DIRECT FUSION DRIVE for Interstellar Exploration S.A
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Mathematical Anthropology and Cultural Theory
UCLA Mathematical Anthropology and Cultural Theory Title SOCIALITY IN E. O. WILSON’S GENESIS: EXPANDING THE PAST, IMAGINING THE FUTURE Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7p343150 Journal Mathematical Anthropology and Cultural Theory, 14(1) ISSN 1544-5879 Author Denham, Woodrow W Publication Date 2019-10-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California MATHEMATICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURAL THEORY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL VOLUME 14 NO. 1 OCTOBER 2019 SOCIALITY IN E. O. WILSON’S GENESIS: EXPANDING THE PAST, IMAGINING THE FUTURE. WOODROW W. DENHAM, Ph. D. RETIRED INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR [email protected] COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY AUTHOR SUBMITTED: AUGUST 16, 2019 ACCEPTED: OCTOBER 1, 2019 MATHEMATICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURAL THEORY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ISSN 1544-5879 DENHAM: SOCIALITY IN E. O. WILSON’S GENESIS WWW.MATHEMATICALANTHROPOLOGY.ORG MATHEMATICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURAL THEORY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL VOLUME 14, NO. 1 PAGE 1 OF 37 OCTOBER 2019 Sociality in E. O. Wilson’s Genesis: Expanding the Past, Imagining the Future. Woodrow W. Denham, Ph. D. Abstract. In this article, I critique Edward O. Wilson’s (2019) Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies from a perspective provided by David Christian’s (2016) Big History. Genesis is a slender, narrowly focused recapitulation and summation of Wilson’s lifelong research on altruism, eusociality, the biological bases of kinship, and related aspects of sociality among insects and humans. Wilson considers it to be among the most important of his 35+ published books, one of which created the controversial discipline of sociobiology and two of which won Pulitzer Prizes. -
Lecture-29 (PDF)
Life in the Universe Orin Harris and Greg Anderson Department of Physics & Astronomy Northeastern Illinois University Spring 2021 c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 1 / 95 Overview Dating Rocks Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 2 / 95 Dating Rocks Zircon Dating Sedimentary Grand Canyon Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Dating Rocks Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 3 / 95 Zircon Dating Zircon, (ZrSiO4), minerals incorporate trace amounts of uranium but reject lead. Naturally occuring uranium: • U-238: 99.27% • U-235: 0.72% Decay chains: • 238U −→ 206Pb, τ =4.47 Gyrs. • 235U −→ 207Pb, τ = 704 Myrs. 1956, Clair Camron Patterson dated the Canyon Diablo meteorite: τ =4.55 Gyrs. c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 4 / 95 Dating Sedimentary Rocks • Relative ages: Deeper layers were deposited earlier • Absolute ages: Decay of radioactive isotopes old (deposited last) oldest (depositedolder first) c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 5 / 95 Grand Canyon: Earth History from 200 million - 2 billion yrs ago. Dating Rocks Life on Earth Earth History Timeline Late Heavy Bombardment Hadean Shark Bay Stromatolites Cyanobacteria Q: Earliest Fossils? Life on Earth O2 History Q: Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. -
Nasa Tm X-1864 *
NASA TECHNICAL. • £HP2fKit NASA TM X-1864 * ... MEMORANDUM oo fe *' > ;ff f- •* '• . ;.*• f PROPULSION • FOR *MANN1D E30PLORATION-k '* *Of THE SOEAE " • » £ Moedkel • - " *' ' ' y Lem$ Research Center Cleveland, Qbt® NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SFACE ADMINISTRATION • WASHINGTON, D. €, * AUCUST 1969 NASA TM X-1864 PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR MANNED EXPLORATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM By W. E. Moeckel Lewis Research Center Cleveland, Ohio NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION For sale by the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and. Technical Information Springfield, Virginia 22151 - CFSTI price $3.00 ABSTRACT What propulsion systems are in sight for fast interplanetary travel? Only a few show promise of reducing trip times to values comparable to those of 16th century terrestrial expeditions. The first portion of this report relates planetary round-trip times to the performance parameters of two types of propulsion systems: type I is specific-impulse limited (with high thrust), and type n is specific-mass limited (with low thrust). The second part of the report discusses advanced propulsion concepts of both types and evaluates their limitations. The discussion includes nuclear-fission . rockets (solid, liquid, and gaseous core), nuclear-pulse propulsion, nuclear-electric rockets, and thermonuclear-fusion rockets. Particular attention is given to the last of these, because it is less familiar than the others. A general conclusion is that the more advanced systems, if they prove feasible, will reduce trip time to the near planets by factors of 3 to 5, and will make several outer planets accessible to manned exploration. PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR MANNED EXPLORATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM* byW. E. Moeckel Lewis Research Center SUMMARY What propulsion systems are in sight for fast interplanetary travel? Only a few show promise of reducing trip times to values comparable to those of 16th century terrestrial expeditions. -
