Table of Contents
- 1 Will intergalactic travel ever be possible?
- 2 How is interstellar travel possible?
- 3 Will Lightspeed travel ever be possible?
- 4 How long does it take to travel to interstellar space?
- 5 How does the Interplanetary Superhighway make space travel easier?
- 6 Is there a law of physics that prohibits interstellar travel?
Will intergalactic travel ever be possible?
The technology required to travel between galaxies is far beyond humanity’s present capabilities, and currently only the subject of speculation, hypothesis, and science fiction. However, theoretically speaking, there is nothing to conclusively indicate that intergalactic travel is impossible.
How is interstellar travel possible?
It’s possible that, with enough power, we could even send a crew-carrying spacecraft to span the interstellar distances. Sure, we’d have to build a tremendous laser array: about 100 square kilometers’ worth of lasers, and we’d have to do it in space, but that’s a problem of cost, not science or technology.
Will Lightspeed travel ever be possible?
The most energetic particles ever made on Earth, which are protons at the Large Hadron Collider, can travel incredibly close to the speed of light in a vacuum: 299,792,455 meters-per-second, or 99.999999% the speed of light. We can never reach the speed of light.
Why is interstellar travel not possible?
If you want to visit another star system in any reasonable amount of time, you need to go fast. To go fast, you need a lot of energy. And that’s what makes interstellar travel so dang hard. To make this work, the laser would have to use all the energy from every single nuclear reactor in the United States at once.
Is it possible for humans to travel to another planet?
Climate fears, the chance of an existential catastrophe, and a quest for resources mean that interplanetary travel will one day be necessary—if it’s not too late. Christer Fuglesang was about to hurtle into outer space on a hydrogen-powered rocket at 30,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest any human had traveled since the Apollo moon missions.
How long does it take to travel to interstellar space?
Once accelerated to one-tenth the speed of light, the real journey begins. For 40 years, this little spacecraft will have to withstand the trials and travails of interstellar space. It will be impacted by dust grains at that enormous velocity.
How does the Interplanetary Superhighway make space travel easier?
Lo’s concept takes advantage of another factor, the Sun’s pull on the planets or a planet’s pull on its nearby moons. Forces from many directions nearly cancel each other out, leaving paths through the gravity fields in which spacecraft can travel.
Is there a law of physics that prohibits interstellar travel?
There’s no law of physics that outright forbids it. But that doesn’t necessarily make it easy, and it certainly doesn’t mean we’ll achieve it in our lifetimes, let alone this century. Interstellar space travel is a real pain in the neck. If you’re sufficiently patient, then we’ve already achieved interstellar exploration status.