ALIEN CIVILIZATIONS What is Panspermia? Panspermia, pan meaning ‘all’, and sperma, meaning ‘seed’ is the theory that life is present throughout the Universe, distributed by meteoroids, planetoids, asteroids, comets, and also by spacecraft, particularly in the form of microbes. The Panspermia theory proposes that the microbes (microscopic life forms) that can endure the effects of space, like for instance, extremophiles (microbes that can withstand extreme temperatures), get trapped in debris that is expelled into space after collisions between planetoids and small Solar System bodies that shelter life. Some of the organisms may be scattered dormant for some amount of time before randomly colliding with other planets or intermingling with planetary disks. If met with the ideal conditions on a new planet's surface, the organisms become active and the process of evolution begins. Panspermia is not meant to address how life began, just the method that may cause its distribution in the Universe. How civilizations are categorised based on their energy use (Type 1, 2 and 3) The Kardashev scale is used for measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement, based upon the total amount of energy a civilization utilizes. The scale is categorised into three types called Type 1, 2, and 3. A Type 1 civilization utilises every available resource existing on its home planet, Type 2 derives all the energy of its star, and Type 3 harnesses it from huge swathes of its galaxy. The scale is hypothetical, but it appropriately puts energy consumption in a cosmic perspective. It was first postulated in 1964 by the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev (Kardashyov).
Type 1 Civilization Methods Application of Fusion Power: Type 1 involves the conversion of approximately 2 kg of matter to energy per second. An equivalent energy release could be achieved by fusing approximately 280 kg of hydrogen into helium per second, which roughly sums up to 8.9×109 kg/year. A cubic km of water is made up of about 1011 kg of hydrogen, and the Earth's oceans contain about 1.3×109 cubic km of water. Antimatter in a huge quantity could generate power on a scale several magnitudes above our current level of technology. In antimatter-matter collisions, the entire rest mass of the particles is converted to kinetic energy. Their energy density (energy released per mass) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that from using nuclear fission, and about two orders of magnitude greater than the best possible yield from fusion. Creation of artificial antimatter – based on the current understanding of the laws of physics - involves first converting energy into mass, so no net gain results. Artificially created antimatter is only used as a medium of energy storage, not as a source of energy. This is possible only if future technological developments easily enable the conversion of ordinary matter into anti- matter. Theoretically, in the future cultivating and harvesting a number of naturally occurring sources of antimatter may be achievable. Renewable energy (Mostly converting sunlight into electricity - either with the help of solar cells and sunlight concentration, or indirectly via wind and hydroelectric power). There is no established method for human civilization to consume the equivalent of the Earth's total absorbed solar energy without coating the surface with artificial structures, which is not feasible with current technology. However, if a civilization constructed enormous space-based solar power satellites, Type1 power levels might become achievable.
Type 2 Civilization Methods Type 2 civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type 1 civilization, but applied to a large number of planets in a large number of solar systems. A Dyson sphere or Dyson swarm are hypothetical mega structures originally described by Freeman Dyson as a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to enclose a star completely and capture all of its energy output. Perhaps a more exotic means to generate usable energy would be to feed a stellar mass into a black hole, and collect photons emitted by the accretion disc. Less exotic would be simply to capture photons already escaping from the accretion disc, reducing a black hole's angular momentum; known as the Penrose process. “Star lifting” is a process according to which an advanced civilization could take out a portion of a star's matter in a controlled manner for multiple uses. Antimatter might be produced as an industrial by-product of a number of mega-scale engineering processes and therefore could be recycled. In multiple-star systems containing a large number of stars, absorbing a small but significant fraction of the output of individual stars.
Type 3 civilisation methods Type 3 civilisations might use the same techniques employed by a Type 2 civilization, but applied to all possible stars of one or more galaxies individually. They may also be able to tap into the energy released from the supermassive black holes which are believed to exist at the centre of most galaxies. “White holes”, if they exist, theoretically could provide large amounts of energy from collecting the matter propelling outwards. Capturing the energy of gamma-ray bursts is another theoretically possible source of energy for a highly advanced civilization. The emissions from quasars can be readily compared to those of small active galaxies and could provide a massive power source if collectable.
The search for life so far.. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is the combined name for a number of activities undertaken to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. SETI projects use scientific methods in this search. For instance, electromagnetic radiations are observed for signs of transmissions from other civilizations. Some of the most prominent projects are run by Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, or the SETI Institute. In 1995, the United States federal government discontinued funding SETI projects, thus forcing them to resort to private funding to go on with the search, though in recent years, government funding of SETI has resumed but not at the same scale. There are many challenges in looking up into the cosmos for evidences of intelligent life, including their identification and interpretation. SETI projects exploit the most advanced scientific knowledge to conduct experiments, which has led to searches for electromagnetic radiation emitted by advanced technologies. Radio telescopes are used to investigate the cosmos using large radio antennas. A 1959 paper explored the idea of examining the microwave spectrum. In 1960, the first modern SETI experiment was conducted using a 26 meter radio telescope. In 1960s, Soviet scientists were intrigued by SETI and performed a number of experiments and searches with omnidirectional antennas. The University of California, Berkeley, embarked a sky survey using the Arecibo radio telescope in March 2014. In 1980s, physicist Paul Horowitz recommended the design of a spectrum analyser to explore SETI transmissions on 131,000 narrow band channels. Later on Project "META" analysed around 8.4 million channels. In 1978, the NASA SETI program received heavy criticism by Senator William Proxmire, and the funding for SETI research was excluded by Congress from the NASA budget in 1981; however, after Carl Sagan’s intervention in 1982 the funding was restored. Founded in 1994, The SETI League, Inc. is supportedby membership and is a non-profit organization. It pioneered the conversion of backyard satellite TV dishes into research-grade radio telescopes of modest sensitivity. SETI@home was visualised by David Gedye and Craig Kasnoff and is a famous volunteer distributed computing project launched by the University of California, Berkeley, in May 1999. The SETI Institute teamed up with the Radio Astronomy Laboratory at UC Berkeley to build a specialised radio telescope array for SETI studies, sort of a mini-cyclops array. SETI has also been the target of criticism by those who suggest that it is hypothetical or a form of pseudoscience. In particular, critics claim that no observed process show the signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Sentinel, META, and