My faster than light communication device.

Doesn't sound very practical. But a wormhole on the other hand could possibly do this, but not take up physical space.

originally posted by: eXia7
Doesn't sound very practical. But a wormhole on the other hand could possibly do this, but not take up physical space.

I know, it wasn't mean to be practical, I was just curious as to whether it could work. My reason was because I read in another thread that faster than light communication would never be possible.

a reply to: VoidHawk

It is impossible.

It does not need to be possible though, in order to TRAVEL to places which are light years away. All you need for that is a bubble of stability within two other bubbles of warped space, and a vessel to occupy that central bubble.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: VoidHawk

It is impossible.

It does not need to be possible though, in order to TRAVEL to places which are light years away. All you need for that is a bubble of stability within two other bubbles of warped space, and a vessel to occupy that central bubble.

Whats impossible, my amazing FTL device, or FTL communication?

As for the travel, what you suggest is what I believe is already happening.

originally posted by: VoidHawk

originally posted by: eXia7
Doesn't sound very practical. But a wormhole on the other hand could possibly do this, but not take up physical space.

I know, it wasn't mean to be practical, I was just curious as to whether it could work. My reason was because I read in another thread that faster than light communication would never be possible.

No biggy man, I'm just spit ballin ideas too lol

originally posted by: eXia7

originally posted by: VoidHawk

originally posted by: eXia7
Doesn't sound very practical. But a wormhole on the other hand could possibly do this, but not take up physical space.

I know, it wasn't mean to be practical, I was just curious as to whether it could work. My reason was because I read in another thread that faster than light communication would never be possible.

No biggy man, I'm just spit ballin ideas too lol

Worm holes. Other than the numbers, is there any real evidence that they actually exist? Are they something that we should be able to see? Or is it all still just theory?

originally posted by: VoidHawk

originally posted by: eXia7

originally posted by: VoidHawk

originally posted by: eXia7
Doesn't sound very practical. But a wormhole on the other hand could possibly do this, but not take up physical space.

I know, it wasn't mean to be practical, I was just curious as to whether it could work. My reason was because I read in another thread that faster than light communication would never be possible.

No biggy man, I'm just spit ballin ideas too lol

Worm holes. Other than the numbers, is there any real evidence that they actually exist? Are they something that we should be able to see? Or is it all still just theory?

I assume its coming around, Steven Hawking has talked about it being a thing. I thought I heard about some scientists moving some atoms or electrons a short distance with something they were calling a wormhole.

With the speed of scientific discovery chugging along at a blistering pace, I'd only assume its a thing, and we will figure it out sooner than later. Besides all the scientific mumbo jumbo, I think its a really cool idea.

originally posted by: VoidHawk

Suppose we have a some friends on another planet that is one light year away.
If we send a radio signal to them it will take one year to reach them.

For arguments sake, lets imagine that we can manufacture the following.
1: A length of tube that is one light year long, and it is absolutely rigid! By rigid I mean that even over the vast distance of one light year it will not bend.

2: A very thin rod that runs right through the entire length of the tube. This very thin rod is also extremely light.

Assuming we could shift the immense weight of such a long rod, then by pushing on one end, the other end should pop out at exactly the same time.

Strap eight of them together and we can send a whole byte

Yes I know, huge amounts of materials required, massive weights to be shifted, but would it work?

check this out. starts at 5:04. it explains your exact thoughts

a reply to: IridiumFlareMadness

Naw! Won't work. The space between the atoms of the rod would take time to compress against the next one along. My quantum computer (with a new set of AAA batteries tonight) calculates that it will take 14 to the x power to transmit even one signal not to mention taking 1.48373 LY for it to get there. As I said, short answer is no.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Interesting idea, but why would you need the tube? What difference would it make if you only used the rod?

By the way, I read an interesting idea about faster than light travel: Let's say you have a very powerful laser. You mount this to a high velocity motor so that the beam spins around 360°. Now you set this up somewhere in space (no air pollution) so that the rotating beam travels across the surface of the moon (for example). Would that laser-dot not move across the surface of the moon at faster-than-light speed?

soulwaxer

a reply to: VoidHawk

Actually, this works as a metaphor for non-locality, quantum entanglement. There are philosophical problems with faster than light communications, but our technology is nowhere near the point where we can resolve the paradoxes through direct observation.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Despair not, I have a new faster-than-light communication idea for you!

If you reflect light off a mirror and into space, and tilt the mirror slightly back and forth, the light spot will move back and forth faster than the speed of light when it gets far enough.

Despite the usual consensus being that you cannot transmit any kind of information using a spot of light, moving it on and off your alien friend's telescope can be used to send information, be it Morse Code or binary.

I'll leave this here for you and others to discuss.

originally posted by: Rikku

This all assume we had the materials to make perfectly rigid materials.

hypothetically, but youve just made a gallactic morse code machine.

nothing faster than me tapping you on the head.

