Outdoor Solar Lights

For instance, to date we have no means beyond increasing velocity of getting anywhere in reasonable time. The nearest stars are 10000 times as far away as the farthest planet in the Solar System, and it takes our craft years just to go from planet to planet. For those, who have not thought on these lines and think we can just find ways of increasing velocity, just think what happens to the shuttle when it re-enters what is very thin atmosphere – it burns up, and if the heat shields are slightly out of whack, people die.

That’s the reality. At speeds just a fraction of light (many times faster than a shuttle re-entry), no craft could withstand entering the most sparsely spread dust or gas field.

What’s the solution?

Well, if anyone knew the definitive answer for this one, I’m sure NASA would snap them up and offer them a job. However, using an ablative heat shield like those used in Apollo missions are much more effective than the resusable ceramic/composite shields used on the space shuttle, since they take advantage of the the fact that a great deal of the energy generated by re-entry is absorbed in the phase transition from solid to gas of the heat shield.

As far as dust or gas fields, if they have a constant density (or close to a constant density) the effects of travelling through it are much less than atmospheric re-entry, due to a constant decelleration and the fact that without a large gravity well at their center, they simply won’t be dense enough to cause serious harm to a space craft.

In order to survive, humanity would have to venture off to other hospitable planets orbiting another star, but conventional chemical fuel rockets that took man to the moon on the Apollo mission would take 50,000 years to travel there.

"Science fiction has developed the idea of warp drive, which takes you instantly to your destination,".

"Unfortunately, this would violate the scientific law which says that nothing can travel faster than light."

However, by using "matter/antimatter annihilation", velocities just below the speed of light could be reached, making it possible to reach the next star in about six years.

What do you think?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/11/30/space.hawking.reut/index.html

Hey, what ever floats your boat I would think would be the best. I see NASA in USA declared in yahoo news today that they intend to have a permanent human living quarters on the moon by 2025. So maybe your on your way already. Hmmmm

NASA believe that they now have the ability to predict the intensity of the upcoming solar cycle, and they confirm it will be massive 50% larger than the one we have had in the past

If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958. That was a solar maximum …people knew something big was happening when Northern Lights were sighted three times in Mexico.
Obviously there was no cataclysm in 1958, so solar storms on their own are unlikely to be much to worry about. But what if they coincide with some other event? Scientists however do not know what a Solar Storm could produce with another cataclysmic even as a polar shift. It is said Russia and China are investigating secret missions regarding this? Thoughts?

A solar maximum refers to the amount of solar flux (energy) that the sun puts out. It has nothing to do with solar storms. It means that there will be more sunspots and better shortwave propagation and better aurora. We go through at least one major solar storm a month and you can see that the earth is still here. The magnetic pole shift will probably not happen for a long time and 2012 is a guess by the way. NOAA has never been able to predict any solar activity that closely. Believe me, I’ve been following solar data for 40 years. I don’t know your sources about Russia and China but they don’t sound correct; why keep any scientific study secret. Sounds like more conspiracy BS to me. By the way, the last solar cycle was very weak.

For those of you that don’t know, a solar sail uses a solar wind to ‘blow’ it away from the sun, and a laser would push it even further. The up sides to solar sails is that it requires no fuel, just a really thin sail, and reduces the load, and is continuous, there is almost no friction, and if it goes, it doesn’t slow down. At full speed, it would be able to go about 18,000 Miles Per SECOND. Enough speed to reach the Moon in less than 5 minutes (although because they are so close, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go that fast), and on a trip to Mars, reach the planet within an few hours at a tenth of the speed of light, and on far missions, it would surpass light’s speed, meaning that you are going faster than the colors you see, which seems instant.
Okay, I had a huge response, but sadly I accidently clicked on the stupid Acer button on my toolbar. So I will sum it up. The solar wind isn’t wind, just radiation that pushes against an object. The lightbulb thing is correct, except that the Sun lets out quintillions more, no hexillion, okay, numbers that are not official times more light, and the bulb isn’t actual sunlight, and is also filtered through the glass. I made the Earth Moon time months ago, and I might have considered a bit more limitations with the distance, so it is about 10 seconds. The laser can be expensive, but solar and/or antimatter can take care of that. Antimatter would power a convential trip to Mars on about a gram of fuel, while Solar just heeps going outward as light, and can be used for the laser which will come back as light. Don’t doubt me, I have really taken on this subject. I would compare this to something, but my question would probably get deleted.
meant inefficient, not expensive.
yes, this is a question, and for someone that gets out and is up to date with society, it is asking for opinions. It seems that when I ask questions about space travel, we have pessimists. The Earth won’t be habitable forever, the Sum will eventually get too warm and make this planet as warm as Venus. Even before that, an impact can cause mass extinction.
Also, sorry to brek it to you, but tests have been done and it is successful.
really….. it is a wind? This is one of many sources that says it is not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail

I will also give you a quote from this article. A solar sail uses a large membrane mirror to reflect light from the Sun or some other source. The radiation pressure on the mirror provides a small amount of thrust by reflecting photons. "Tilting the reflective sail at an angle from the Sun produces thrust at an angle normal to the sail."

You know, being stubborn is digging yourself in a deeper hole. Read articles before you use an educated guess to say someone who has a deep interest accompanied by knowledge on this subject. When your physics say that something that has been tested to work says it is wrong, you miscalculated something. Again, with the light bulb thing, the RADIATION, not wind, that a lightbulb emmitts is only an uncountable fraction of what the Sun does. Remember in physics class when you were told that what has more mass is going to pushtheothermore?
and you can tell me that light is all the same, but try and purchase a turtle, and tell them that you will use a regular bulb for it, they will refuse to sell the turtle to you, because a turtle needs UV a and B to live more than a few weeks! The same goes for this, a lightbulb will not provide the solar wind that the Sun does.

it sounds extremely promising for short term space traveling trips within the solar system. my main concerns though would be the potential for any small meteors to puncture the sail, overheating, and a loss of power if it sails to far out. as an added bonus, i bet they can convert some of the rays for solar powered energy to drive any satelllites internal systems

Many years ago I was into private space exploration and I had a family of bald eagle like all pets they want to come along so I took them into space Rear Admirals and Generals laugh & love the idea & said as long as you take your birds with you into space every thing is on the house including all of the National Treasury. So we made space suits for them & we also tooke some of their relatives a hawk. On one inter solar planet mission flight we were stump with a solution my eagle solved it and grab the mike & push the button & gave her solution to the base I told them how to interpet the yak scratching & voulves she was very adment about her calculations & then my hawk grab the mike for further assesment of which was correct. A general said what dose she know shes only a hawk. So the AF & I found this guy in a nut house who could not communicate Hawkins they arange the best physisics and chemist to interpet him & put him in the spot light just to prank a few Generals & Admirals.

Hi. See the power of the human mind? You thought that up all by yourself, didn’t you? Now explain the inverse square law.