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Title: „What about making a Star Trek?“
Author & Copyright: Florian Meyer
Genre: Essay
Date of release: Oct. 5th 2004
What about making a Star Trek?
Already our ancients have dreamed of it: A journey to the stars. Since the first specimen of mankind watched up to the stars, we are fascinated by the magnificent light of the suns. But they are still unreachable for us. Are they? Today we have to answer: ”Yes…”.
But what will mankind answer tomorrow on this question?
Our technological efforts in the last decades allow us to challenge dozens of barriers. Trying to challenge those barriers, for example creating a space stations or decoding the human genes were only a hundred years ago the target of laughter. Today, these visions have turned real.
In times the first trains were invented, some skeptical scientists have been sure, every man will die who tries to use those “black monsters”. Decades later, dozens of serious scientists tried to stop the efforts to break trough the sound barrier, because they were sure, every pilot trying this would have to die.
And today we’re talking about the fact that traveling faster than light speed is impossible. Maybe it is, but physics shows us, there are a lot of alternative ways.
Just the question: “What about making a Star Trek?”. Will it become real in our future? Is there any chance Captain Kirk and Captain Picard will take their places in human history?
If we have a look back into the sixties and seventies, we can see the original Star Trek Series. A crew on a ship of the 23rd Century working with “Hypo-sprays” and “Phasers”. They are “beaming” themselves through the space on planets and other ships. They’re using “Warp-drives” for traveling faster than light speed. Their “Shields” prevent them against hostile weapon fire and antimatter reactors are producing lots of energy.
Well, have a look on it! Today, were are not that stone-aged as it seems on the first look by comparing our technology with those successes in the series “Star Trek”. For example the “Hypo-spray”, the alternative for a usual spray, working with high pressure air for injecting the medicine into the patients body. This alternative has been invented only a few years ago. Still not every physician is using it, but this new spray can be found in a plenty of modern hospitals. Definitely, its success can’t be stopped any more.
What about antimatter reactors? Well, antimatter has already been produced by several particle accelerators. Huge circular tubes under the earth are accelerating protons on nearly light speed and let them collide, for a part of a second, antimatter can be found in the tube until it destructs itself by having contact with normal matter.
Fusion reactors, systems using isotopes of usual hydrogen can produce a lot energy without producing radioactive waste. Those fusion reactors are working in the same way like the sun. Some experimental prototypes are already running with success! And now, have a look on this fact: Those fusion reactors are using energy shields therefore the reactor can control the plasma inside the reactor core!
Another fact: German scientists have already succeeded in teleporting a single particle over the Donau. Of course, they are unable to teleport or to “beam” a whole human, but their experiment has proved, a particle can vanish and reappear on another place, in this case on the Donaus’s other shore side.
Half a dozen of examples showing us, we have reached much more than most people on earth believe.
Last but not the least, the most important device for traveling to the stars: “the warp drive”. Yes, this device hasn’t been invented until now. But scientists can prove, that the universe is being warped under gravitational influence. Understanding this means understanding the way how a faster-than-light-speed drive could work. Image the following picture: Take a blank sheet of paper and make two dots on it. Mark them with “A” and “B”. This sheet of paper lying on the table is our universe. Now imagine how a gravitational force takes influence by taking the sheet of paper and fold it. Fold it in a way the points A and B are covering each other.
Know you see the result: The distance between both points is zero. Like this, a gravitational engine might work. The vessel needn’t fly to a distant star, the stars comes to the vessel. In a physical view the ship doesn’t fly faster than light speed, but in quite some way it does. How could it fly else to the star in such a minimum of time?
As you can see, mankind’s developments are surely not more than the sum of its parts, but the singular parts aren’t recognized by most of us.
It’s the time to answer another question: Why am I telling you those things? Therefore you can realize “Star Trek” is real? Surely not, because it isn’t as you see. But the actual development shows us some interesting options for mankind’s future.
Remember the question: “What about making a Star Trek?”. Yes, why?
Well, earth’ capacities are not infinite. Day after day more and more humans are inhabiting the earth. But living space is not infinite. Also the natural resources will be exhausted one day. Of course solar and fusion energy will solve our energy problems. But energy won’t nourish men and women on this planet. And of course, we won’t be able to build new skyscrapers with energy. Soon mankind will be forced to make choice: Either we have to control and lower human reproduction on this planet or we’ll have to explore space and colonize planets. The effort building up mining stations on other planets, transporting the resources with huge vessels and constructing cities with artificial atmospheres and biotopes is surely very interesting but with today’s technologies impossible.
But “today impossible” doesn’t mean “forever impossible”. In the last decades we have put down the basics for further development in our society, it is the future’s question, whether we’ll be smart enough to use them.
Advanced space exploration und colonization would solve a lot of problems. Mankind would gain the possibility of growing much more than it would be possible on earth. Planets similar to earth could supply millions of colonists. In their new world, colonists could make sensational scientist progress. Economy would enter a new era through “interplanetary trade”. Last but not least another point should have our all attention: More than 65 million years ago a large asteroid with the size of about ten kilometers hit earth and caused a shockwave of fire surrounding the planet several times. The atmosphere was darkened and sunlight blocked for more than ten thousand years. More than eighty percent of the species inhabiting earth became extinct. Today mankind is not prepared for making the necessary counter steps in this interstellar “worst case scenario”. Mankind would became extinct, too. But if some other planets are already colonized, earth might be destroyed, but mankind would survive. Of course this scenario doesn’t give us much courage for the future, but sometimes it is better to chose the “bad” than the “worse”.
The future has some interesting possibilities for us, but it is the question, whether we will use them.
Maybe one day the time will come, the first settlers will enter their ships just like the Pilgrims entered the Mayflower over four hundred years ago. And after a long journey through the dark coldness of space, they will be honored by a new home, be honored by being the first colonists mankind sent beyond the borders of the solar system.
We all have to accept, it won’t be our generation which will whiteness these first steps into a new age, but if we don’t put our all future into our children’s hands, future will die. The generation contract forms itself into a new scientifically contract. We have to gave our children the advise of what to do in the future. We have build the base, they will have to create the era. If mankind succeeds, reproduction control and resource problems will be forgotten after quite a short time.
Maybe it is this vision which will give us the power to achieve our goals in the future and solving our today’s social problems.
Are you ready for a Star Trek?
Maybe you are the Captain Kirk mankind needs…