Civilian Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 https://www.projectrho.com/rocket/ If you are a science nerd like me, you will love this site, it focuses on REAL physics, science and space travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've been there before, spent ages reading it, it's great. The points about relativistic weapons were actually quite frightening, and the section on dogfighting in space is hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Civilian Posted January 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 Yeah, absolutely, the part about kinetic impact (relativistic) weapons frightened me, too. Did you read the part about the energy the kitty-litter has once properly accelerated? Makes me wonder how future generations will handle the dangers the spaceship traffic will bring then. Just imagine a huge spaceship on relativistic speed with several thousand tons missing the break point and slamming into the planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 I always thought light-speed craft would themselves constitute a massive threat, then realised you don't necessarily have to waste an engine, you can just get the craft to dump some projectiles, which themselves don't have to be at all sophisticated, just spare mass you have lying around. The thought that any race attaining that sort of technology will simply paste any other races it detects with relativisitc projectiles is something I hope they are wrong about. The page, and an excerpt: 1. THEIR SURVIVAL WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR SURVIVAL.If an alien species has to choose between them and us, they won't choose us. It is difficult to imagine a contrary case; species don't survive by being self-sacrificing. 2. WIMPS DON'T BECOME TOP DOGS.No species makes it to the top by being passive. The species in charge of any given planet will be highly intelligent, alert, aggressive, and ruthless when necessary. 3. THEY WILL ASSUME THAT THE FIRST TWO LAWS APPLY TO US.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Civilian Posted January 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2010 There are several ways to avoid this, the most simple would be to contact only races that do not have any relativistic technology yet. That said, the described scenario sounds a bit like the fear of the western side during the cold war. As History showed it did not happen the way it was supposed to (A global nuclear war), simply because rational thinking is not the only influence on the actions beings make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted January 24, 2010 Report Share Posted January 24, 2010 I always thought that site is too narrow minded - in terms of allowing very little holes in the knowledge of today. So their predictions are completely "real", no insight into what could be if this and that is true, if there are tachyons... etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 You'd be amazed at the panic-mongers around. I came across a site completely by accident, that claims the moon is covered by an alien metropolis. She claims that the "live video feeds" from the moon rovers are delayed a few seconds because the government was covering up the cities and not because of some ridiculous reason like, you know, the VAST distance. *sigh* My headache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaimoni Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 I always thought that site is too narrow minded - in terms of allowing very little holes in the knowledge of today. So their predictions are completely "real", no insight into what could be if this and that is true, if there are tachyons... etc.Well, the problem with "very hard science fiction" is that you have to understand the current science first before you can bend it. (E.g., the usual demonstrations that faster-than-light travel implies time travel are invalid: they depend on an assumption that needs technological advances to test [that there is no FTL ether]. And there is a obvious choice of FTL ether, at least far away from casual loops: define the preferred space slices for the FTL ether with proper time since the (projected) Big Bang.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Well, it has been proven that the speed of light is no longer a constant. The trick now is to manipulate it on a larger scale than a single photon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 First Contact Guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 First Contact Guide.Hmm. *wonders how far off the rules this will derail into*But yeah, those Christians will either be preaching to the aliens and try to get them to convert, or they'll start a war with them. Either way, we're dead. Back on topic, mathematics & chemistry are good starting points of communication. They're universal, after all, and if those aliens got here they're sure to be pretty damned familiar with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Made of meat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiasaur11 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Hmm. *wonders how far off the rules this will derail into*But yeah, those Christians will either be preaching to the aliens and try to get them to convert, or they'll start a war with them. Either way, we're dead. Considering the Christian theologian CS Lewis was as firmly against humanocentricism and the arrogant assumption that the aliens would definitely need to be "saved" as anyone (He considered the aliens needing salvation or being satanic possibilities, admittedly, but rather unlikely ones) that seems a rather arrogant assumption. Sure, some Christians would be idiots, assholes, or merely misinformed, but the aliens might well be religious fanatics where Dawkins would be the one to get us genocided. The first half of the guide was pretty clever, but the second half? It includes the assumption the aliens would be more likely to hold monarchy based on bloodline as the supreme form of government than to hold any kind of religious beliefs. I mean, both might be unlikely, but our species's limited experience leaves the former much more discredited then the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 The only real religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiasaur11 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 The only real religion. Oh, man I love that thing. Fred Van Lente is one of the better writers out there now, and this is one of his most amusing bits. Need to print it out for the next time people come door to door with pamphlets, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Considering the Christian theologian CS Lewis was as firmly against humanocentricism and the arrogant assumption that the aliens would definitely need to be "saved" as anyone (He considered the aliens needing salvation or being satanic possibilities, admittedly, but rather unlikely ones) that seems a rather arrogant assumption. Sure, some Christians would be idiots, assholes, or merely misinformed, but the aliens might well be religious fanatics where Dawkins would be the one to get us genocided. The first half of the guide was pretty clever, but the second half? It includes the assumption the aliens would be more likely to hold monarchy based on bloodline as the supreme form of government than to hold any kind of religious beliefs. I mean, both might be unlikely, but our species's limited experience leaves the former much more discredited then the latter.Oh man, there's so many fallacies in that argument that I'd straight up overshoot the forum boundries and get myself suspended if I replied, so I'm going to take the high road. Oooh, shiny! *wanders off* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 That Made of Meat link is priceless FA! Goes to show how completely alien we could well look to other aliens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Just read the meaty thing, really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 OMG, FA... How can you be so unspeakably hideous?! You've just made meat laugh. :: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiasaur11 Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Just read the meaty thing, really good. Yeah. One of my elementary school english textbooks had it. Always worth a reread whenever it comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 WHAT?!?! Science fiction, and a humorously human-doubting at that, IN A TEXTBOOK?! Now THAT is really awesome. And it couldn't happen in Slovenia, we only have some serious, depressive crap from like third grade of elementary school on... No small wonder we are in the peak of EU suicide rates. https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Smiley/suicide.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorondor Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 Stephen Hawking: alien contact a bad idea. No kidding... :: So, who're you gonna call? X-Com! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiasaur11 Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 Stephen Hawking: alien contact a bad idea. No kidding... :: So, who're you gonna call? X-Com! Well, this helps explain why he sabotaged the backup plan for the viking landers. Although that might have just been for his own amusement. Long term side effect, photos of the martian surface from August 7, 1976 to July 25th 1978 are worth a pretty penny if you can find the uncensored versions. That was one irritated robot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matri Posted April 26, 2010 Report Share Posted April 26, 2010 That was one irritated robot.Looked like a weather balloon to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiasaur11 Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 Looked like a weather balloon to me Right. And you never saw "Stephan Hawking is a bastard" written on the Martian surface. And we never had this converstion. The check is in the mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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