BETA In the latter part of the 1980s, Carl Sagan, Louis Friedman, and Bruce Murray established the U.S. Planetary Society, mainly as a vehicle for SETI studies. Harvard University physicist Paul Horowitz took the next step and proposed the design of a spectrum analyser specifically intended to search for SETI transmissions. Traditional desktop spectrum analysers were of little use for this job, as they sampled frequencies using banks of analogue filters and so were restricted in the number of channels they could scan. However, modern integrated-circuit digital signal processing (DSP) technology could be used to build autocorrelation receivers to check far more channels. This work led in 1981 to a portable spectrum analyser named "Suitcase SETI" that had a capacity of 131,000 narrow band channels. After tests that lasted into 1982, Suitcase SETI was utilised in 1983 with the 26-meter Harvard/Smithsonian radio telescope at Oak Ridge Observatory in Harvard, Massachusetts. The project was named "Sentinel" and continued into 1985. Even 131,000 channels were not enough to search the sky in detail at a fast rate, so Suitcase SETI was followed in 1985 by Project "META", for "Megachannel Extra-Terrestrial Assay". The META spectrum analyser had a capacity of 8.4 million channels and a channel resolution of 0.05 hertz. An important feature of META was its use of frequency doppler shift to differentiate between signals of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin. The project was led by Horowitz with the aid of the Planetary Society, and partly funded by movie director Steven Spielberg. In 1990, a second such effort, META II, began in Argentina, to search the southern sky. META II still operates today, after an upgrade in 1996. The follow-on to META was named "BETA", for "Billion-channel Extraterrestrial Assay", and it began observation on October 30, 1995. At the heart of BETA's processing capability lay 63 dedicated fast Fourier transform (FFT) engines, each capable of performing a 222-point complex FFTs in 2 seconds, and 21 general-purpose PC computers equipped with custom digital signal processing boards. It allowed BETA to receive 250 million simultaneous channels with a resolution of 0.5 hertz per channel. It scanned via the microwave spectrum from 1.400 to 1.720 gigahertz in eight hops, with 2 seconds of observation per hop. An important ability of the BETA search was rapid and automatic re- observation of candidate signals, achieved by observing the sky with two adjacent beams, one slightly to the east, the other slightly to the west. A successful candidate signal would first transit the east beam, and then the west beam and do so with a speed consistent with Earth's rotation rate. A third receiver observed the horizon to cancel out signals of obvious terrestrial origin. On March 23, 1999, the 26-meter radio telescope on which Sentinel, META and BETA were based was toppled over by strong winds and seriously damaged. Due to which the BETA project ceased operation. MOP and Project Phoenix In 1978, the NASA SETI program had been heavily criticized by Senator William Proxmire, and funding for SETI research was removed from the NASA budget by Congress in 1981; however, funding was restored in 1982, after Carl Sagan talked with Proxmire and convinced him of the program's value. In 1992, the U.S. government funded an operational SETI program, in the form of the NASA Microwave Observing Program (MOP). MOP was planned as a long-term project to conduct a general survey of the sky and also carry out targeted searches of 800 nearby stars. MOP was to be performed by radio antennas associated with the NASA Deep Space Network, as well as the 43 metre radio telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia and the 300 metre radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The signals were to be analysed by spectrum analysers, each with a capacity of 15 million channels. These spectrum analysers could be grouped together to obtain even greater capacity. Those used in the targeted search had a bandwidth of 1 hertz per channel, while those used in the sky survey had a bandwidth of 30 hertz per channel. Advocates of the SETI program continued without the help of government funds, and in 1995 the non-profit SETI Institute of Mountain View, California reconstructed the MOP program with the name Project "Phoenix", sponsored by private funding. Project Phoenix, led by Jill Tarter, is a continuation of the targeted search program from MOP and studies approximately 1,000 nearby stars similar to our own Sun. From 1995 through to March 2004, Phoenix conducted observations at the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope in Australia, the 43 metre radio telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, and the 300 metre radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The project observed roughly 800 stars over the available channels in the frequency range from 1200 to 3000 MHz. The search was sensitive enough to pick up transmitters with 1 GW EIRP to a distance of about 200 light years.
Could aliens be the size of Nanobots and already be here? (Technology based life forms) We have looked for the signs of water within our solar system, examined incoming radio signal patterns that may indicate alien communication – and presently are searching distant stars in our galaxy for rocky, Earth-like planets. Though these experiments have not provided a firm answer, they help in generating data which then tells us more about the chances of other forms of life existing out there. Most space scientists believe it is highly unlikely life only occurs in our little corner of the universe. Bookmaker Paddy Power is offering odds of 16-1 that the existence of extra-terrestrial life will be confirmed this year. Who knows? However, Alien life is most likely not the little green men so beloved of science fiction.
GREY GOO: DEATH BY NANOTECH What if microscopic robots could destroy the Earth and kill us all? This idea is not implausible or the realms of science fiction. “Grey goo” was theorised in 1986 by Eric Dexler, a nanotech specialist. Dexler concluded that if nanomachines had the ability to replicate, then in a worst-case scenario the nanomachines would replicate exponentially. This replication is not only a minor nuisance, it is much more than that. Dexler’s theoretical nanomachines could consume organic matter and recycle it into something else, including a new nanomachine or any object that the nanomachine desired to fit its purpose. Dexler described these self-replicating nanomachines, as rampant consumers that would feed on all kinds of organic matter. After breaking down organic matter into molecules, these consumer nanomachines would create a new object or another nanomachine. This kind of technology could improve manufacturing in a closed environment in every field. According to Dexler’s illustration of replicating nanomachines, there is need for only one replicator in a jar of chemicals necessary for replication and in approximately 1000 seconds, the lone replicator creates an identical copy of itself. Theoretically, the mass of the replicator would be higher than the mass of the Earth in only two days! This shows how fast replication can get out of hand, more or less like a bacterial disease. Luckily, the nanomachines would probably never reach such a huge scale, because there are many limitations. Firstly, the nanomachines must be powered by some kind of power source. If the nanomachines outgrow the power source, replication will cease. Furthermore, if replication continues to occur, there would be nothing left for a majority of nanomachines to consume. You might not have noticed, but these days nanotechnology is everywhere! Nanobots are used in the medical field to deliver medicine to cancerous areas, perform intricate surgery, and monitor patient’s health. Scientists hope to develop nanobots that could monitor and manage somebody’s health on a cellular level. However, because of Dexler’s grey goo theory, researchers are taking note and avoiding the creation of self-replicating nanobots. However, some researchers believe that replication of nanobots, if properly controlled, is completely safe.