Yeah...but if both ends of the rod moved instantaneous (ignoring the fact that they won't -- but hypothetically, if they could), then there could be much information transmitted between the two ends instantaneously, and could ignore the limitations of the speed of light.

Even the ability to send a Morse code-style message using this rod would be a fantastic achievement -- i.e., FTL communication.

originally posted by: soulwaxer
a reply to: VoidHawk

Interesting idea, but why would you need the tube? What difference would it make if you only used the rod?

By the way, I read an interesting idea about faster than light travel: Let's say you have a very powerful laser. You mount this to a high velocity motor so that the beam spins around 360°. Now you set this up somewhere in space (no air pollution) so that the rotating beam travels across the surface of the moon (for example). Would that laser-dot not move across the surface of the moon at faster-than-light speed?

soulwaxer

Your thinking of light in the wrong way. Picture the laser as a machine gun, and the photons as bullets. Your perception of the bullet strikes (laser hitting the surface of the moon) would appear to you as faster than light but they are really just landing next to each other in rapid succession. Nothing would actually be travelling faster than light.

originally posted by: wildespace
a reply to: VoidHawk

Despair not, I have a new faster-than-light communication idea for you!

If you reflect light off a mirror and into space, and tilt the mirror slightly back and forth, the light spot will move back and forth faster than the speed of light when it gets far enough.

Despite the usual consensus being that you cannot transmit any kind of information using a spot of light, moving it on and off your alien friend's telescope can be used to send information, be it Morse Code or binary.

I'll leave this here for you and others to discuss.

If I shine a laser in your eye from 1 light year away, first it would take a year for the laser to reach your eye. Once I know its in your eye, if I change the laser angle it would take another year for you to perceive that change and have the laser move out of your eye.

originally posted by: wildespace
a reply to: VoidHawk

Despair not, I have a new faster-than-light communication idea for you!

If you reflect light off a mirror and into space, and tilt the mirror slightly back and forth, the light spot will move back and forth faster than the speed of light when it gets far enough.

Despite the usual consensus being that you cannot transmit any kind of information using a spot of light, moving it on and off your alien friend's telescope can be used to send information, be it Morse Code or binary.

I think your system would suffer a similar problem as VoidHawk's due to rigidity and propogation.

In the case of your idea, it would work if light were a single rigid entity. As soon as you moved the mirror, the receiving end would see the motion. Also, you could move the mirror only just slightly, but over a distance that mirror movement distance could result in the reflected light moving a huge distance.




But because it is not rigid, there would be time involved in the movement of the mirror propagating to the receiver




Another analogy would be the second hand on a giant clock. Let's say a clock has a second hand that is 1 Light year in length. When it ticks one second from the "12", that one-second tick would first happen at the center hub of the clock, but then take at least one year for that one-second tick to happen at the far end of the second hand (while the motion of the second hand propagates itself up the length of the second had, similar to my second drawing above).

So admitting I have spent time looking at stupid memes on the internet I swear I`ve seen this exact concept in one before.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Assuming we could shift the immense weight of such a long rod, then by pushing on one end, the other end should pop out at exactly the same time.

Wrong. Stress is not transmitted instantaneously through matter.

originally posted by: soulwaxer
a reply to: VoidHawk

Interesting idea, but why would you need the tube? What difference would it make if you only used the rod?

Hi soulwaxer.
Why the outer tube.
I could have just used a single rod, but I assumed people would dive into the thread declaring "It would weigh billions of tons, impossible to move".
By having an outer tube that remained stationary means a very thin lighter rod could be used, the tube being there to prevent the thin rod from buckling when its pushed.

By the way, I read an interesting idea about faster than light travel: Let's say you have a very powerful laser. You mount this to a high velocity motor so that the beam spins around 360°. Now you set this up somewhere in space (no air pollution) so that the rotating beam travels across the surface of the moon (for example). Would that laser-dot not move across the surface of the moon at faster-than-light speed?

This graphic provided by Box of rain (posted above) explains the problem very nicely.


Void.

originally posted by: Box of Rain

originally posted by: Rikku

This all assume we had the materials to make perfectly rigid materials.

hypothetically, but youve just made a gallactic morse code machine.

nothing faster than me tapping you on the head.

Yeah...but if both ends of the rod moved instantaneous (ignoring the fact that they won't -- but hypothetically, if they could), then there could be much information transmitted between the two ends instantaneously, and could ignore the limitations of the speed of light.

Even the ability to send a Morse code-style message using this rod would be a fantastic achievement -- i.e., FTL communication.

Hi Box of rain.
Glad you could see what I was getting at
Now, what would be more difficult, inventing something that doesn't suffer from compression, enabling this idea to work, or inventing something that travels faster than light?