Study: we won't have enough power for interstellar travel foranother 200 years.

On 11/02/2011 1:38 PM, Robert Clark wrote:
Just saw this:

We Won't Have Enough Power For Interstellar Travel Until At Least
2211, According to New Calculations.
On the bright side, that's sooner than others suggest.
By Rebecca Boyle Posted 01.07.2011 at 5:00 pm
http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...w-calculations

I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

On 22/02/2011 7:46 PM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 11/02/2011 1:38 PM, Robert Clark wrote:
Just saw this:

We Won't Have Enough Power For Interstellar Travel Until At Least
2211, According to New Calculations.
On the bright side, that's sooner than others suggest.
By Rebecca Boyle Posted 01.07.2011 at 5:00 pm
http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...w-calculations


I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

Any evidence at all that it's going to be possible?

Sylvia.

On Feb 22, 12:46*am, Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 11/02/2011 1:38 PM, Robert Clark wrote:

* Just saw this:

We Won't Have Enough Power For Interstellar Travel Until At Least
2211, According to New Calculations.
On the bright side, that's sooner than others suggest.
By Rebecca Boyle Posted 01.07.2011 at 5:00 pm
http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...lar-travel-won...

I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

* * * * Yousuf Khan

Don't leave us hanging. Start telling us how to do it, or would you
rather have William Mook in charge?

It seems even a 0.1 gee acceleration if continuous is going to be more
than good enough.

http://translate.google.com/#
Brad Guth, Brad_Guth, Brad.Guth, BradGuth, BG / “Guth Usenet”

On 2/22/2011 1:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:

I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

Any evidence at all that it's going to be possible?

Imagine light bulbs that are sort of on and sort of off at the same time.
Now imagine a cat gnawing on the power cord to the lamp and getting sort
of electrocuted.
These are the wonders of Quantum Electrical Generation, or as we call it
at Phantasm Industries, "Your Nonexistent Genie".

Pat

On 22/02/2011 4:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 22/02/2011 7:46 PM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

Any evidence at all that it's going to be possible?

Sylvia.

Well, the most recent baby-step was the announcement of this device, the
anti-laser:

World's first anti-laser built
"More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale
University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming
beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly
cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of
novel technologies with applications in everything from optical
computing to radiology."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0217141301.htm

If something like this device can be made to absorb several different
wavelengths of light with 100% efficiency and convert it to electricity,
I can see a time when nuclear power is no longer being used to simply
heat up steam turbines, but instead they are using the generated gamma
rays to produce electricity directly.

Yousuf Khan

On 24/02/2011 1:03 AM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 22/02/2011 4:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 22/02/2011 7:46 PM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

Any evidence at all that it's going to be possible?

Sylvia.

Well, the most recent baby-step was the announcement of this device, the
anti-laser:

World's first anti-laser built
"More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale
University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming
beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly
cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of
novel technologies with applications in everything from optical
computing to radiology."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0217141301.htm

If something like this device can be made to absorb several different
wavelengths of light with 100% efficiency and convert it to electricity,
I can see a time when nuclear power is no longer being used to simply
heat up steam turbines, but instead they are using the generated gamma
rays to produce electricity directly.

Yousuf Khan

You appear to have overlooked the bit where it says "The wafer aligned
the light waves in such a way that they became perfectly trapped,
bouncing back and forth indefinitely until they were eventually absorbed
and transformed into *heat*."

My emphasis.

Sylvia.

On 2/23/2011 6:03 AM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
World's first anti-laser built
"More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale
University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming
beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly
cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of
novel technologies with applications in everything from optical
computing to radiology."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0217141301.htm


First comes the Phaser, now the Deflector Shield...next, the Photon
Torpedo. ;-)

Pat

On 2/23/2011 9:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 24/02/2011 1:03 AM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 22/02/2011 4:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 22/02/2011 7:46 PM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
I get the feeling that we should be able to do more with less power by
developing quantum power transfer systems. We're at the baby steps
towards it now. Once we reduce all of our dependence on 19th century
thermodynamic systems, the sky is the limit.

Yousuf Khan

Any evidence at all that it's going to be possible?

Sylvia.

Well, the most recent baby-step was the announcement of this device, the
anti-laser:

World's first anti-laser built
"More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale
University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming
beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly
cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of
novel technologies with applications in everything from optical
computing to radiology."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0217141301.htm

If something like this device can be made to absorb several different
wavelengths of light with 100% efficiency and convert it to electricity,
I can see a time when nuclear power is no longer being used to simply
heat up steam turbines, but instead they are using the generated gamma
rays to produce electricity directly.

Yousuf Khan

You appear to have overlooked the bit where it says "The wafer aligned
the light waves in such a way that they became perfectly trapped,
bouncing back and forth indefinitely until they were eventually absorbed
and transformed into *heat*."

My emphasis.

Sylvia.

That's just what they got it doing right now, as a first step. They are
hoping to get it ready to produce electricity eventually.

"Stone and Cao added that the anti-laser could also be useful in a new
generation of high-performance computers, which will use optical chips
that detect light and change it into electricity."
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/20...st-anti-laser/

On 24/02/2011 5:54 AM, Pat Flannery wrote:
On 2/23/2011 6:03 AM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
World's first anti-laser built
"More than 50 years after the invention of the laser, scientists at Yale
University have built the world's first anti-laser, in which incoming
beams of light interfere with one another in such a way as to perfectly
cancel each other out. The discovery could pave the way for a number of
novel technologies with applications in everything from optical
computing to radiology."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0217141301.htm


First comes the Phaser, now the Deflector Shield...next, the Photon
Torpedo. ;-)

Pat

Shame on you Pat, I don't think you're taking Yousuf seriously.

Sylvia.

On 2/23/2011 6:21 AM, Sylvia Else wrote:


You appear to have overlooked the bit where it says "The wafer aligned
the light waves in such a way that they became perfectly trapped,
bouncing back and forth indefinitely until they were eventually absorbed
and transformed into *heat*."

Yeah, but if we reverse the hydrogen flow through the Bussard collectors
while simultaneously using the main navigational deflector dish to
generate a Krieger Wave that was exactly reverse phased to the incoming
FEL beam, we could convert the the heat into something resembling an
immense fiery flatulence like those emitted by the Tholians!

Geordi, down in engineering.