What is the Grey Goo nightmare? Most science fiction stories have one of two aims: To thrill us with the likelihood of a bright future or frighten us with a doomsday scenario. The Grey Goo nightmare falls into the second category. But is it just science fiction? The term refers to a disaster scenario in nanotechnology use. Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter on a molecular scale. The discipline includes the end goal of building devices on this scale, possibly capable of manipulating individual molecules or even atoms. An engineer named Kim Eric Drexler proposed a possibility for nanotechnology in his book "Engines of Creation." Drexler imagined a future in which tiny machines called assemblers could build materials molecule-by-molecule. Using billions of these assemblers, you could then manufacture practically any material you could imagine. The assemblers would put the molecules together in the specific way required to produce what you needed. How do you get so many assemblers? Firstly, you build a few in the lab. Then you set the assemblers to build other assemblers. These new assemblers will begin building more machines in turn. The manufacturing rate then becomes exponential, doubling with each generation. But what happens if the production gets out of control? That would lead to the Grey Goo scenario. Assemblers would begin converting all organic matter into more assemblers, consuming everything in the process. The Earth would be reduced to a lifeless mass teeming with nanomachines. For this scenario to really happen, the nanomachines would have to be able to survive in a variety of harsh environments. They'd also need the ability to consume any and all organic matter. And ultimately, we'd have to be defenceless against the nanomachines. Scientist Robert A. Freitas Jr. looked into the Grey Goo scenario from a medical perspective. He concluded that we'd recognize the disaster in time to contain it. Other scientists have said that any self-replicating assembler would have a built-in limitation preventing it from replicating out of control. At present the Grey Goo scenario right now does not seem feasible at all. As a matter of fact, we have not succeeded at building such a sophisticated machine on the nano-scale yet. So while for now we might not have to worry about Grey Goo, we still have to be careful with materials that might be toxic on the nano-scale.
What is Artificial intelligence and how can its development benefit mankind?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) Artificial intelligence (Al) encompasses many computer applications, or components within applications, that employ sets of rules and knowledge to draw inferences. Unlike its roots as an esoteric discipline of trying to make computers emulate the human mind, modern Al—along with the technologies it has inspired—has various practical ramifications and provides real benefits to consumers. In business applications, Al capabilities are generally integrated with systems that serve the day-to-day needs of the enterprise, such as inventory tracking, manufacturing process controls, and customer service databases. However, at times, practical implementations of Al may not be tagged as such due to negative associations with the term. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
Defining AI succinctly is not easy because it takes so many forms. Artificial intelligence is an area of scientific inquiry, rather than an end product. AI is cannot be defined with precision because several different groups of researchers with drastically different motivations are working in the field. Perhaps the best definition has been coined by M.L. Minsky, "Artificial intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men."
DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI is the construction and/or programming of computers to imitate human thought processes. Scientists are researching to design computers that are capable of processing natural languages and reasoning. They believe that once machines can process natural languages such as English or Spanish, humans will be able to give instructions and ask questions without learning special computer languages. When that day arrives, machines, such as humans, will be able to learn from past experience and apply what they have learned to solve new problems. Scientists have a long way to go, but they have made what they believe is a huge step in that direction with the invention of "fuzzy logic."
FUZZY LOGIC. They simply could not recognize "maybe." Even the most sophisticated computers, which are able to perform millions of calculations per second, cannot distinguish between "slightly" or "very." This simple difference has confused Al scientists for years. However, an American researcher, Dr. Lofti A. Zadeh, of the University of California, worked up an answer, which he named as "fuzzy logic."
The concept is established on feeding the computer "fuzzy sets," or groupings of solid information and more relative concepts. For instance, in a fuzzy set meant for industrial furnaces, a temperature of 1,000 degrees could have a "membership" (relative value) of 0.95, while a temperature of 600 might have a membership of 0.50. A computer program might then utilize instructions such as, "the higher the temperature, the lower the pressure must be." This solution implies that programmers can coach machines to compute with words, instead of numbers. Historically, most complex mathematical models developed by programmers compute strictly with numbers. But, the fuzzy logic approach to Al did not appeal the American scientific community. Japan-based Hitachi, Ltd. created an artificial intelligence system structured on fuzzy logic that enabled an automated subway system in Sendai, Japan, to brake relatively more swiftly and smoothly than it could under human guidance. The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry budgeted $36 million to subsidize the initial stages of the operation of a Laboratory for International Fuzzy Engineering. Development of fuzzy engineering also embarked in China, Russia, and much of Western Europe. In 1990s, a University of North Carolina professor built up a microprocessor chip using a complete digital architecture, which would run in conventional computers. The chip is capable of handling 580,000 "if-then" decisions per second, which is higher than 100 times faster than most of the Japanese fuzzy- logic chip that operate. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using the chip in robots to be used in radioactive areas of nuclear power plants. The Oricon Corporation has used fuzzy logic in a signal analysis system for submarines. NASA has also carried out experiments with fuzzy logic to help dock spacecraft.
