Technology - Progress of Interstellar Travel :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Progress of Interstellar Travel The (un)likelihood of extraterrestrial visitation is probably one of the most debated aspects of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis, the answer being an essential component to the harshness of the ETH. After only, the assumed unlikeliness of interstellar fail has become the cornerstone of those who resist the ETH as an explanation for UFOs. So, does extraterrestrial visitation necessarily require all sorts of unlikely science, or is it possible to accomplish interstellar travel using conventional wisdom? If we at once admit the foolishness of these perennially suggested impediments to sensation flight, we will be on our way to understanding that interstellar space does not need a bridge too far. Interstellar travel may still be in its infancy, just adulthood is fast approaching, and our descendants will someday see childhoods end1. Opinions on the practicality of interstellar travel diverge, but the ne gative and positive opinions are seen to stem primarily from the differences in background of those people doing the studies. SETI researchers think that the degree of dispersion of stars throughout the galaxy, combined with the limitations of interstellar travel as we understand general relativity, effectively preclude the feasibility of extraterrestrial visitation, thus believing that any extraterrestrial intelligence would only be contagion their love and good wishes to us. The other group, largely composed of physicists and engineers involved in propulsion research, tends to believe that interstellar travel is difficult, but not a barrier, or not difficult at all once technology progresses 1. Not surprisingly, the latter choice appears to be the most defensible. Quite a number of gifted designs have appeared in print, describing various methods of getting mankind to the stars. These include such projects as the star probe Daedalus, a r obot interstellar vehicle designed by members of the British Interplanetary Society which uses nuclear fusion power, or interstellar ramjets which scoop up their fuel between the