Post
by kovil » Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:21 pm
The fastest We could ever go is ; less than the speed of light.
It will depend on our technology. Which is improving all the time, and sure took a leap forward in the last 50 years, in practicality and especially theory.
Lately I have come to a new vision, or understanding of the universe etc.
As Enrico Fermi was quoted in response to his thoughts about extraterrestrials, "So, where are they?"
They aren't here because there is so much 'stuff' out there that if one is to go at a speed fast enough to get anywhere far away in a reasonable time frame, one would have a catastrophic collision quite soon. From dead stellar cores ejected by galactic gravities, to Oort clouds, to asteroid belts, to comets, and even just the intra-galactic molecular chains of nova particulate ejecta; there is so much 'stuff' out there that at 1/2 light speed or greater, a craft would not have enough lead-time warning, nor enough energy, to swerve around the objects in its path; and it would suffer a deadly collision within 10 years of traveling at such a high speed. And that is why "They" aren't here !!
I think We will discover this when we try to go 'out there'.
Our solar system has been swept clean by the planets and organized quite a bit, so it is 'cleaner' than beyond our solar system. The high failure rate of Mars probes, to me, points to a lot of small debris around Mars from disturbances to the asteroid belt.
The Oort cloud around our solar system, like the ozone layer in our upper atmosphere; are natural shields and protect us.
Part II - How fast can Anything go. ? Harry posted, on another page, a quote from a website that debates gravity is an effect that is faster than lightspeed by a factor of 20, at least. That argument aside, this entire matter of "the speed of light" was reframed for me by John Dobson; when he said that "The speed of light isn't a speed of anything, it is the ratio of Space to Time."
That is why all observers see events at speed-of-light reference frames, regardless of individual vectors. We experience the ratio of space to time this way.
This is a very different viewpoint from classical or modern physics and the mainstream educated will not grasp the concept quickly, and will likely argue irrationally against it, for it strikes them they have wasted their entire learning career, and that hurts too much to admit.
Like the Big Bang Theory, BBT, it agrees with Catholic Theology and they support it against all odds in the educational community. That is why it has such rabid resistance to valid challenges for the last 40 years.
But enough of my 'soapboxing' !
How fast we can go is mostly dependent on long range sensors, and maneuvering ability of the craft, as well as hull strength against small debris collisions.
Now if like E.E.Smith, we can develop inertia-less drive, and can stop of a virtual particle !! , then we can have collision avoidance and travel at light speed.
Inertia, according to Dobson, is one of the fundamental aspects of this Universe, and we can not turn it off and on at will.
All things that have Inertia, are subject to Time.
Gravity is not an inertia subject. It is a force that is independent of inertia. It effects things that have inertia, but gravity by itself is beyond the boundaries of Inertia's influence. Gravity as a force is inertialess in its own nature. (Confused would have trouble discussing this, as his educational baggage would make itself all to upfront)
This is a long subject and I am using words in a new definition way here. A special language if you will, where
Gravity
Inertia/Momentum
Energy
are the 3 qualities this Universe has.
They are distinct and different from each other.
The Inertia/Momentum component is where Time enters this Universe.
And all things that have Inertia/Momentum must obey the rules of Time.
Gravity and Energy are not subject to Time directly.
That is why Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it is Infinite, and not subject to Time's influence.
And likewise Gravity is not subject to Time either, that is why its effect is faster than the speed of light, because Gravity is not subjected to the constraints of Time.
Time enters this universe thru the Inertia/Momentum component.
And all things with Inertia/Momentum involve Time as they interact in this Universe.
Now these 3 components swirl and interact and mix to some extent, but in their own right each is a separate entity and not composed of the elements of each other. The 3 combine to form all the effects we see and experience. This is a long subject and I'm only begining to understand it.
To go a little further, "Matter is a special state that Energy has the ability to assume." and in this state, Energy has an inertia/momentum component, and so Energy combines with Inertia/Momentum to form Matter, in a swirl of a way. Whereas Energy by itself is inertialess. Light would be an example of inertialess energy, whereas an electron would be an example of energy that has inertia.
Who's brave enough to be the first to try it? 
I was wondering how you might get a patent without a working prototype! Maybe each individual part works separately? Anybody out there got any answers? 