EXPERT SYSTEMS. Various other Al applications are also being used; one of them is the expert system. Expert systems are computer-based systems that apply the substantial knowledge of a specialist—be it in the field of medicine, law, insurance, or almost any field—to help in solving complex issues without requiring a human to work through each one. In developing such systems, designers usually work with experts to determine the information and decision rules (heuristics) that the experts use when confronted with particular types of problems. In essence, these programs are simply attempting to imitate human behaviour, rather than solve problems by themselves. There are various advantages to the expert systems. For instance, they give novices "instant expertise" in a particular area. They capture knowledge and expertise that might be lost if a human expert retires or dies. Moreover, the knowledge of multiple experts can be integrated, at least theoretically, to make the system's expertise comprehensive. Expert systems are not affected by human problems such as illness or fatigue, and, if they are well planned and designed, can be less vulnerable to inconsistencies and mistakes. These advantages make them particularly attractive to businesses. Companies also use expert systems for training and analysis. General Electric, for instance, developed a system called Delta that helps maintenance workers identify and correct malfunctions in locomotives. Digital Equipment Corporation uses XCON (derived from the conglomeration of "expert configurer") to match customers' needs with the most suitable combination of computer input, output, and memory devices. The system uses more than 3,000 decision rules and 5,000 product descriptions to analyse sales orders and design lay-outs, ensuring that the company's equipment will work when it arrives at customers' sites. XCON catches most configuration errors, and eliminates the need for completely assembling a computer system for testing and then breaking it down again for shipment to the customer. The system is expensive, however. DEC spends $2 million per year just to update XCON. In fact, cost is one of the most prohibitive factors involved in the development of Al systems. However, when such a system is implemented effectively, the money it saves in staff hours and costs from averted human errors can quickly recoup development costs. In large corporations the savings can accrue in the tens of millions of dollars per year. A moderate-sized system, consisting of approximately 300 decision rules, often costs between $250,000 and $500,000 to design.
EXPERIMENTAL GAMES. Scientists in the late 1960s created machines that could play chess in an effort to create machines that could think by themselves. They made tremendous strides in developing sophisticated decision trees that could map out possible moves, but those programs included various potential alternatives that even contemporary supercomputers cannot assess them within a reasonable amount of time. They decreased the number of alternatives, which enabled the machines to play at the chess master level. To simulate the thinking process, the computers processed huge amounts of data on alternative moves. A highly publicised achievement in this field came in 1997 when an IBM supercomputer named Deep Blue beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a match.
NEURAL NETWORKS. Neural networks go one step ahead than expert systems in producing stored knowledge to bear on practical problems. Instead of just leading the user to the suitable piece of knowledge that has been captured in the system, neural networks process patterns of data to arrive at new capabilities they weren't equipped with on day one. In a sense, they learn to do things for the user based on special preparation that involves feeding the system data which it later analyses for patterns. This approach has been recognised in a number of fields, including information technology management, finance and health care. For instance, a neural network might be employed to predict which loan applicants are too risky. Rather than programming the computer with exact, user-defined criteria for what constitutes a risky applicant, the neural network would be trained on a large volume of application data from past loans— especially on details about the problematic ones. The neural network would process the data thoroughly and arrive at its own evaluation criteria. Then as new applications come in, the computer would use this knowledge to predict the risks involved. As time passes, the neural network could obtain periodic (or even continuous) retraining on new data so that it continues to hone its accuracy based on current trends. Real-life systems such as this have enjoyed a high success rate and have been able to reduce the number of bad loans at the lending institutions that use them.
APPLICATIONS OF Al IN THE BUSINESS WORLD Al is being used broadly in the business world, in spite of the fact that the discipline itself is still in the embryonic stages of development. Its applications cross a wide spectrum. For instance, Al is being functional in management and administration, science, engineering, economics and legal areas, military and space endeavours, medicine, and diagnostics. Some Al implementations are natural language processing, database retrieval, expert consulting systems, theorem proving, robotics, automation, scheduling, and solving practical and perceptual problems. Management relies more and more on knowledge work systems, which are systems utilised to help professionals such as architects, engineers, and medical technicians in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge and information. A computer does the designing part for giant units of electrical equipment. The units usually share the same elementary elements but vary in required size, specifications, and features. However, as is the case with most Al-type systems, human intervention is still needed. An engineer is needed to check the computer-produced drawing before the equipment is positioned into production. Senior managers in many companies use Al-based strategic planning systems to assist in functions like competitive analysis, technology deployment, and resource allocation. Also, they use programs to assist in equipment configuration design, product circulation, regulatory-compliance advisement, and personnel valuation. Al is contributing heavily to management's organization, planning, and controlling operations, and will continue to do so with more regularity as programs are advanced. AI is also influential in science and engineering. The applications developed were used to organize and manipulate the ever-increasing amounts of information available to scientists and engineers. AI has been used in complex methods such as mass spectrometry analysis, biological classifications, and the creation of semiconductor circuits and automobile components. Al has been utilised with increasing frequency in diffraction and image analysis; power plant and space station design; and robot sensing, control, and programming. It is the elevated use of robotics in business that is shocking many critics of artificial intelligence. Robots are being employed more frequently in the business world. Robots could potentially replace humans in most manufacturing jobs. This comprises not only the mundane tasks, but also those requiring a particular skill set. They will be capable of performing jobs such as shearing sheep, scraping barnacles from the bottoms of ships, and sandblasting walls. However, there are jobs that robots will never be able to perform, such as surgery. Of course, there will still be a necessity for beings in designing, building, and maintaining robots. Yet, once scientists create robots that can think, as well as act, there will be less need for human intervention. Thus, the social ramifications of Al is of chief concern to people today.
