Topic: =/\= a must read for any exoplanet buff!

[marstone]

now if we can get to that speed, and the time difference is that much, it would be a fair trip to do it.  Although you will have some interesting things happen if you take ten years out, ten back for the crew (20 years) but 45 would have passed here.  What age would you use for how old you are, your relative time as your age, or the calender age from earth.  (think early retirement).

[Bonk]

Oops. I did get it backwards. Guess I did need that second coffee. The song even says how it goes:

Oh so many years have gone
Though i'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me

... insert 12 string riff and chorus...

Physics, with Brian May.    (I know he has an astrophysics PhD or some such?) Actually that brings me back to matrix theory, we're doing a study of the opening chord of "hard days night" - recently published work. I'd like to apply a similar analysis to '39. The chords in that song just do something for everybody.

I got my [math]\Delta T\;[/math]s mixed up. I shall correct the calculation above. Thanks Marstone.

So the time kinda works in our favour. I'd still like to work out an algorithm for optimal spaceflight acceleration curves, or at least read up on existing work. My super-spreadsheet, or super app, what if, anything could I code all of my knowledge and logic into before I die? (and don't say kids, I know how to do that! - in theory. )

I love your ideas Nemesis. I think you have enough for a good story there or at least a whitepaper on the conundrums of interstellar colonisation!  

[stoneyface]

heh, all we need to do is document and create the whitepaper and then present it to some nations for a space flight/colonization plan and rake in government contract dough!

[Bonk]

Excellent Stoney. Excellent. I am motivated. Just watch. (part in fun)

[Nemesis]

I'd still like to work out an algorithm for optimal spaceflight acceleration curves, or at least read up on existing work.

I see three acceleration profiles.

1/ As high as people can take for as short a time as possible. Not practical for interstellar as people can't take high G for too long and you won't get to a significant fraction of light speed unless the people are in suspended animation or something equivalent.

2/ 1 G.  The problem with this is the transition to rotational gravity simulation means you must have your craft fully usable in either mode as people will live for extended periods in each.  A close alternate to this is instead of 1G the gravity of the destination planet to acclimate the colonists to its gravity.  Part of the attraction of the Bussard Ramjet is the theoretical ability to sustain 1G acceleration/deceleration all the way to your target (then it is back to freefall or building a rotating habitat to live in)

3/ Low G (.01 to .1).  Combined with rotational gravity simulation and the habitat sections able to be tilted to "level the floors".  Imagine for example a hexagonal main body for the craft in which the engines and fuel are kept.  Each face of the hexagon has a long arm connected at the bow.  At the end of each arm is a habitat pod.  The whole ship rotates on the hexagonal axis to simulate gravity.  When under acceleration the pods rotate on the arms to have the combined acceleration/rotational gravity appear level or close to it.  The same design could be used with a 1g acceleration by folding the arm back against the body and not using rotation while the acceleration substitutes for the simulated gravity.  You could then slowly decrease acceleration while increasing rotation and spreading the arms outwards and adjusting the pods angle. 

My super-spreadsheet, or super app, what if, anything could I code all of my knowledge and logic into before I die?

Ever consider how society would change if people could be copied into computers to continue their life in a simulated world and able to interact with the real world through communications systems and robotics?  Would your stored mind be free or property?  Would you have a right to vote?  Would murder apply to killing the body if the mind was copied or would it just be assault?  How about if the mind could be erased from the body and another stored mind copied in (body jacking would become a crime), immortality for those who control the system.  Think of the new crimes that would be created. 

[marstone]

Ever consider how society would change if people could be copied into computers to continue their life in a simulated world and able to interact with the real world through communications systems and robotics?  Would your stored mind be free or property?  Would you have a right to vote?  Would murder apply to killing the body if the mind was copied or would it just be assault?  How about if the mind could be erased from the body and another stored mind copied in (body jacking would become a crime), immortality for those who control the system.  Think of the new crimes that would be created.

As long as Microsoft doesn't do the software for the machine you are downloaded into.

[Nemesis]

As long as Microsoft doesn't do the software for the machine you are downloaded into.

I believe that my mind is too complex to run on an X86 processor so there is little danger of it running under Windows.  YMMV though. 

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

The anime "Ghost in the Shell" covers some of this... mind hacking and stuff.

"Freejack" is another... where body theft & mind replacement was legal and quite profitable.

[Nemesis]

The Swiss stole the exoplanet:

Link to full story

Two weeks ago, U.S.-based astronomers announced  the discovery of the first Goldilocks planet circling another star: just the right size and just the right temperature to harbor alien life. But yesterday at an exoplanet meeting in Turin, Italy, Switzerland-based astronomers announced that they could find no trace of the prized planet in their observations of the same planetary system

Never trust the Gnomes of Zurich. 

[marstone]

Makes me wonder are they actually looking at the planet now or still measuring the star wobble and doing the math to locate the planet?