Materials Challenges for the Starshot Lightsail
PERSPECTIVE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0075-8 Materials challenges for the Starshot lightsail Harry A. Atwater 1*, Artur R. Davoyan1, Ognjen Ilic1, Deep Jariwala1, Michelle C. Sherrott 1, Cora M. Went2, William S. Whitney2 and Joeson Wong 1 The Starshot Breakthrough Initiative established in 2016 sets an audacious goal of sending a spacecraft beyond our Solar System to a neighbouring star within the next half-century. Its vision for an ultralight spacecraft that can be accelerated by laser radiation pressure from an Earth-based source to ~20% of the speed of light demands the use of materials with extreme properties. Here we examine stringent criteria for the lightsail design and discuss fundamental materials challenges. We pre- dict that major research advances in photonic design and materials science will enable us to define the pathways needed to realize laser-driven lightsails. he Starshot Breakthrough Initiative has challenged a broad nanocraft, we reveal a balance between the high reflectivity of the and interdisciplinary community of scientists and engineers sail, required for efficient photon momentum transfer; large band- Tto design an ultralight spacecraft or ‘nanocraft’ that can reach width, accounting for the Doppler shift; and the low mass necessary Proxima Centauri b — an exoplanet within the habitable zone of for the spacecraft to accelerate to near-relativistic speeds. We show Proxima Centauri and 4.2 light years away from Earth — in approxi- that nanophotonic structures may be well-suited to meeting such mately -
Pulsed Fusion Space Propulsion: Computational Ideal Magneto-Hydro Dynamics of a Magnetic Flux Compression Reaction Chamber
Pulsed Fusion Space Propulsion: Computational Ideal Magneto-Hydro Dynamics of a Magnetic Flux Compression Reaction Chamber G. Romanelli Master of Science Thesis Space Systems Engineering PULSED FUSION SPACE PROPULSION: COMPUTATIONAL IDEAL MAGNETO-HYDRO DYNAMICS OFA MAGNETIC FLUX COMPRESSION REACTION CHAMBER by Gherardo ROMANELLI to obtain the degree of Master of Science at the Delft University of Technology, to be defended publicly on Friday February 26, 2016 at 10:00 AM. Student number: 4299876 Thesis committee: Dr. A. Cervone, TU Delft, supervisor Prof. Dr. E. K. A. Gill, TU Delft Dr. Ir. E. Mooij, TU Delft Prof. A. Mignone, Politecnico di Torino An electronic version of this thesis is available at http://repository.tudelft.nl/. To boldly go where no one has gone before. James T. Kirk ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. A. Cervone who has always sup- ported me despite my “quite exotic” interests. He left me completely autonomous in shaping my thesis project, and still, was always there every time I needed help. Then, I would of course like to thank Prof. A. Mignone who decided to give his contribute to this seemingly crazy project of mine. His advice arrived just in time to give an happy ending to this story. Il ringraziamento più grande, però, va di certo alla mia famiglia. Alla mia mamma e a mio babbo, perché hanno sempre avuto fiducia in me e non hanno mai chiesto ragioni o spiegazioni alle mie scelte. Ai miei nonni, perché se di punto in bianco, un giorno di novembre ho deciso di intraprendere questa lunga strada verso l’Olanda, l’ho potuto fare anche per merito loro. -
Exotic Beasts
Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Beyond the Milky Way The first Swedish SETI project Erik Zackrisson Department of Astronomy Oskar Klein Centre Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) – A Brief History I • 1959 – Cocconi & Morrison (Nature): ”Try the hydrogen frequency (1.42 GHz)” • 1960 – Project Ozma • 1961 – Schwartz & Townes (Nature): ”Try optical laser” • 1977 – The Wow signal Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) – A Brief History II • 1984 – The SETI Institute • Late 1990s – Optical SETI becomes popular • 1999 – SETI@home • 2007 – Allen Telescope Array • 2012 – SETI Live The Fermi Paradox • No signals from E.T. despite 50 years of SETI • The Milky Way can be colonized in 1% of its current age – why are we not already colonized? • Where is everybody? 50+ possible solutions are known (e.g. Brin 1983, Webb 2002) A Few Possible Explanations • Everybody is staying at home and nobody is transmitting – Virtual worlds more exciting than space exploration? – Berserkers Transmission = Doom • Wrong search strategy – Try artefacts, Bracewell probes, IR laser, internet, DNA, Dyson spheres… • Intelligent life is extremely rare – Try extragalactic SETI Beyond the Milky Way • Carl Sagan: ”More stars in the Universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth” • Stars in Milky Way 1011 • Stars in observable Universe 1023 Only a handful of extragalactic SETI projects carried out so far! Earth-like planets in a cosmological context I Millenium simulation + Semi-analytic galaxy models + Metallicity-dependent -
Breakthrough Propulsion Study Assessing Interstellar Flight Challenges and Prospects