10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Our Lives Since the beginning of the 21st century, there's no question that humans have made incredible strides into the field of robotics. While modern robots can now replicate the activities and actions of humans, the next challenge lies in teaching robots to think for themselves and react to changing conditions. The field of artificial intelligence promises to give machines the ability to think analytically, using concepts and advances in computer science, robotics and mathematics. 1: The Robot-Human Species Transhumanism is the main application of artificial intelligence to human life. Proponents of transhumanism consider that artificial intelligence can advance the human experience by expanding the limits of the mind and body. As humans incorporate more technology into their daily lives, transhumanism offers the opportunity to eradicate disabilities, slow aging and even stop death. Some picture transhumanism resulting in cyborgs, while others picture an entirely new species that people have yet to imagine: a being that's developed beyond the current human state to enjoy a higher level of reasoning, culture and physical capabilities. While members of the World Transhumanist Association celebrate the coming of this new creation, others call it the most dangerous threat to humanity. With significant ethical implications, particularly those related to cloning and eugenics, transhumanism must be pursued with extreme care to let mankind maintain its sense of humanity With all the ethical controversy surrounding the field of artificial intelligence, it's hard to predict whether true cyborgs will become a reality. Could Robots Take Over the World? Just as many people look forward to the potential benefits of smart robots, others worry that these robots could someday enslave humanity. According to military expert Robert Finkelstein, this scenario is unlikely for several reasons. First, robots have no survival instinct of their own, nor can they reproduce and repair themselves without human help. Also, robots will not rule humans as long as we maintain control. 2: Space-Age Medicine While robotic servants and driverless cars offer a certain wow factor, artificial intelligence in medicine is already aiding doctors detect diseases and save lives. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center counts on special software to observe the heart and stop heart attacks before they occur. Artificial muscles feature smart technology that allows them to function more like real muscles, and the latest intelligent devices can differentiate between life-saving medications and fake or tainted pills. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of smart medical technology is the use of robotic surgery assistants, who can not only pass the correct tools to doctors, but also keep track of these tools and learn about a doctor's preferences. Even a primary care physician can benefit from artificial intelligence, with software that tracks changes in health records to diagnose patients or warn doctors of potential risk factors and problems with medications. 3: A Little Help Please While the world may not be ready for flying cars, families may soon enjoy the perks of robotic servants to handle housekeeping tasks. These intelligent robots will not only clean your living room and do the dishes, but may also tackle jobs like assembling furniture or caring for kids and pets. Through the use of artificial intelligence software, these machines will be able to recognize and sort objects, and even learn to minimize future mistakes as they work. Robotic assistants not only stand to benefit the average family, but may also offer assistance to the elderly or disabled. By means of voice-recognition software, these personal servants will help the blind or even fetch items on command. Virtual assistants are also likely to take the place of traditional secretaries and medical assistants. They'll interact with patients and handle correspondence, all without ever taking a break. 4: Staying Safe Artificial intelligence technology will soon help keep your family safe by protecting it from international fears as well as home burglaries. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security relies on virtual smart agents to replace an agent when he or she is unreachable. The agency also incorporates artificial intelligence software into its checking systems, which scan phone calls and other communications. These programs can sift through enormous volumes of data quickly and are even capable of distinguishing between casual conversation and potential threats. Homes equipped with smarter security systems alert the homeowner and local law enforcement when an intruder enters the property. While older systems simply depend on motion detectors and sensors, modern security includes artificial intelligence that enables the system to differentiate between occupants and unknown persons. 5: Protect Your Finances As of 2010, roughly half of world stock trades are driven by artificial intelligence-based software. These programs rely on algorithms to spot patterns in the market and predict price changes based on these patterns. Some can even buy or sell shares based on these predictions, while others issue an alert to human brokers and advise them of the changes to come. This technology results in better performance and improved returns for investors. Artificial intelligence software can find patterns in the stock market, which can be advantageous to investors. 6: Pushing the Limits of Space Exploration In the near future, advances in artificial intelligence will enable scientists to travel well beyond the limits of the present space travel and discover more of the universe beyond our solar system. Today, NASA relies on unmanned shuttles to explore distant galaxies that would take years for humans to reach. Driverless land rovers also permit researchers to explore and capture Mars and other planets, where inhospitable conditions make human exploration difficult. These smart vehicles sense obstacles, like craters, and find safe paths of travel around them before returning to the shuttle. Artificial intelligence technology will also help scientists react more quickly to emergencies during manned flights. For example, a radio message from Mars takes roughly 11 minutes to reach Earth. Instead of waiting for advice from scientists on earth when trouble arises, astronauts can work with on board software systems to find and avert issues before they happen. 7: Driverless Transport Imagine cars that warn you of probable obstacles to help you escape accidents, or even let you to sit back and take in the view as they drive themselves. Artificial intelligence may soon make all this possible, using cameras, sensors and special software built into the vehicle. Manufacturers already use this technology to make backing up and parking safer, while both the Toyota Prius and certain Lexus models can self-park at the touch of a button. Driverless trains carry passengers from city to city in Japan without the need for human help, and self-driving cars may be closer than you think. In 2010, Google began testing its own line of driverless cars, which rely on lasers and sensors to spot obstacles, interpret signs and interact with traffic and pedestrians. Artificial intelligence not only takes the responsibility away from the driver, but also eliminates the danger of distracted driving and boasts a reaction time much faster than that of any human. The Palm Monorail in Dubai, UAE, is a fully automatic and driverless train which shuttles up to 6,000 passengers an hour. 8: Saving the Planet With artificial intelligence, scientists may soon be able to use robots or other devices to clean up the environment and reduce the effects of air and water pollution. Advanced software programs will enable these machines to differentiate between biological organisms and potential pollutants like oil or hazardous waste. Microbes will ingest waste products and leave good biological matter intact, minimizing damage to the ecosystem. Smart software can also limit the effects of air pollution from manufacturing and industrial processes. As factories burn fuel, they release by products in the form of carbon dioxide and other gases. Some of these factories already use artificial intelligence programs to detect patterns during combustion and modify manufacturing processes to decrease pollution. Others use this software to trap dangerous chemicals before they enter the smokestack and end up in the air outside. 9: Tackling Dangerous (or Boring) Tasks If you have a robotic vacuum cleaner in your home, you're already taking advantage of artificial intelligence to tackle one of life's more tedious tasks. These devices besides cleaning your floor according to schedule, also manoeuvre around hindrances like stairs, furniture and even the cat. Facilities with large turf areas, like golf courses, rely on similar technology to mow their lawns without the requirement for human intervention. The same technology may soon enable robots to perform boring or repetitive tasks along an assembly line, or even sort trash and recycling at waste processing centers. Artificial intelligence may also enable machines to complete errands too dangerous for humans, such as mining or fire fighting. Some countries have already put smart robots to work disabling land mines and even handling radioactive materials in order to limit the risk to human workers. 10: Taming the Weather Meteorologist analyses huge volumes of data in order to predict the weather, and even the most skilled weatherman isn't always accurate. Soon, scientists may be able to predict the weather better by using artificial intelligence software, which can scrutinise through intricate data and spot patterns missed by the human eye. When this software sees a big storm coming, it will automatically issue alerts to warn residents and the media, and this may help save lives. By increasing the accuracy of weather predictions, artificial intelligence software may also offer important benefits in crop development, forestry and agriculture. NASA is even working on programs that will guide aircraft around potential storms and danger spots, even in secluded areas, which could increase the safety of air travel in the near future.
