Why have humans not travelled further than the moon?

True in some ways Nuclear bombs were theorised, but how to channle that Nuclear explosion into something containable and usbale, well you'll need to invent that.

Dark Matter we dont know what it is yet, so cant use that, it may well be treacle opudding for all we know, but invisible treacle pudding

Plasma fusion, we have not achieved yet, only in spider man 2 and we know how that turned out.

Yes theoretically you could accelerate using current fuel if you hsd enough of it, to pretty close to C, but that would actually take years and more fule than a space ship can carry and you'd never hit C as time dilation would prevent it, universal speed limit and what not.

solar sails have been theorised, but no one knows if they'd work and how to build them so they would work?

In other words, wer stuck here for a good while longer, perhaps infinitely

Plasma fusion is actually a reality now. google it, saw a great docu on it the other week from that guy who does that space program. I do not like the idea of being stuck here, I won't accept it.

"A Second experiment has proven that Neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light..." - according to Spin

I'm not aware of any evidence that Earth is likely to become uninhabitable within 20 years. Are you?

Nevertheless I share your sickened feeling. I just don't think jumping into space would solve anything - especially if we only have a few decades to play with.

Yes, it is theoretically possible that a nuclear-powered rocket could achieve close to the speed of light. Even then, though, it would take several years to reach other star systems. How many years to reach a habitable planet, I don't know - could be hundreds.

"The there would likely be no wars, or food shortages or famine or Global warming etc."

A valiant, if bizarre, effort at pretending this is somehow about religion; but unfortunately, it isn't. If anything it is secular consumerism that threatens to destroy the planet.

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It would be more accurate to say we know there's nothing there worth our going back for. Exactly what problems could we expect to be solved by a serious resumption of space exploration? Far from being a solution, space programmes are the paradigmatic expression of pointless, wasteful, macho egoism at a national level. Mine's bigger than yours...rocket, that is.

Gille: "Theres nothing worth going back for". How wrong you are, my freind.

Well, go on? I asked, what problems could we expect to be solved - that would be proportional to the effort? None of your vague smiles of superiority, if you think you have an answer let's hear it.

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So that'd be a 'no'.

I'm surprised at you buying into the idea that space travel is intrinsically a good thing. As I say, far from being that, it's the type of thing that takes us in absolutely the wrong direction: the 'because it's there' ethos that has taken us to the brink of the abyss.

Gille: If it were not for the attempt to reach space you have no playstation, mobile phone or PC on which to register your objection. The research into the cosmos does not only involve rockets blasting into space. It involves advances physics, biology and chemistry which someday you will be glad of.

Some people think their lunch appears automatically. They care not for the complexity of processes that resulted in their steak being put before them by a waiter. So it is with everyday life. No-one realises the effort, sacrifice and sweat that went in to every technology they use.

I dotn think thats actually true as such, but I ciould be worng, either way it does not explain any methodology for making something with mass travel in excess of C.

E=mc2

In something with a mass travels at the the speed fo light, then its mass would become infinite and since this would destroy the universe, it cannot happen.

Also not accepting it is fine, but Id suggest you get a degree in Physics Chemistry and start exploring ways to find new fuel sources or methods of Travelling large distances like wormholes or Warp engines.

Because likely in your own lifetime you will never see any of this, if it is even possible.

There are several docs I ahve seen where they talk about what they could do to travel great distances in space and there are some good ideas, but all theoretical only.

so you may have to accept it.

"I do not like the idea of being stuck here, I won't accept it."

Well then it seems you'll die a very unhappy man (woman ?).

E=MC2 is NOT the equation that determines the speed of light as a limiting factor.... Notice that the speed of the object is not in that equation at all.

What you need for that is the lorentz factor

E=ymc2
γ = (1 − v2/c2)^−1/2

as v tends towards c, y tends towards infinity. Even if the lorenz factor has been miscalculated, e would still = mc2.

Ah but I menat sheer lack of numbers, I was not indicating that the religious are responsible for Global warming.

But since none of them can get along, itd be great I they all left for their own little planet, thus leaving, hardly anyone left, a quiet peaceful planet whcih would repair itself etc.

A pipe dream, which is totally fantasy LOL.

Also it could be consumerism that eventually propells the next space race as well.

Agreed, there needs to be a reason and it has to be cost effective

Then I am wrong, I thought the equation could be used to explain that.

I did not do Physics and I see you have explained

But I am right that if something with a mass travelled at the speed of light theoretically it would gain infinite Mass right?

Edit, maybe I should just have read your post properly LOL

Not your fault, I hit post by accident mid writing and so only added the lorenz stuff after it was posted.

The point being, you need to be travelling at 259,000,000m/s to double the energy required to accelerate you. 290,000,000 to quadruple it. Travelling at 1m/s below light speed you need 12,243.2 times the energy to accelerate. We can therefore reasonably get to quite a fast speed, enough to get to the nearest extra solar planet in 21 years, say at c/2

Of course when we get there and its a gas giant with no interest, we then need to run around and head home again, which involves either turning in a big fast circle, or using energy to slow down turn around and then start acceleretaing back again.

Hardly worth it.

I think people sometimes just assume we can do a Star Trek someday and its just a matter of time?

If I remember correctly Warp speed was a Factor of c was it not?

Therefore Warp 1 was several times the speed of light, Warp 2 was double that etc. Probelm is Warp speed does not exist, we dont even have a clue about it, its probably a load of rubbish, how would you make space time warp around you?

They also used Matter/Anti Matter power sources, which is possible I suppose, except we can hardly produce or find enough anti Matter to make even a little spark, never mind power a spaceship.

But surely as its a 100% conversion to energy, this is the best possible way of future power, if only we could find out how to make more Anti Matter. LOL

"Therefore Warp 1 was several times the speed of light, Warp 2 was double that etc."
Actually, Warp is a cubic system, so warp 1 is C, Warp 2 is 8C, warp 3 is 27 C etc. The highest warp speed I can remember hearing is 14.1, which equates to 2803.221C.

That said, Jovis has a max speed of warp 3 and alledgedly makes .102 lightyears (894 lighthours) in 23 hours, which is Warp 3.4 on the above system, although it may have been a mis speak intended as a 33 hour head start.

Later series use V= W^(10/3)C for war 1 to 9 and then exponential systems to 10, called the Okuda Scale. W9.9 on this scale is C. 4billion miles per second.

Geek mode disengage.

"I'm not aware of any evidence that Earth is likely to become uninhabitable within 20 years. Are you?" - Sorry gille, it wasn't a credible source.
What about the Space elevator idea?
Mars could be turned into a planet like Earth over time, if we sort of manufactured an atmosphere. Surely thats worth investing some time and money into?

"The highest warp speed I can remember hearing is 14.1"

If I remember correctly, in the Original Series episode 'The Changelling', the Nomad probe had a weapon that travelled at warp 15.