"A voyage of 100,000 years"

[Dr Strangelove]

I think that the laser is supposed to be stationary. Researchers have actually managed to make small discs fly using a stationary laser. I belive that it works because the laser heats the air under the concavity of the disc, causing a sort of jet effect. If this is true I don't think it would work in outer space.

[faded glory]

Sure why not? In the future lasers will be more powerufl. already look at our first significant Chemical laser....the ABL. Has an operational range of 500 miles. Its top secret of course. But we all know it exists. There going to make in fully operational in 2005.

Computers could track the locations from far differences

[Dr Strangelove]

There's no air in outer space, hence no air to heat up.

[Az]

Doc Strangelove:

People are much bigger than frogs, and therefore more difficult to freeze and unfreeze without forming ice crystals which damage cells

These are exactly the same problems those frogs were facing, Doc. Ice crystals break up the frogs just as they do humans. What they did, IIRC, is they had a drastic decline in the level of water in the body, combined with the mass synthesis of a particular sugar.

[yavoon]

lasers would work for the same reason solar sails work. electromagnet waves carry momentum. tho I don't see how u could ever make a laser approaching a power big enough to push nething even remotely significant in size.

[monolith94]

"Don't forget to reverse the polarity Commander Data!"

You idiot. You've got to reverse the polarity of the NEUTRON flow. Do it wrong and you could destroy the whole fabric of the space time continuum!

[faded glory]

But space has no resistance? No gravity!? Its a vacuum. I mean if you toss a baseball off the space shuttle at 90 mph, it will continue to go 90mph for ever until it falls to a planet or burns up.

[yavoon]

What are you trying to conclude faded? I think u forgot the second half of ur post.

[faded glory]

errr...I didnt forget. The server did.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Sava
And humans as we know it have roamed the Earth for around 2 million years.

No that's not right. Homo Sapiens, the species we are now, have only been around for about 150,000 years. There have been hominids for at least 2 million, but they were nothing like us, they were more like apes back then. Here's a link if you're interested:

Homo Sapiens background

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
I think that the laser is supposed to be stationary. Researchers have actually managed to make small discs fly using a stationary laser. I belive that it works because the laser heats the air under the concavity of the disc, causing a sort of jet effect. If this is true I don't think it would work in outer space.

you can push with a laser (fixed)

basically light has momentum (and this can be transfered)

so you can have a huge laser set on pluto

and use it to drive a spacecraft to another system

it is very similiar to the idea behind a solar sail (to move even the smallest of vessels with a solar sail, the sail would have to be the saze of texas

Jon Miller

[Willem]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Aren't fusion power and superconductors assumes to provide gigantic amounts of energy unheard of until now ?

Unfortunately, they're both theoretical at the moment.

[Jon Miller]

no they aren't

fusion power is not economical at the moment

and I have made a Superconductor (Type 2, but ....)

Jon Miller

[Willem]

Originally posted by Sava
FG: Do you mean the laser would be on the craft? That would violate one of the Laws of Motion.

No, the laser would be in Earth's orbit and direct a continous beam in one particular direction.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
I think that the laser is supposed to be stationary. Researchers have actually managed to make small discs fly using a stationary laser. I belive that it works because the laser heats the air under the concavity of the disc, causing a sort of jet effect. If this is true I don't think it would work in outer space.

No, light contains photons which have a very slight mass. When they connect with a sail, they would push the craft forward.