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An extrasolar world covered in water?

nouvelles.umontreal.ca

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Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#41

Post by blywi »

scohesc wrote: post #10
nekoashide wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programming machines to make the trip and then seeding with human life seems to be the best answer to distance.

That would be so interesting - could be many a sci-fi stories created on that premise. Some mechanical robot/starship storing frozen embryos for 100 years to be released on a far-away exoplanet, the starship taking care of them while they grow up and learn how to live on this new world - the beginnings of a new civilization - a technological adam and eve of sorts.

The best exploration of this theme that I have read, was an East German SF novel from the former GDR. Unfortunately, as far as I know, it has never been translated into English.

Here is a very short synopsis on the authors website in English: https://steinmuller.de/en/sf-literatur/science-fiction-buech...

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#42

Post by gscott »

koheripbal wrote: post #23
nekoashide wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programming machines to make the trip and then seeding with human life seems to be the best answer to distance.

It is a bit of hubris for us to think that we are the ones to travel the stars and not the AI we create. The "robots" will have little incentive to seed humans when they get there.

We don't need to bring humans we can bring some sort of fungus and eventually it will evolve into humans over billions of years.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#43

Post by vikingerik »

WalterBright wrote: post #35
Tade0 wrote: post #2

It's around 100 light years away from Earth for anyone interested.

Since it's heavier than Earth, what about the rocket equation? Colonizing it may mean the inhabitants could never leave it.

There are non-rocket ways to space, like a catapult or maglev accelerator. Or ways to assist the rocket outside the rocket equation, like a spaceplane launch platform. Or even Project Orion nuclear explosion propulsion. (Which is subject to the rocket equation, but with nuclear rather than chemical fuel for a much higher multiplier of energy per mass.)

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#44

Post by bpodgursky »

koheripbal wrote: post #24
cstever wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have enjoyed reading "The Songs of Distant Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke which talks about seed ships and the culture rise from that. It's an interesting read.

The seeds of humanity won't be humanity at all, but the AI.

Kind of a fun hybrid where AI is clearly dominant in an established solar system, but it ends up being impossible to miniaturize the enormous supply chain necessary to fabricate microprocessors, so to colonize a new solar system it actually ends up being necessary to send self-replicating carbon-based humans who will then bootstrap the industrial supply chain necessary for AGI.

(repeat ad infinitum for the rest of the galaxy, humans live only on the frontier)

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#45

Post by hypertele-Xii »

freedomben wrote: post #32
bumby wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, but what makes you confident humans (or any other animal) isn't likewise acting deterministically with just a veiled illusion of free-will and incentive?

Your question sounds like a troll, but it's actually a fascinating one. Reminds me so much of reading Descartes and essentially asking, "How do I know I'm not asleep and dreaming?"

You know you're awake because reality has continuity and makes sense.

Conversely, dreams are fragmented and implausible. You can train yourself to check this to lucid dream (become aware that you are dreaming).

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#46

Post by notfish »

Symmetry wrote: post #38
WalterBright wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since it's heavier than Earth, what about the rocket equation? Colonizing it may mean the inhabitants could never leave it.

We're not getting to a planet 100 light years away with chemical rockets so presumably the future inhabitants will be able to use high efficiency rockets to leave it.

I don’t think interstellar travel necessarily implies much better tech than we currently have. I mean, Project Orion style nuke-powered spaceships can get you there in a lifetime but unless you wanna nuke your colony whenever someone needs to leave you still might be stuck on the surface.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#49

Post by google234123 »

notfish wrote: post #46
Symmetry wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're not getting to a planet 100 light years away with chemical rockets so presumably the future inhabitants will be able to use high efficiency rockets to leave it.

I don’t think interstellar travel necessarily implies much better tech than we currently have. I mean, Project Orion style nuke-powered spaceships can get you there in a lifetime but unless you wanna nuke your colony whenever someone needs to leave you still might be stuck on the surface.

What? A nuke in space will have very little impact on a planet. A nuke on a planet doesn't have much impact on the planet either: see all the tests done on earth.

Re: An extrasolar world covered in water?

#50

Post by freedomben »

bumby wrote: post #36
freedomben wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your question sounds like a troll, but it's actually a fascinating one. Reminds me so much of reading Descartes and essentially asking, "How do I know I'm not asleep and dreaming?"

Sorry if it came across that way, it definitely wasn't the intent! I think Sam Harris has some pretty fascinating and accessible discussions on the topic. There's also some interesting neuroscience work that seems to conflict with the common notions of free-will.

oh yeah, totally agree Sam Harris on this is really awesome. I also love Robert Sapolsky's stuff. He's got several great videos on Youtube and his books are awesome as well.
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