Recent content by William Pennat

Riddle me this. The extra dimensions of string theory are themselves supposed to be very very small. But this means those dimensions also have a size relative to the three ordinary spatial dimensions. Not sure that makes a lot of sense, given the definition of "dimension". Time is a dimension...

I just came across the following image of a rather amazing natural formation on Earth. I can virtually guarantee that if something similar were photographed from Mars orbit, Hoaglandites would be all over it -- This is in the Sahara and it's called (appropriately) "Eye of the Sahara". In...

That gives us two destinations....

Fly me to the moon And let me play among the stars Let me know what Spring is like On Jupiter and Mars....

I thought that too when I read the first story about this newly discovered planet. However, this story does not that this star is a "quiet" red dwarf, no flares so far. That leaves only tidal locking as big negative. Tidal locking is probably less unfavorable to life than flares though. I can...

Then beetle juice everywhere!...

OK. I think you're right. It's the difference between "multiplied" and "doubled". Multiplied would be 2 x original size, then 3x, 4x, 5x original size, etc., as opposed to doubling 2x, 4x, 8x etc.

An AI operated probe would obviously be "computer operated" OK. But still with "advanced AI." If you just say "computer operated" I would agree that's not sufficient. I also still don't get your hostile, nit-picky tone. What does that "prove"? NOTHING.

Back in the early '90's the British Interplanetary Society published an interesting design for an unmanned interstellar probe that could reach velocities of 1/10th light speed. Its propulsion system is a matter-antimatter reactor. The only difficulty for such a design is, apparently, simply...

Suppose an ET civilization is the "bold inheriting the stars". BTW, a probe with advanced AI capabilities (I didn't BTW say "computer operated") ought to be able to be pretty self-sufficient, in fact, totally self-sufficient. Plus, I've never understood why some people feel they need to adopt...

Absolutely. No planet's (including Earth's) orbit is really "cleared" anyway. (Think of all the detected asteroids that zoom past us every year.) So this IAU criterion is totally bogus. As to the size criterion, my guess is that was arbitrarily defined precisely in order to exclude Pluto from...

You don't have to "remotely operate" them. They could be completely automated and simply send back data. Otherwise, same tired arguments against keeping an open mind on the subject.

I totally agree about the "speculation" part and I always try to frame my ideas in these terms. HOWEVER (note the "big however") as far as science goes, it seems to me that NASA scientists (in particular) are not being terribly "scientific" in the way they a priori rule out the very POSSIBILITY...

You've got to assume either what are called "generation ships" with voyages lasting hundreds (possibly thousands) of years, so that the ship itself becomes a kind of interstellar colony (possibly a hollowed out asteroid or some such). Additionally, it has been shown that some means of propulsion...

Martians, don't you know....