New Mars Forums

This would seem to imply that information could be sent at faster than light speeds which makes me suspicious.  I'm not a physicist, but doesn't quantum entanglement just deal with the spin states of the sub-atomic particles?  I'm not sure putting an external stimuli on one particle is necessarily going to cause the entangled particle to react in a way that can cause propulsion.   I don't know, something just seems fishy about this.  I'll remain open minded though.

I admire (though I disagree with) the optimism of the people here about our worthiness to inhabit other worlds, I do think that sometimes it is necessary for us to focus on having hope instead of dwelling on the overwhelming problems that face the world.   I think one of the reasons I enjoyed coming to this forum is because it was a break from my usual cynical hangouts that focus on the horrid state of the world, and I've always followed space missions, particularly missions to the planets.  Unfortunately though, I believe Shaun is correct, I'm afflicted with deeply misanthropic feelings, and unlike some psychos who seem to actually revel in these types of emotions, I find them depressing and scary.  I fear that if those in the radical environmental and deep ecology movements don't fight for more solutions that respect the dignity of human life along with saving the natural world, they will face a major backlash (for instance, people probably won't like the fact that it was an "environmentalist" that proposed engineering an airborne version of the HIV virus.)  Over the years I've seen these movements become more and more overrun by people who can't see beyond their hatred of the human race and don't realize or care that it's not the average person, but rather the huge powers that be, that are screwing everything up.  I don't believe primitive societies really had these types of  problems, but were more egalitarian and had more of a spiritual grounding based in nature that gave them a purpose in life.  I believe the best solution for humanity is to slowly wean itself from technology (which is the ultimate cause of our social problems) and to go back to living a simple and eco-friendly lifestyle.  Well, this is my last post here, I have nothing further to contribute.

Shaun, I don't get your reasoning, you seem to be saying that cnts will be ok because they can't be as bad as diesel fumes which you describe as horrendous and rightfully so.  Like Byron hinted at, we need to stop brushing our problems under the carpet and confront them.  I believe in the precautionary principle, we need to fully analyze technologies for their environmental and health affects before they are unleashed on the world.  Corporations and even governments might not like it, but it's a sane policy, especially when dealing with nanotech.  There is good news though about diesel fuel improvements, many countries now are requiring bio-diesel to be mixed in with regular diesel, which makes it more eco-friendly.  France and the USA are requiring these fuels to be blended together and in the future we might be able to go to 100% pure bio-diesel if the manufacturing costs keep falling.

The Moon deserves special recognition as a heritage object that shouldn't be developed under any circumstances, especially the side that faces Earth.  Countless people, cultures, religions, etc. incorporate the moon and no small gaggle of rich busy bodies has a right to destroy it for their own aggrandizement.  Seriously, would you support some rich corporation going up there and defacing the moon?  Would you want to see their "handywork" everytime you looked up at that once beatiful orb?

Byron I agree with everything you said.  I'm a Green Party member myself and its ranks seem to be swelling.  In a few years we might actually be a rival to contend with on the political stage.   

I hope your right about the health effects of nanotubes Rxke.  I read that they don't dissolve in the lungs and could cause the type of scarring that asbestos does, but that was awhile ago so maybe new light has been shed on the problem.  I wonder though, what if you were to inhale a bundles of cnt dust?  The cnt molecules individually might not hurt you, but bundles of them building up in your lungs might.  It's going to be a shame if we can't use the material because of health reasons. 

I know I'm going off topic but after reading about how in the "wild west" days the frontier had a high ratio of men to women, will the same occur if mass space migration happens?  Oppression of women is probably the reason that there were a lot less women in the west than men, but it should make a good sociology project to see what the ratio of women to men turns out to be during the early era of mass migrations into space.

The United States should offer to launch it.  Drilling is probably the only way we're going to find evidence of life on Mars since the surface is so hostile and prone to erosion.  The article doesn't say though how deep the rover can drill.  Hopefully it can go at least the 20 centimeters it said comparable technology is capable of.

CNT could make great wind turbine blades, over a 100 times stronger than steel and only 1/6 the weight.  We could build some multi-megawatt monsters.

Well, I don't think many of us were focused on the moral question of going to Mars, but rather what we believed what what the historical likelihood would be.  If there were 'savages' on Mars you can bet your a$$ I would be against colonizing it. And even though there are likely no 'savages' on Mars or anywhere else in the Solar System, I don't see what the big deal is about colonizing space anyway.  Imagine how miserable it would be to be cooped up in a metal can most of your life.  Not something I'd do, thankyou very much.  Unmanned craft are the obvious best way to explore the solar system.

Between doing four things at once, I must've overlooked your link, would've saved me a lot of time.   I realize food isn't possible with that design, what I meant is that with refined future technology it could be possible.  The machine in the article is only a crude form of molecular assembly.  I was looking way ahead. 

Great message Shaun, I often wonder what's going on down under.  North Korea cries foul every time Australia catches one of Kim Jong Il's drug smugglers (er I mean harasses its legitimate trading ships sneaking in during the night) trying to land cargo on it's beaches.  Totalitarian and corrupt morons like the 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong Il give socialism a bad name.  Half his nation is starving and all he cares about is maintaining his war machines and nukes.   I think its crazy that a number of South Koreans adore Kim, I can understand their sentiments against capitalism and America's occupation, but defeating it by joining up with Kim is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.  But considering how Bush has been threatening the little despot up in the North, I can understand Kim's motivations to stay militarily ready.

If you want to see how heavy handed, totalitarian rhetoric works, visit the North Korean Central News Network

It's very unfortunate that many people fall into the trap of equating communism with the despotic rule of a lawless dictator.  That's not true communism!