Slower Than Light Travel - Life, The Universe, and Everything 32 - February 13th, Thursday, 12:00pm

Welcome to the Peppermint House!

Today we're going to be going over some science fiction possibilities! More specifically, traveling at a slower than light speed through paces. Ever thought about it? I certainly hadn't until I took this class, and it sure seems like a worthy possibility now. 

The Panel:

David Baxter: (Couldn't find any information)

Ami Chopine: https://twitter.com/amichopine

Emily Martha Sorensen: http://www.emilymarthasorensen.com/books.html

Brad R. Torgersen: http://www.bradrtorgersen.com/

A lot of these questions had been answered during the class, but some had not been entirely answered, so many of these answers are my own through my own research. Please enjoy! (Note: All photos belong to their owners, and are only being used for teaching purposes, THANK YOU!)

Don't forget to comment below! Like, and share!

Slower Than Light Travel

*"Ark" Ship

What is an “ark” ship? Remember Noah's ark? An ark ship is a type of ship that would take humans from earth out into space on a long journey, usually dealing with trying to find a “new home”. When dealing with slower than light travel, which is opposite of faster than light travel, you have a couple things that you need to think about as the author:

1. Food. Where is it coming from, will you have enough for everyone who's still awake, etc. When you're traveling slower than light, you're traveling for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
2. Supplies for repairs. Do you have everything you'll need to make repairs if necessary, how will you be able to cope if you run out of supplies, and so on. And finally,
3. Moral through the generations. If you have a ship full of people who aren't in cryo, how are you going to be able to keep the moral of those aboard at an acceptable high. What precautions are you going to take to keep everyone entertained?

*How is society going to work when you're traveling slower than light? How are the people on the ship going to work together?

Depends on whether or not you're going to be having your society in cryo sleep until the end of their journey, or if you're going to allow them to be awake, walking around the ship. From there, society is what you make it.

*How will the Earth, colonies, change between when the ship leaves it's home planet, and when it comes back, if it does?

When a ship leaves, and it's traveling slower than light travel, hundreds of year pass between when the leave, and when they return. Everything could have changed, and realistically everything should. Think about 100 years ago, our time. We don't speak the same way that our ancestors spoke. What about when Shakespeare was around, our language from then to now has DRASTICALLY changed. It's hard for many now to understand how he spoke then. Everything will have changed for your returning crew, everything from technology, to language. Realistically, your crew wouldn't be able to communicate with whoever is still alive on earth when they return.

Will there have been wars on their planet after they left? How about changes in government, trade, culture, technology, etc.

*Slower than light transportation (travel) vs. faster than light communication (instant communication). Would it be possible?

Scientifically speaking, yes, it would be possible. To come up with your own unique twist on it is the challenge. But, think of our world today. We have cell phones, and computers, and are able to communicate with someone on the other side of our planet almost instantaneously. Why not in space? You can be moving slower than light, but have instant communication.

*How would a person mature and grow up on a ship if they're alone, stuck at a slow speed?

Think about it. Nobody to personally communicate with, no one to interact with. How would a child grow up alone if it came to that? This is where you would have to do your research. Research child development. If a child is left alone, someone who hasn't learned a language properly, maybe never learned to read, and grew up entirely, completely alone, what age group would that be similar to? Maybe a 5 year old, maybe a little older. As this child grew up into an adult, completely alone, their social skills and intellect would stay as if they were a child with no way to learn, grow, or progress.

Doing your research is essential in all areas of writing. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!

*What problems would happen because of your current speed? What would happen over time?

Naturally, over time stuff would break down, so you'd need someone who would be able to fix it when it did. There isn't a machine ever made that hasn't had to be fixed at some point in time, no matter how sturdy it is.

And, now that you've introduced a human who has the knowledge to fix these broken things, now you have to consider how he/she is going to be living. Will the ship wake him out of cryo when it breaks? Will they always be awake, keeping an eye on things, until the day the resurrect another human with the same knowledge, and die? How will they eat, sleep, entertain themselves?

You have to be realistic about your speed.

Having human stories at a slower than light speed can make a really incredible book, but it is also very hard, because faster than light travel is so convenient. But the human stories make it worth it.

You have to remember that once you start, you can't go back if you forget anything, or run out. What you have is what you get, and that's the end of it.

How many spare parts can you actually carry with you? How much fuel will you be able to have? Or, what other energy source keeps you moving?

What if the planet isn't exactly what your crew expected? It doesn't have the resources they thought it had, the planet is inhabited, what happens then? So many stories can come out of slower than light travel, there is so much possible, so much potential, but it's complexity makes it difficult.

On this new planet, what will the plants be like, or the proteins? How will they be different than our own? Will things cross-pollinate with the settlers plants? Will that ruin their food sources, or will it make things better?

*How will communications change over time?

If someone is isolated from their community for so long, after about 3 years the old community and the new community would not be able to communicate. They'd only be able to speak with others from their community. Language would change.

*Do we really need planets to live?

That is a question that you can answer...

*What if the planet you get to is already inhabited when you get there? What then?

It wasn't inhabited when you first looked, but now it is. They got their first. How would you be able to handle that situation?

You also have to think about what a human needs. We need oxygen, without it nothing is possible. You need oxygen to have water, to have food, to breath and survive. If you want to live on a planet with plants, you need to be sure that there is something already there breathing. Plants breath in what we as humans, and animals exhale, carbon dioxide, and they breath out oxygen. If you don't have something already breathing oxygen on the planets surface, then plants would be non-existent.

Also, you can't have a habitable planet without plate tectonics. Do your research. Find out what exactly humans need to survive, what exactly keeps a habitable world spinning, our world. How does it work?

*Faster than light observation abilities...

In many sci-fi shows, the people on the ship know something is going to happen before it actually happens, or they know just as it begins. Is that possible? Keep your observations within the realm of possibilities. Is there technology on the ship that constantly observes that outside space around you for anomalies? How does it work? Or, are all the observations solely made by the crew?

Remember, the minute that limit is placed on you, that is when the story really begins...