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Near-lightspeed nano spacecraft might be close
MSNBC ^
| 7/8/09
| Daniel H. Wilson
Posted on 07/13/2009 10:37:27 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Researchers creating the tiny engines that could drive mini-starships
Massive particle accelerators are exploring the world of the very small, but similar technology may someday propel needle-sized spacecraft to distances on a scale so large as to be almost unimaginable between star systems.
Thanks to research on nano-sized thrusters that act like portable particle accelerators, tiny spacecraft might be accelerated to near-lightspeed and sent to explore nearby stars perhaps within our lifetimes.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: accelerators; lightspeed; nanotechnology; needle; particle; spacecraft
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To: LibWhacker
Or we could slap hundreds of them on a large ship.
2
posted on
07/13/2009 10:39:51 AM PDT
by
GeronL
( Patriotic Insurrectionist at http://tyrannysentinel.blogspot.com)
To: GeronL
I recall back in the old Soviet Union days, they announced they had created the worlds largest microchip.
3
posted on
07/13/2009 10:41:29 AM PDT
by
Jolla
To: LibWhacker
I’m picturing Mr. Scott inhaling helium and screeching a tiny “Th’engines can’ take much more, Sir!”
4
posted on
07/13/2009 10:44:49 AM PDT
by
ClearCase_guy
(I don't believe anything anyone says about anything anymore.)
To: LibWhacker
Thanks to research on nano-sized thrusters that act like portable particle accelerators, tiny spacecraft might be accelerated to near-lightspeed and sent to explore nearby stars ....carrying eetsy-beetsy tiny little astronauts.
5
posted on
07/13/2009 10:45:01 AM PDT
by
Lazamataz
(Too sick for words!)
To: LibWhacker
That’s all well in good...until The Borg assimilate them...and then what????
6
posted on
07/13/2009 10:46:12 AM PDT
by
NMEwithin
To: GeronL
Or a swarm of them could assemble into a larger ship on arriving at their destination.
7
posted on
07/13/2009 10:46:36 AM PDT
by
Jewbacca
(The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
To: Jolla
8
posted on
07/13/2009 10:47:20 AM PDT
by
GeronL
( Patriotic Insurrectionist at http://tyrannysentinel.blogspot.com)
To: Lazamataz
Or DNA to grow one. And implant the mind stored electronically.
9
posted on
07/13/2009 10:47:22 AM PDT
by
Jewbacca
(The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
To: LibWhacker
10
posted on
07/13/2009 10:48:17 AM PDT
by
mysterio
To: Jolla
11
posted on
07/13/2009 10:50:44 AM PDT
by
DannyTN
To: LibWhacker
More NanoBS. What would be the purpose of sending a spacecraft the size of a sewing needle to another star? The only people who would be fascinated by such a concept work for MSN and MSNBC. for one, it would be too small to track, once it got ten feet from the launch pad. The next concern would be what sort of instrumentation and communication equipment it could carry. So, theoretically, you could make a really small but fast-moving projectile, but to claim it would be useful for space exploration is snake oil.
People have been talking about nano robotics for years. They contemplate molecular-sized mechanisms that could do all sorts of tiny work, but they have yet to show even the first prototype. The thing about nanotechnologies is that they can tell you that it’s right there, building tiny nanobuildings, and you couldn’t see a damn thing. That’s because nanostuff is too small to see. So we can pay millions in grants to research something that can’t even be seen or touched.
12
posted on
07/13/2009 10:51:58 AM PDT
by
webheart
To: LibWhacker
I wonder if these guys know about the conservation of momentum! In order to accelerate a mass in space, you have to expel mass. Nano stuff isn't going to do it.
ML/NJ
13
posted on
07/13/2009 10:53:00 AM PDT
by
ml/nj
To: NMEwithin
14
posted on
07/13/2009 10:53:14 AM PDT
by
webheart
To: webheart
"People have been talking about nano robotics for years. They contemplate molecular-sized mechanisms that could do all sorts of tiny work, but they have yet to show even the first prototype. The thing about nanotechnologies is that they can tell you that its right there, building tiny nanobuildings, and you couldnt see a damn thing. Thats because nanostuff is too small to see. So we can pay millions in grants to research something that cant even be seen or touched."
Flea Circus?
15
posted on
07/13/2009 10:56:07 AM PDT
by
blues_guitarist
( . . . As in the days of Noah!)
To: webheart
How many 11 pound sewing needles have you seen?
16
posted on
07/13/2009 10:56:49 AM PDT
by
DevNet
(What's past is prologue)
To: LibWhacker
Well that’ll be just great. It will prolly poke some sleeping alien when it gets there and he will come back here to open up a large-size can of whoop-@$$ on us...
17
posted on
07/13/2009 11:03:49 AM PDT
by
Hegemony Cricket
(The emperor has no pedigree.)
To: Jewbacca
Or these needle-sized ships would carry nano-assemblers that could use raw materials found at the destination site to build "
a scientific station for analysis and data return."
'Course, I don't see how the heck they're going to accomplish all this in our lifetime (not mine, anyway) -- Maybe in the lifetimes of our grandkids...
18
posted on
07/13/2009 11:08:25 AM PDT
by
LibWhacker
(America awake!)
To: ml/nj
The ships are particle accelerators. So they are expelling mass at nearly lightspeed. There’s your propulsion, and that’s why the ship has to be kept tiny and light.
19
posted on
07/13/2009 11:12:42 AM PDT
by
LibWhacker
(America awake!)
To: LibWhacker
If you expel a particle mass that weighs one microgram at the speed of light (no mean feat) its momentum would be 3x10
8 x 10
-6 or 300 gr m/sec. A single pilot alone weighs about 75,000 grams so if he got all of the momentum to balance the expulsion his speed would increase less than half a millimeter per second. What am I missing?
ML/NJ
20
posted on
07/13/2009 11:28:07 AM PDT
by
ml/nj
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