It then depends upon whose lifetime we're talking about: those on the space craft or those who are planet bound.
With a maximum speed of 0.99999999996% C, one could hope to reach the Andromeda galaxy in roughly 28 years ship time. Alas, 4 million (or billion - I forget) years would pass for those left on Earth.
That's assuming a way is found to accelerate a fuel to paylaod ratio of like 4.2 x 10^12:1 @ 1g for the duration of the journey. That's with 100% coversion of mass to energy for thrust and a heat sink of some kind to protect against the CBR and every other particle the space craft encounters Doppler shifted to enormous energies...
But Einstein says it's possible...
Nearby stars are much easier, but only by comaprison.
The Relativistic Rocket
What we need is a new universe...
Space/Science » in reply to Reality can be a bitch
Barring some incredible propulsion breakthrough...
The whole thread (37 posts)
- Space & Science Favorites
- .... actually just fancy, not really favorites. ahem (bored) (n/t)
- Hasn't anyone figured out how to get to another solar system yet?!?!!
- How can we?
- Whining?
- Sci Fi vs Sci Reality
- science fiction makes it look too easy
- re: Sci Fi vs Sci Reality
- re: Sci Fi vs Sci Reality
- hey larry - what was the isp of Chang-Diaz's engine?
- Orion as a non-starter
- Relativity will bite you on the behind everytime.
- So there's the universe. Splat! (n/t)
- Reality can be a bitch
- re: Reality can be a bitch
- Barring some incredible propulsion breakthrough...
- re: Barring some incredible propulsion breakthrough...
- Reality can be a bitch
- re: Sci Fi vs Sci Reality
- How can we?
- Hasn't anyone figured out how to get to another solar system yet?!?!!
- .... actually just fancy, not really favorites. ahem (bored) (n/t)