Breakthrough Propulsion Study Assessing Interstellar Flight Challenges and Prospects NASA Grant No. NNX17AE81G First Year Report Prepared by: Marc G. Millis, Jeff Greason, Rhonda Stevenson Tau Zero Foundation Business Office: 1053 East Third Avenue Broomfield, CO 80020 Prepared for: NASA Headquarters, Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Washington, DC 20546 June 2018 Millis 2018 Grant NNX17AE81G_for_CR.docx pg 1 of 69 ABSTRACT Progress toward developing an evaluation process for interstellar propulsion and power options is described. The goal is to contrast the challenges, mission choices, and emerging prospects for propulsion and power, to identify which prospects might be more advantageous and under what circumstances, and to identify which technology details might have greater impacts. Unlike prior studies, the infrastructure expenses and prospects for breakthrough advances are included. This first year's focus is on determining the key questions to enable the analysis. Accordingly, a work breakdown structure to organize the information and associated list of variables is offered. A flow diagram of the basic analysis is presented, as well as more detailed methods to convert the performance measures of disparate propulsion methods into common measures of energy, mass, time, and power. Other methods for equitable comparisons include evaluating the prospects under the same assumptions of payload, mission trajectory, and available energy. Missions are divided into three eras of readiness (precursors, era of infrastructure, and era of breakthroughs) as a first step before proceeding to include comparisons of technology advancement rates. Final evaluation "figures of merit" are offered. Preliminary lists of mission architectures and propulsion prospects are provided. -
9.0 BACKGROUND “What Do I Do First?” You Need to Research a Card (Thruster Or 9.1 DESIGNER’S NOTES Robonaut) with a Low Fuel Consumption
9.2 TIPS FOR INEXPERIENCED ROCKET CADETS 9.0 BACKGROUND “What do I do first?” You need to research a card (thruster or 9.1 DESIGNER’S NOTES robonaut) with a low fuel consumption. A “1” is great, a “4” The original concept for this game was a “Lords of the Sierra Madre” in is marginal. The PRC player*** can consider an dash to space. With mines, ranches, smelters, and rail lines all purchased and claim Hellas Basin on Mars, using just his crew card. He controlled by different players, who have to negotiate between them- needs 19 fuel steps (6 WT) along the red route to do this. selves to expand. But space does not work this way. “What does my rocket need?” Your rocket needs 4 things: Suppose you have a smelter on one main-belt asteroid, powered by a • A card with a thruster triangle (2.4D) to act as a thruster. • A card with an ISRU rating, if its mission is to prospect. beam-station on another asteroid, and you discover platinum on a third • A refinery, if its mission is to build a factory. nearby asteroid. Unfortunately for long-term operations, next year these • Enough fuel to get to the destination. asteroids will be separated by 2 to 6 AUs.* Furthermore, main belt Decide between a small rocket able to make multiple claims, Hohmann transfers are about 2 years long, with optimal transfer opportu- or a big rocket including a refinery and robonaut able to nities about 7 years apart. Jerry Pournelle in his book “A Step Farther industrialize the first successful claim. -
Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets
galaxies Review Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets Riccardo Claudi 1,* and Eleonora Alei 1,2 1 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova, Vicolo Osservatorio, 5, 35122 Padova, Italy 2 Physics and Astronomy Department, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 August 2019; Accepted: 25 September 2019; Published: 29 September 2019 Abstract: The search for life has had a new enthusiastic restart in the last two decades thanks to the large number of new worlds discovered. The about 4100 exoplanets found so far, show a large diversity of planets, from hot giants to rocky planets orbiting small and cold stars. Most of them are very different from those of the Solar System and one of the striking case is that of the super-Earths, rocky planets with masses ranging between 1 and 10 M⊕ with dimensions up to twice those of Earth. In the right environment, these planets could be the cradle of alien life that could modify the chemical composition of their atmospheres. So, the search for life signatures requires as the first step the knowledge of planet atmospheres, the main objective of future exoplanetary space explorations. Indeed, the quest for the determination of the chemical composition of those planetary atmospheres rises also more general interest than that given by the mere directory of the atmospheric compounds. It opens out to the more general speculation on what such detection might tell us about the presence of life on those planets. As, for now, we have only one example of life in the universe, we are bound to study terrestrial organisms to assess possibilities of life on other planets and guide our search for possible extinct or extant life on other planetary bodies. -
The Types of Natural Resources on Terrestrial Planets And