Some examples of Alien abduction and UFO encounters. The terms alien abduction or abduction phenomenon describe "subjectively real memories of being taken secretly against one's will by apparently nonhuman entities and subjected to complex physical and psychological procedures". People claiming to have been abducted are usually called "abductees" or "experiencers". Typical claims involve being subjected to a forced medical examination that emphasizes their reproductive system. Abductees sometimes claim to have been warned against environmental abuse and the dangers of nuclear weapons. While many of these claimed encounters are described as terrifying, some have been viewed as pleasurable or transformative. The first alleged alien abduction claim to be widely publicized was the Betty and Barney Hill abduction in 1961. Reports of the abduction phenomenon have been made around the world, but are most common in English speaking countries, especially the United States. The contents of the abduction narrative often seem to vary with the home culture of the alleged abductee. Alien abductions have been the subject of conspiracy theories and science fiction storylines (notably The X-Files) that have speculated on stealth technology required if the phenomenon were real, the motivations for secrecy, and that alien implants could be a possible form of physical evidence.
Ten Alien Encounters Debunked As a long time investigator of unusual phenomena, I have no doubt that UFOs exist. UFOs, are, of course, Unidentified Flying Objects, and "unidentified" simply means that what the eyewitness saw was not immediately recognized by that person, at that time, under those circumstances. There are many things in the skies that the average person may not be able to identify from a quick look but that a pilot, a meteorologist, or an astronomer might instantly recognize. There are also seemingly unusual experiences that most people may not understand but that a psychologist can explain. With alien encounters, we find that often an explanation lies not necessarily in the skies but in our minds. Humans are pattern-seeking creatures, and our brains try desperately to make sense of things we don’t immediately recognize. Often we are correct in our assessments of what we see and experience, but many times we simply misperceive, misunderstand, or misremember. Those who claim to encounter aliens and see UFOs are sometimes ridiculed as crazy, but in fact we are all hardwired with the same fallible brains. While some people seek out the sceptical or scientific explanations, others decide that since they can’t explain something, no one else can either, and therefore that experience is mysterious or inexplicable. So with that, here are 10 alleged alien encounters—those brushes with aliens that have been definitively debunked over the years. Cattle Mutilations The story: When alien visitors are not abducting people (see number 2) or implanting things in them (number 3), or making circles in crops (number 7), they butcher cattle, either for research purposes or perhaps sadistic amusement. Since the 1970s, hundreds of animal corpses have been found with unusual or inexplicable features, including being drained of blood and having their organs removed with "surgical precision."
The real story: Livestock predation has plagued ranchers and farmers for millennia, but it wasn’t until the last few decades (during the public’s peaking interest in UFOs) that anyone thought to attribute the deaths to aliens. Research has shown that the "mysterious" features are in fact quite ordinary and are caused by natural decay processes and scavenger attacks. Curiously, exactly the same phenomena has been attributed to not only aliens but also to Satanic cults and the dreaded chupacabra creature of Hispanic folklore.
Alien Engineers The story: Science cannot explain how the Great Pyramids of Egypt were constructed; because they are so precisely aligned and designed, aliens must have had a role in creating them thousands of years ago.
The real story:
While many people assume that those living in earlier times (such as the ancient Egyptians) were not resourceful enough to possibly have created impressive engineering feats without extra-terrestrial aid, this is not true. Actually, the methods by which the pyramids could have been constructed are well documented, and have appeared in many places including National Geographic magazine and Mark Lehner’s book The Complete Pyramids. The only real mystery surrounding the pyramids is why anyone would still think aliens were involved.
Area 51 The story: Area 51 is where the U.S. government stores and studies extra-terrestrial bodies and aircraft, including the unfortunate (and apparently poorly-trained) alien pilots that crashed in Roswell. Some even say that it is an officially- sanctioned landing base for spaceships.
The real story: The simple fact of the matter is that the public doesn’t really know much about what goes on at the military base near Groom Dry Lake, Nevada (popularly but not officially called Area 51). It is a top secret military base, and there are of course perfectly legitimate government and military reasons for keeping the base’s purposes secret that have nothing to do with aliens or UFOs; 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl suggested that the area may be a dumping ground for toxic waste. There’s no reason to think that anything alien is going on there, but where there is secrecy, there will be conspiracy.
The Face on Mars The story: Proof that intelligent alien life exists in the universe can be found on Mars—or so claims Richard Hoagland, author of the book The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever. According to Hoagland, NASA photographs of the Cydonia region of Mars show a human-like face. According to Hoagland, this must have been constructed by intelligent beings and indicates that there are (or were) alien cities on Mars.
The real story: The "Face on Mars" is an example of imagination and wishful thinking. The photographs that show an area vaguely resembling a face on Mars were taken by the Viking 1 Orbiter in 1976. Since then, far better photographs have been taken of Mars. They show that the area is heavily eroded, and the "face" was simply a combination of low image resolution and tricks of light and shadow.
