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"With this “nanoship”, travel time to Earth’s nearest neighboring stars is reduced to just 20 years, as the chip can travel at one-fifth of the speed of light.
by scrumper 10y ago
"With this “nanoship”, travel time to Earth’s nearest neighboring stars is reduced to just 20 years, as the chip can travel at one-fifth of the speed of light. ... But 20 years is a huge step up from the expected deep space travel time we’re currently capable of. For instance, it would take more than 100 years to get to Alpha Centauri."
So currently we are able to reach Alpha Centauri in 100 years? And now this magical chip can travel at 20% the speed of light? I'm either a horrible reader or this article left some really important details out!
- Tade0 10y agoI think the author is referring to the usage of light sails coupled with lasers to achieve this. Obviously this design scales horribly, so you'll want your spacecraft to be as light as possible. As for the numbers they look as if he, pardon my french, pulled them out of his ass.