Do you think FTL travel will ever be possible?

[mickybrighteyes]

No, not really. No amount of imagination will break the laws that govern the universe. As we discover more about the universe, we may find ways to achieve certain feats which were not possible before. However, this does not mean that anything can be achieved; we are still bound by laws we know and do not know. Such a statement is faith based.

The bold basically translates to breaking the laws of the universe as we currently understand them. Humanity has done it multiple times before and we look down on what use to pass as the be all end all of such laws as silliness.

[Elegiac]

The bold basically translates to breaking the laws of the universe as we currently understand them. Humanity has done it multiple times before and we look down on what use to pass as the be all end all of such laws as silliness.

Really? Please provide examples of laws of the universe that have been broken by humans.

[mickybrighteyes]

Really? Please provide examples of laws of the universe that have been broken by humans.

Oh the laws that were previously broken were ammended pretty quick. They included silly things like the earth is flat, man will never fly, etc.

[Elegiac]

Oh the laws that were previously broken were ammended pretty quick. They included silly things like the earth is flat, man will never fly, etc.

Those were not laws of the universe.

Please learn to science.

[Deleted]

Im pretty sure the star trek warp drive has been done in maths, and WOULD work if you had the staggering amount of energy and technology needed to bend space.
Letting you bypass the laws of physics, as space moves, and you do not. Since all current research points to the fabric of space itself IS able to expand and contract faster than light.

Bringing up the higgs thing. Its how the FTL drives work in mass effect , creates a field around your ship, making it have no mass .

Theres still areas of research that are still unproven - like tachyons , ( sub atomic particle that travels faster than light only ) which exist in maths but no one has yet proved it with an experiment.

Every theory of FTL requires amounts of energy beyond most peoples comprehension. Theres a reason warp drive needs an anti matter reactor.

[mickybrighteyes]

Those were not laws of the universe.

Please learn to science.

They wer ein place before people even knew of the universe, of course they aren't real laws of it.

[Sorrior]

Really? Please provide examples of laws of the universe that have been broken by humans.

I think he means our perceptions of them.

Thing is all our laws and rules are just us trying to codify the universe...We can easily be wrong.

we have seen it happen throughout our history something once believed to be impossible is achieved because some mad scientist had enough faith it could be done to do it.

Thus our perception of the rules changed to match the new reality.

Thus why I don't believe in impossible. I just see too many incidents in human history of the supposedly impossible being done.

[Elegiac]

They wer ein place before people even knew of the universe, of course they aren't real laws of it.

Then don't say that "humans have broken the laws of the universe on multiple occasions".

[Bigbamboozal]

my physics teacher said that any scientist that says something is impossible is not to be trusted

Your Physics teacher is a teacher because those who can do, and those who cannot, teach.
But don't fret, those who can't teach, teach P.E.

OT (and unrelated to the above poster): This topic, it's fun you know, it goes back to my days as a child, wondering about the universe.
I'm amazed by some of the collective brain power in this thread.
And laughing at how easy it is to pick out the wikipedia answer crew Knowing how to google does not give a licence to claim all-know-manship....

Anyways, the idea of wanting to go faster then light, b/c light speed is not fast enough? lol, reminds me of someone's response to news of atoms hammered onto a flat disc to work as a cpu "yah, but can you overclock it?".

I'd be pleased as punch at light speed, but you know, it might only take a blink to get across the galaxy, but damned if you aren't going to be in customs at the light port for all bloody day.

[Elegiac]

Thus why I don't believe in impossible. I just see too many incidents in human history of the supposedly impossible being done.

Barring a complete revision of special relativity, I think our mathematical understanding of the way the physical universe functions is becoming pretty refined.

[mickybrighteyes]

Then don't say that "humans have broken the laws of the universe on multiple occasions".

Oh I'm sorry if you want to knit pick "laws that govern the known creation of the time". Life is like online gaming, it changes overtime. The limits were find ourselves under today may be irrelevant in 100 years time, 10 if we wind up in a major war again.


Sure it's true. Humanity hasn't broken any laws governing existence set in place within the past 50 years.

[Elegiac]

Anyways, the idea of wanting to go faster then light, b/c light speed is not fast enough? lol, reminds me of someone's response to news of atoms hammered onto a flat disc to work as a cpu "yah, but can you overclock it?".
I'd be pleased as punch at light speed.

You shouldn't. Light speed is actually pretty damn slow by universal standards; it would take 4.2 years at light speed to reach the closest star to Earth, and 8.6 years to reach the brightest star in the sky (Sirius).

---------- Post added 2013-05-17 at 05:23 PM ----------

Oh I'm sorry if you want to knit pick "laws that govern the known creation of the time". Life is like online gaming, it changes overtime. The limits were find ourselves under today may be irrelevant in 100 years time, 10 if we wind up in a major war again.

Sure it's true. Humanity hasn't broken any laws governing existence set in place within the past 50 years.

Last I recall there has never been an instance of energy flowing from cold to hot. Ever.

[Sorrior]

Those were not laws of the universe.

Please learn to science.

Yet at the time they were believed to be.

[mycah]

FTL is already under theoretical development, currently the greatest hurdle is the lack of sufficient exotic matter.

Atomic Number 0, Chemical Symbol Ex (aka Exotic matter) is a rare material that, when subjected to an electrical current, releases dark energy which can be manipulated into a field, raising or lowering the mass of all objects within that field. A positive current increases mass, a negative current decreases it. This can theoretically be used in countless ways, from generating artificial gravity to manufacturing high-strength construction materials. It is most prominent use would be to enable faster-than-light space travel without causing time dilation.

Exotic Matter is generated when solid matter, such as a planet, is affected by the energy of a star going supernova. The material is common in the asteroid debris that orbits neutron stars and pulsars. These are dangerous places to mine and would require extensive use of robotics, telepresence, and shielding to survive the intense radiation from the dead star.

Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light/

[Elegiac]

Yet at the time they were believed to be.

There's a lot of difference between pulling a belief from thin air and creating a statement based on objective analysis and mathematical calculation.

Also, educated people in the West haven't believed in a flat earth since before Hellenistic times.

[Frolk]

Yes, in form of travel through wormholes or "warpdrive" or some other method.
Though im not sure if WE will, perhaps another specie have already achieved this

[Sorrior]

Barring a complete revision of special relativity, I think our mathematical understanding of the way the physical universe functions is becoming pretty refined.

And as others have pointed out we learn more every day. I wouldn't be surprised if in even as little as 20-50 years some of us here will be laughing our asses off at how right we were.

we have an insanely finite understanding of the multiverse(one formerly crazy hypothesis that is now theory might I add) and to think otherwise in my mind at least is among the highest levels of hubris.

[Durandro]

Possible? Perhaps.

Probable? Unlikely.

Currently? No.

Einstein's theories only go so far, and no theory is held above reproach - it just takes a lot to even come close to questioning them on any level whatsoever. In future we may find a very minor error, or an exception that breaks the rule under extreme circumstances. And scientific progress keeps altering the perception of the universe and how things work, bit by bit.

Eventually it may become possible, and there are some ideas on how it could be done. Main problems are generating enough energy to create such a device, and finding materials that can handle the stress.

[almaderp]

Yes I think faster than light travel is quite likely possible, and may even happen within our lifetimes.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...ure-spaceships
http://www.space.com/17628-warp-driv...aceflight.html

[Begrudge]

theory of relativity says that lights speed varies dependning on who and where and how fast someone is moving through space time so lights speed varies greatly