-gathering presence in the asteroid belt. These resources would be the best to use for the production of ships, orbital colonies, and other space-bound equipment since it would reduce the cost of lifting materials off-world, and it would reduce mass-loss from the planets themselves-which could become a problem over time (orbit changes and all that). I predict that if we use this system, the off-Earth population will grow exponentially, technology will advance by leaps, new markets will be created, and new societies will develop. Within 50 years of the development of an orbital elevator the inner solar system will be filled with the lights of a bustling society of space-faring, highly advanced humans, on the verge of manned interstellar exploration.
  13. Ummm... Yeah... "Building" gravitons, or making them in any way, would not produce anti-gravity. It would produce gravity. There is a great theory that would allow for anti-gravity, and does a great job of unifying the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. It's called Heim Theory. Look it up, it's great!
  14. I think that's the way it'll have to be. At the pace the government moves we'd never get anything done. The CEV for instance... It seems to me that if they are building it with no new innovations it would take maybe a couple years at the most to build, yet the plan calls for, at the very least, six years until any launch at all, and ten or twelve years for a moon mission... I don't understand why it should take so long. :Crunk: Anyway, I'd love to see the corporations get moving and start to REALLY compete to get ahead in space, but it seems that noone sees a way to profit from it yet.
  15. Mathematics is a language we created to describe the underlying, unchangeable quanta that we interact with in everyday life. Our understanding of the laws has improved, and so our methods of describing them have improved. :lol:
  16. You can't suspend the law of supply and demand. Therefore: Freecycle will only ever be a good way to get rid of junk.
  17. I lived in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Games and I must say that the effort to prepare for the games vastly improved the area. They completely revamped the freeway system, tore down or restored a lot of the crappy falling down buildings, expanded access to all the nearby ski resorts, expanded and reorganized the mass transit system, cleaned up the city, and built several new venues that are still in use today. SLC's bid to host the games definately paid off. Thats my opinion anyway... As far as TJSD goes... ;) I don't think it will work. It would be cool if it could, but I doub't the IOC will go for it. I ready to be surprised though. If it does end up happening, I'll definately go.
  18. I can see the truth in that. Do you think there's any chance that the US, or any government for that matter, will fund the building of a space elevator?
  19. Well, the first company to get it done will certainly reap the rewards for many generations to come... But NASA isn't working on it themselves? I guess it's not so strange, considering...
  20. Do you know if there are any serious proposals being considered at NASA to actually build one?
  21. In order for it to "stand up" it would have to be anchored at the far end in geosync orbit. Most proposals I've heard are to use a captured asteroid. The anchor would have to be positioned just far enough outside geosync orbit to make the center of gravity for the whole setup directly in geosync. As far as materials go, carbon nanotubes show huge promise, if only someone can find a way to make them continuous and weave them together to form a cable, or create a composite that retains the strength and lightweight properties of the tubes.
  22. Has anyone yet brought up the idea of orbital elevators? An orbital elevator (a thin strand of woven carbon nanotubes, anchored at the equator on this end and a captured asteroid in geosync) would allow massive amounts of materials to be lifted from Earth's surface into orbit using a very small amount of energy. This would open up all of Earth orbit to colonization. I'd like to see a series of linked colonies in geosync orbit, with several orbital elevators at various points around the globe. Over time, the colonies could even be expanded to encircle the entire planet with a man made ring that could house billions or trillions of people... After that, colonization of the rest of the solar system would become simple and inevitable.
  23. Uh... Since when is rocket fuel made from oil?? :eek2:
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