Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

Post by jamiek88 » Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 12:55 AM UTC

keepamovin wrote: post #67

nntwozz wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if the probes carry smaller probes left behind at specific intervals that act as repeaters? These baby probes could unfold a larger spiderweb antenna the size of a tennis court.

We need quantum entanglement based communication. Maybe without full collapse, using weak measurements, like Alice continuously broadcasts a "retrocausal carrier wave" by sequencing planned future post-selection measurements on her entangled qubits, which backward-propagates through time-symmetric quantum evolution to create detectable perturbations in the present states, biasing Bob's qubits away from pure randomnes…

Post by anonzzzies » Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 12:59 AM UTC

threethirtytwo wrote: post #88

glenstein wrote: post #30

Not that we would literally do this with Voyager, but it makes me wonder at the potential utility of a string of probes, one sent every couple of [insert correct time interval, decades, centuries?], to effectively create a communication relay stretching out into deep space somewhere. My understanding with the Voyagers 1 and 2 is (a) they will run out of power before they would ever get far enough to benefit from a re…

No one likes to think this but it’s very possible voyager is the farthest humanity will go. In fact realistically speaking it is the far more likeliest possibility.

Post by fooker » Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 1:06 AM UTC

beAbU wrote: post #240

fooker wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Space is so ridiculously big that I don't think it will ever happen You are underestimating acceleration. To travel and come to a stop at 4.2 light years, a spaceship with 1g acceleration barely needs 3.5 years in relativistic ship time (~6 years earth time). The technology to sustain 1g acceleration through 3.5 years is a different story, but very much within our understanding of physics (and not warp drives, etc)…

Is there enough reaction mass on earth to construct a rocket capable of accelerating at 1g for 3.5 years?

Post by fooker » Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 1:07 AM UTC

christkv wrote: post #227

fooker wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Space is so ridiculously big that I don't think it will ever happen You are underestimating acceleration. To travel and come to a stop at 4.2 light years, a spaceship with 1g acceleration barely needs 3.5 years in relativistic ship time (~6 years earth time). The technology to sustain 1g acceleration through 3.5 years is a different story, but very much within our understanding of physics (and not warp drives, etc)…

You got the shielding problem how to protect the ship from disintegrating when it hits the first pebble at massive speed

Post by EGreg » Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 1:08 AM UTC

tpurves wrote: post #58

glenstein wrote: post #30

Not that we would literally do this with Voyager, but it makes me wonder at the potential utility of a string of probes, one sent every couple of [insert correct time interval, decades, centuries?], to effectively create a communication relay stretching out into deep space somewhere. My understanding with the Voyagers 1 and 2 is (a) they will run out of power before they would ever get far enough to benefit from a re…

What you are describing has been proposed before, for example within context of projects like Breakthrough Starshot. In that the case the idea is to launch thousands of probes, each weighing only a few grams or less, and accelerating them to an appreciable fraction of the speed of light using solar sails and (powerful) earth-based lasers. The probes could reach alpha centauri within 20-30 years. There seems to be som…