4 ms·
> Those "mature" societies are still limited to the speed of light, Isn't that just an assumption though? As short as 1000 years ago traveling to the moon seem
by lolsal 8y ago
> Those "mature" societies are still limited to the speed of light,
Isn't that just an assumption though? As short as 1000 years ago traveling to the moon seemed impossible.
- hyperbovine 8y agoFTL would break a lot of other evidence-based findings in a way that lunar travel did not.
- HeadsUpHigh 8y agoCorrect me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that newer theories of physics do not exactly overthrow older ones. The conservation of energy for example still holds true for everything that Newton observed it at but for in other situations it falls apart. So E=mc^2 is an extension of the original law. Same thing with the theories of relativity, they explain Newtons observations as a subsection of a bigger system. Afaik nothing in current physics prevents FTL from being logically possible. Nothing predicts it either but that doesn't mean it's impossible.
- yoklov 8y agoSpecial relativity says it's not possible. General relativity says that maybe you can get something equivalent by taking non-linear paths through space-time but those sorts of things require very radical types of matter to avoid collapsing into a black hole. And realistically, it's IMO very unlikely that these sorts of things would remain in a more complete (e.g. quantum) theory of gravity.
- lolsal 8y agoThis is a well articulated point. You're right. My only counter might be something less articulate like "1000 years ago our understanding of physics/space/etc was incomplete." Possibly our understanding now is still incomplete.
- incompatible 8y agoWith the technology in the "The Three-Body Problem", the aliens can monitor all the solar systems they like with sophons and then whack the dangerous ones with projectiles fired by the nearest space ship.
- russdpale 8y agoNot an assumption at all. All evidence seems to indicate that FTL travel is impossible. Also remember, you have to go way faster than that because everything in space is moving away from everything else. So really you have to go (faster than light + rate of expansion) = speed you need to go. Also, its one thing to go the speed of the light, its another to slow down from it!