OPEN ACCESS Freely available online Jounal of Astrobiology &Outreach Review Article The Types of Natural Resources on Terrestrial Planets and Extraterrestrial Civilizations * Hadi Veysi Department of Agroecology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran ABSTRACT In addition to energy resources, natural resources such as metals, metalloids, non-metals, hydrocarbons, etc. are among the elements needed for the creation of a civilization. One of the important debates about intelligent life is to know how extraterrestrial civilizations provide the energy and natural resources needed for their development. Previous studies have not discussed much about the ways which intelligent civilizations can access their energy and natural resources. This study discussed the types of natural resources on terrestrial planets and the types of extraterrestrial civilizations that could use them. The results showed that the type of natural resources in terrestrial planets depends on the amount of liquid water, crust lithology, tectonics style, and the presence of microorganisms on the surface of these planets. Among all types of terrestrial planets, plate tectonics style silicate planets have the most complete natural resources. So these planets can be good targets for the natural resources supply of hominid and superhuman extraterrestrial civilizations. Other terrestrial planets such as carbon planets, coreless planets, iron planets, moons and icy dwarf planets, and even gaseous giant planets, although not be civilizable, but have large natural resources that can be used by superhuman civilizations. Keywords: Kardashev scale; Terrestrial planets; Natural resources ABBREVIATION elements, hydrocarbons, etc. to the manufacturing of tools and machines. These resources are found abundantly in terrestrial Li: Lithium, Be: Beryllium, Na: Sodium, Mg: Magnesium, planets, and natural resources very easier extracted from terrestrial Al: Aluminium, K: Potassium, Ca: Calcium, Sc: Scandium, planets than the other cosmic bodies, such as the stars. -
Topics for Students' Presentations Problems in Long Distance (Human) Space Travel New Propulsion Tech
06/03/2019 Life in the Universe 2019 - Student talks - Google Docs Topics for students’ presentations ● Problems in long distance (human) space travel ○ New propulsion technologies Paul Richter ○ Social aspects? ○ life in zero‑gravity ○ communication ● Prospects for long‑term human missions within the Solar systems: ○ Elon Musk's plan to send humans to Mars F. Stabel ○ What would be the point of a lunar base? ● Testing extra‑terrestrial habitats on Earth ○ NEEMO, Mars500, Desert RATS experiments ● Future (and proposed) space missions and/or observational facilities to look for life‑/bio‑ signatures: Artem Mosienko ○ On Europa ○ on Exo‑planets ● Solar‑system bodies as potentially life‑bearing systems: B. Prinoth ○ Europa ○ Titan ○ Enceladus ○ Mars ● Experiments to search for Life on Mars: ○ Past and present (Viking missions to now) ○ Martian meteorites (ALH‑64?) 20 years on, include possibly media response at the time to idea of evidence for extraterrestrial life ○ Future in situ experiments on Mars ● SETI projects : ○ Breakthrough Initiatives ○ SETI@Home ○ What are the fundamental assumptions behind SETI experiments, and what do they imply (i.e., similar to Drake Eq.) Sven Kiefer ● Observational signatures of advanced civilizations Leon Raabe ● Remote detection of Life on Earth (How far away can we detect Human signals, e.g. TV) Yves Sibony ● Summary of what is known about the exosolar asteroid ( 'Oumuamua ) Andrea Weibel https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qZdVVX3bP5kyfftaQazeXs3l7sP3TQDq9mL9uGLHrjE/edit# 1/4 06/03/2019 Life in the Universe 2019 - Student talks - Google Docs ● How good is the evidence for an asymmetry of left‑ and right‑ handed organic molecules in nature and where could such an asymmetry come from? O. -
Humanity and Space
10/17/2012!! !!!!!! Project Number: MH-1207 Humanity and Space An Interactive Qualifying Project Submitted to WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by: Matthew Beck Jillian Chalke Matthew Chase Julia Rugo Professor Mayer H. Humi, Project Advisor Abstract Our IQP investigates the possible functionality of another celestial body as an alternate home for mankind. This project explores the necessary technological advances for moving forward into the future of space travel and human development on the Moon and Mars. Mars is the optimal candidate for future human colonization and a stepping stone towards humanity’s expansion into outer space. Our group concluded space travel and interplanetary exploration is possible, however international political cooperation and stability is necessary for such accomplishments. 2 Executive Summary This report provides insight into extraterrestrial exploration and colonization with regards to technology and human biology. Multiple locations have been taken into consideration for potential development, with such qualifying specifications as resources, atmospheric conditions, hazards, and the environment. Methods of analysis include essential research through online media and library resources, an interview with NASA about the upcoming Curiosity mission to Mars, and the assessment of data through mathematical equations. Our findings concerning the human aspect of space exploration state that humanity is not yet ready politically and will not be able to biologically withstand the hazards of long-term space travel. Additionally, in the field of robotics, we have the necessary hardware to implement adequate operational systems yet humanity lacks the software to implement rudimentary Artificial Intelligence. Findings regarding the physics behind rocketry and space navigation have revealed that the science of spacecraft is well-established.