Crop Circles The story: Aliens are the most likely explanation for the mysterious circles and other designs that occasionally appear in farmers’ fields. They are some sort of sign or message that humans have not yet deciphered. The real story: Despite films like Signs, there is no evidence that crop circles are made by alien intelligences. Hoaxing is by far the best explanation for crop circles—far more so than aliens who supposedly travel across the vast universe to reach Earth, only to flatten wheat in rural English and American farms as some sort of information.
The Alien Autopsy Film The story: The 1947 "Roswell Incident" got a boost of credibility in 1995 when a grainy, black-and-white film surfaced. The top-secret film was touted as evidence of what some UFO buffs had claimed all along: that alien bodies had been recovered by the U.S. government.
The real story: Soon after the alien autopsy footage was broadcast on Fox television, serious doubts were raised about the authenticity of the film. Sceptics branded the film a hoax, pointing out anachronisms and inconsistencies in the film. Yet because the Roswell story is so short on evidence, others clung to the autopsy footage as real. Earlier this year, the special effects artist who created the alien confessed that it was in fact a hoax.
Flying Saucers The story: On June 24, 1947, the modern UFO era began when a man named Kenneth Arnold saw nine “flying saucers” moving at high speed near Mount Rainer, Washington. Soon others began reporting seeing similar UFOs, spawning a “flap.”
The real story: The phrase "flying saucer," so familiar to Americans and UFO buffs, is the result of a reporter’s error. After interviewing Arnold about his sighting, a reporter from the Eastern Oregonian newspaper reported that Arnold saw round, aerial objects. Arnold stated that the objects "flew erratic, like a saucer if you skip it across the water"—not that what he saw resembled an actual saucer. Yet that "saucer" interpretation stuck, prompting many eyewitnesses to repeat (and hoaxers to duplicate) Arnold’s non-existent description. This strongly shows the role of suggestion in UFO sightings; as sceptic Marty Kottmeyer asks, "Why would extra-terrestrials redesign their craft to conform to mistake?"
Alien Implants The story: As part of nefarious experiments, aliens have implanted various objects in human abductees. Victims have found small foreign objects in their bodies and come to realize they had been abducted. Several alien implants have been recovered, and when they are scientifically tested, they are found to be indestructible or of materials not found on Earth.
The real story: Joe Nickell, a columnist for Sceptical Inquirer magazine, noted that “Since 1994 alleged implants have been surgically recovered but they’ve become remarkably diverse: one looks like a shard of glass, another a triangular piece of metal, still another a carbon fibre, and so on. None was located in the brain or nasal cavity, instead being recovered from such extremities as toe, hand, shin, external ear, etc.; some were accompanied by scars while others were not. As physicians know, a foreign object can enter the body unnoticed, as during a fall, or while running barefoot in sand or grass—even as a splinter from a larger impacting object.” People find all sorts of weird things in their bodies, but so far none are of alien origin.
Alien Abductions The story: Hundreds of people claim to have been abducted by aliens, especially during in the 1980s. They were subjected to rape, experiments and implantations and other bodily intrusions. Several prominent researchers, including Harvard’s John Mack, supported the claims and wrote books about these victims.
The real story: There may be several causes of the alien abduction experience. Many of these experiences are only recovered years later, during psychological treatment for other issues. Research has proven that false memories can be created in the course of therapy by careless psychologists. People can actually come to believe they were abducted or abused when they were not. Other researchers have shown that a common psychological process called sleep paralysis may be misinterpreted as an alien abduction.
The Roswell Incident The Story: The most famous UFO crash in history occurred in 1947, on a ranch just outside of Roswell, a dusty New Mexican town. Mysterious debris and alien bodies were recovered, spirited away in a government cover-up.
The real story: There was indeed a cover-up of what crashed outside Roswell, but authorities were hiding not a crashed alien saucer but a weather balloon from a secret spy program called Project Mogul. The debris described by the original eyewitnesses exactly matches the balloons used in the program; the fanciful stories of alien bodies did not appear until much later. The Roswell Incident was in fact only one of many similar (and clearly folkloric) stories of crashed vessels containing alien bodies and debris—some dating back nearly 100 years earlier.
UFO Sightings
Early newspaper hoaxes aside, there have been countless UFO reports over the decades, and a few of them stand out as especially important. The first report of a "flying saucer" only dates back to 1947 when a pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine objects resembling boomerangs in the sky. He described their movement as "like a saucer if you skip it across the water," which a careless reporter misunderstood as saying that the objects themselves resembled "flying saucers," and that mistake launched many "flying saucer" reports in later decades. Investigators believe that Arnold probably saw a flock of pelicans and misjudged their size, their large wings creating the "V" shape he described. The most famous UFO crash allegedly occurred when something—sceptics say a top-secret spy balloon, believers say a spacecraft with alien pilots—crashed on a ranch in the desert outside of Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and the debate rages to this day. The first UFO abduction case — and to this day the most famous — was that of Barney and Betty Hill, an interracial couple who in 1961 claimed to have been chased down and abducted by a UFO. However since there were no other eyewitnesses to the event and they didn't report the abduction at the time. Another famous UFO sighting occurred near Phoenix, Arizona, in March 1997 when a series of bright lights were reported in the night skies. Though it is known that the military dropped flares over a nearby proving ground during routine exercises around the time of the sightings, UFO buffs dismiss the government's explanation of the lights and insist there's more to the story. A strangely shaped object near the sun in a new NASA image has drawn the attention of UFO believers. A strangely shaped object near the sun in a new NASA image has drawn the attention of UFO believers. Since then, a host of UFO sightings have been reported. Here are a handful in recent years that got a lot of attention, with links to articles from the time: Jan. 7, 2007: Strange lights over Arkansas fuelled much speculation on the internet until the Air Force debunked the UFO claims, explaining that flares had been dropped from airplanes as part of routine training. April 21, 2008: Phoenix lights were reported again. It was a hoax, created by road flares tied to helium balloons. The hoaxer admitted it, and eyewitnesses reported seeing him do it. Jan. 5, 2009: New Jersey UFOs that proved so baffling they were reported on the History Channel turned out to be helium balloons, red flares and fishing lines, all part of a social experiment. The men who perpetrated the hoax, Joe Rudy and Chris Russo, were fined $250 for creating what could have been a danger to the nearby Morristown airport. October 13, 2010: UFOs over Manhattan turned out to be helium balloons that escaped from a party at a school in Mount Vernon. Jan. 28, 2011: Videos of UFOs hovering over the Holy Land (the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem's Temple Mount) was revealed as a hoax — the effects of video editing software’s use were discovered. July, 2011: The sighting of a UFO on the ocean floor was attributed to a Swedish scientist, but that researcher, Peter Lindberg, merely said the thing he detected in blurry images was “completely round,” an assertion not supported by the low-resolution sonar image. A second “anomaly” made the case seem even more bizarre, but no evidence has emerged to suggest alien origin. UFO on ocean floor: Peter Lindberg's team found what appears to be a crashed flying saucer on the ocean floor. April, 2012: A UFO near the sun, spotted in a NASA image, turned out to be a camera glitch. April, 2012: A viral UFO video taken from a plane over South Korea likely showed a droplet of water on the airplane’s window.
