Space Travel Propulsion.

[Spock]

Originally Posted by Afkeu

That is exactly the problem with that theory, there are not nearly enough random protons flying around. Also, here is a problem with SubFTL travel, even at those speeds something as small as a proton would do "Terrible Terrible Damage" to your spaceship when it collides.

P.S. To anyone who know where that quote is from: LOL

Thats a shame, would have been a swell idea.

Touche.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Afkeu

That is exactly the problem with that theory, there are not nearly enough random protons flying around. Also, here is a problem with SubFTL travel, even at those speeds something as small as a proton would do "Terrible Terrible Damage" to your spaceship when it collides.

This is why a lot of ships, whether faster than light or fast sublight, have some form of shields and/or deflector, which moves particles from in front of it. Particles don't even need to hit the ship, since at a high speed, radiation will be generated IIRC, which would very effectively kill a ship's crew without shields or some kind of deflector. It's not insurmountable, but certainly a limitation until technology improves.

[Tu'te]

Kaltxi,

The main problem is bumping into gas atoms as one approaches light speed. Has the effect of instant whole-body ionisation

Improved electromagnetic shielding should sort it

[Tsyal Makto]

New idea. What about a Bussard scramjet? While there may not be enough interstellar hydrogen at low speeds to power a Bussard engine, if there is enough at higher speeds to kill someone, wouldn't that mean there would be enough to power said fusion engine? The same way a scramjet works at a higher speed than a ramjet. A laser system could accelerate the spacecraft to a speed in which a fusion reaction can be sustained, and then would cut out, allowing the Bussard engine to do the rest of the acceleration.

[Human No More]

Well, yeah, but it's still the same problem with the size of the magnetic field, plus higher speeds mean it's harder to capture the hydrogen (the scramjet principle wouldn't work directly, since the hydrogen would be utilised in fusion).

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

As the above posters stated, speed ironically hinders us from getting anywhere fast, because we all know: that a nebula is the space between stars and planets in any system or, a nebula is anything that is not a star or planet in a galaxy and is the gas and dust that lies in the space between these bodies.

This makes Space ironically not space as it is virtually never empty, it is riddled with tiny particles of dust and gas.

Unless some form of shield is invented to prevent heavy, and not to mention, constant damage, travelling near light speed is like being in "shooting gallery".

[Human No More]

Shields are definitely needed, any realistic faster than light travel has some form of shields or deflector to move particles out of the way, because at faster than light speeds (or even near light speed), a single piece of dust will destroy the ship.

[Alyara]

So would that make it more realistic to travel at a basic mileage so as to not be torn open with the particles like a can-opener? That explains the cryogenisis popularity to an extent somewhat that is popular in some films, at least to me anyways.

Plz elaborate. It's good for me to be introduced to new information on topics Im usually wary off...

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

Cryogenic stasis for travellers is more realistic yet unrealistic because right now the only thing we can freeze and unfreeze that's still alive is a toad. The human brain seems to break down on a cellular scale when unfrozen so we're a while yet to discover how to keep travellers alive when in cryo.

Interstellar travel is really unrealistic in my opinion. Yeah that's probably pessimistic but space is not space, we know it's not just A to B in an X amount of time, there's so much variables when it comes to space travel and when the distance is large, so are the variables. For instance (and this has slipped the minds of many optimistic people who believe that Mars is achievable right now), solar radiation. Just the few million miles out of Earth orbit can kill travellers because there's no magnetic field to deflect the Sun's deadly radiation. Armstrong and Buzz we're lucky to have survived the Moon Landings as Earth's magnetic field stretches out to the Moon which protected them from much of the solar radiation, there's no protection when in interplanetary travel. Major radiation shielding is needed for travellers to withstand the many months out of the solar system. This is just one of the many problems facing space traversity.