World building wiki

2008-01-02 Thread Trent Shipley
Please visit and spread the word about
http://www.belfryenterprises.com/redgalaxy
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


Re: World Building Wiki

2007-12-31 Thread Robert J. Chassell
> We humans have a hard time going at 30 km/sec (19 miles per
> second) or 0.001% light speed.  At 0.001% light speed, that
> takes ten billion years to cross the galaxy.

We have a hard time achieving that speed or a hard time surviving
that speed?

A hard time achieving that speed.  We and everything else in the
galaxy are going a lot faster relative to the microwave radiation
background, but it is relative motion that counts.

A speed of 30 km/sec is not impossible with current, deployed
technologies.  However, such a speed is expensive either in resources
or in time -- either the speed requires a lot of chemical fuel which
produces fairly high acceleration or it requires a long time with the
low acceleration of an ion engine.  (NASA has done ground experiments
with a mini-magnetospheric plasma, which should provide reasonable
accelerations and speeds with an appropriate energy source, such as a
solar concentrator.)

-- 
Robert J. Chassell  GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.rattlesnake.com  http://www.teak.cc
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


Re: World Building Wiki

2007-12-29 Thread Doug
Trent wrote:

> Being Luddite the Red Galaxy should would probably not have what are  
> commonly thought of as "transcendents".  All intelligence would need to  
> have a
> material basis.  However, since some intelligence might consist of
> system-wide networks of computronium, there would be intellects that make
> human intellect look like that of an ant in comparison.

But if they're so smart, why would they have limited their physical form?

Doug
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


Re: World Building Wiki

2007-12-29 Thread Trent Shipley
On Saturday 2007-12-29 16:46, jon louis mann wrote:
>... why does it take millions of years to fill the galaxy with
> sentient life...
> jlm
>
> The galaxy is one hundred thousand light years across.  At 1% light
> speed, i.e., 3000 km/sec or 1860 miles per second, that is ten million
> years.  At one-tenth that, i.e., at 0.1% light speed that is
> one-hundred million years.
>
> We humans have a hard time going at 30 km/sec (19 miles per second) or
> 0.001% light speed.  At 0.001% light speed, that takes ten billion
> years to cross the galaxy.
> Robert J. Chassell
>
> i see, now, the rule limiting interstellar travel, but what is the
> effect of acceleration as velocity increase and possibly approximates
> the speed of light?

At near light speed it still takes about 100,000 years to cross the galaxy.

> if there is advanced forms of life on one planet, then it seems
> reasonable to assume that intelligent life could have evolved elsewhere
> in the galaxy, and colonize near by planets.  under that scenario we
> should have observed the signature of some of those civilizations by
> now, especially those from stars much older than our own. 

That's the Fermi Paradox.  Intelligent life should exist, but if it exists it 
should be apparent that it exists by now.

> perhaps the 
> singularity only exists for a short window before transcending?  could
> this be the explanation why we have never been able to verify the
> existence of extra terrestrial life?  

Being Luddite the Red Galaxy should would probably not have what are commonly 
thought of as "transcendents".  All intelligence would need to have a 
material basis.  However, since some intelligence might consist of 
system-wide networks of computronium, there would be intellects that make 
human intellect look like that of an ant in comparison.

> is this the reason you say humans 
> will be extinct?

No.  The reason humans are assumed to be extinct is because the world is 
situated 10 million years in the future at a minimum.  Homo sapiens dates 
back maybe as much as 100,000 years.  The entire history of Homo is maybe 
four million years.  Apes as a clade are not much older than that.  The odds 
of Homo sapiens surviving are just about nil.

Indeed, some futurists expect dry technology (dry nanotechnology and 
computronium) to make organic, biological life and technology obsolete.  It 
is possible that biological life could be extinct.  However, there would be a 
habitable zone in a dyson swarm.  I expect that many systems would include a 
(small) biological component in the overall ecological-economy.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


World Building Wiki

2007-12-29 Thread jon louis mann
   ... why does it take millions of years to fill the galaxy with
sentient life...
jlm

The galaxy is one hundred thousand light years across.  At 1% light
speed, i.e., 3000 km/sec or 1860 miles per second, that is ten million
years.  At one-tenth that, i.e., at 0.1% light speed that is
one-hundred million years.  

We humans have a hard time going at 30 km/sec (19 miles per second) or
0.001% light speed.  At 0.001% light speed, that takes ten billion
years to cross the galaxy.
Robert J. Chassell  

i see, now, the rule limiting interstellar travel, but what is the
effect of acceleration as velocity increase and possibly approximates
the speed of light?   
if there is advanced forms of life on one planet, then it seems
reasonable to assume that intelligent life could have evolved elsewhere
in the galaxy, and colonize near by planets.  under that scenario we
should have observed the signature of some of those civilizations by
now, especially those from stars much older than our own.  perhaps the
singularity only exists for a short window before transcending?  could
this be the explanation why we have never been able to verify the
existence of extra terrestrial life?  is this the reason you say humans
will be extinct?
jlm


  

Looking for last minute shopping deals?  
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.  
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


Re: World Building Wiki

2007-12-29 Thread Doug
Robert wrote:

> We humans have a hard time going at 30 km/sec (19 miles per second) or
> 0.001% light speed.  At 0.001% light speed, that takes ten billion
> years to cross the galaxy.

We have a hard time achieving that speed or a hard time surviving that  
speed?

Doug
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l


Re: World Building Wiki

2007-12-29 Thread Robert J. Chassell
... why does it take millions of years to fill the galaxy with
sentient life...

The galaxy is one hundred thousand light years across.  At 1% light
speed, i.e., 3000 km/sec or 1860 miles per second, that is ten million
years.  At one-tenth that, i.e., at 0.1% light speed that is
one-hundred million years.  

We humans have a hard time going at 30 km/sec (19 miles per second) or
0.001% light speed.  At 0.001% light speed, that takes ten billion
years to cross the galaxy.

-- 
Robert J. Chassell  GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.rattlesnake.com  http://www.teak.cc
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l