Is Warp Speed space travel possible? How NASA are developing the early stages of this technology.
Warp drive is a hypothetical faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion system, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft fitted with a warp drive may travel at apparent speeds greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time dilation. In contrast to many other FTL technologies, such as a jump drive, the warp drive does not permit instantaneous travel between two points but involves a measurable passage of time. Neither does it involve a separate realm or dimension like hyperspace, but spacecraft at warp velocity can continue to interact with objects in "normal space". Some of the other fiction in which warp drive technology is featured include: Stars, EVE Online, Earth and Beyond, StarCraft, DarkSpace, Starship Troopers, Doctor Who, and Star Ocean.
Warp velocities Warp drive velocity in Star Trek is generally expressed in "warp factor" units, which—according to the Star Trek Technical Manuals—correspond to the magnitude of the warp field. Achieving warp factor 1 is equal to breaking the light barrier, while the actual velocity corresponding to higher factors is determined using an ambiguous formula. Several episodes of the original series placed the Enterprise in peril by having it travel at high warp factors; at one point in "That Which Survives" the Enterprise travelled at a warp factor of 14.1. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys" the crew of Enterprise-D discovers that the android Data may have been stolen while on board another ship, Jovis. At this point the Jovis, which has a maximum warp factor of 3 has had a 23 hour head start, which the Enterprise-D figures puts her anywhere within a 0.102 light year radius of her last known position. However, the velocity (in present dimensional units) of any given warp factor is rarely the subject of explicit expression, and travel times for specific interstellar distances are not consistent through the various series. According to the Star Trek episode writer's guide for The Original Series, warp factors are converted to multiples of c with the cubic function v = w3c, where w is the warp factor, v is the velocity, and c is the speed of light. Accordingly, "warp 1" is equivalent to the speed of light, "warp 2" is 8 times the speed of light, "warp 3" is 27 times the speed of light, et al.
NASA- Status of "Warp Drive" "Warp Drives", "Hyperspace Drives", or any other term for Faster-than-light travel is at the level of speculation, with some facets edging into the realm of science. We are at the point where we know what we do know and know what we don’t, but do not know for sure if faster than light travel is possible. The bad news is that the bulk of scientific knowledge that we have accumulated to date concludes that faster than light travel is impossible. This is an artefact of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. Yes, there are some other perspectives; tachyons, wormholes, inflationary universe, space-time warping, quantum paradoxes, ideas that are in credible scientific literature, but it is still too soon to know if such ideas are viable. One of the issues that is evoked by any faster-than-light transport is time paradoxes: causality violations and implications of time travel. As if the faster than light issue wasn’t tough enough, it is possible to construct elaborate scenarios where faster-than-light travel results in time travel. Time travel is considered far more impossible than light travel.
What’s the Big Difference? Ever since the sound barrier was broken, people have been asking: "Why can’t we break the light speed barrier too, what’s the big difference?" It is too soon to tell if the light barrier can be broken, but one thing is certain -- it’s a wholly different problem than breaking the sound barrier. The sound barrier was broken by an object that was made of matter, not sound. The atoms and molecules that make up matter are connected by electromagnetic fields, the same stuff that light is made of. In the case of the light speed barrier, the thing that’s trying to break the barrier is made up of the same stuff as the barrier itself. How can an object travel faster than that which links its atoms? Like we said, it’s a wholly different problem than breaking the sound barrier.
Special Relativity Here is a snap shot of the theory that sums up the problem: "Special Relativity". Actually Special Relativity is pretty simple in its construction. To start with 2 simple rules: Rule Number 1: The distance you’ll travel (d) depends on how fast you move (v), for how long you’re moving (t). If you drive 55 mph for one hour, you’ll have covered 55 miles. Rule Number 2: -- This is the mind boggling one -- No matter how fast you’re moving, you’ll always see the speed of light as being the same.
When you combine these together and compare what one traveller "sees" relative to another traveller at a different speed - that’s when the problems come into play. Let me give you another way to picture this. Close your eyes. Imagine that the only sense that you had was the sense of hearing. All that you know is sounds. You identify things by how they sound. So when a train goes by, did its horn really change? We know that the horn was always tooting the same tone, but it was the train’s motion that made it appear to change because of something called the Doppler shift. Everything we know around us we know by light, or more generally electromagnetism. What we see, what we feel (the air molecules bouncing off our skin), what we hear (air molecules bouncing off each other in waves of pressure), even the propagation of time, are all governed by electromagnetic forces. So when we start moving at speeds approaching the speed by which we are getting all our information, our information gets distorted. In principle it’s that simple. Understanding it well enough to do something about it, well that’s a different matter.
Light Speed Barrier One of the consequences of this Special Relativity is the light speed barrier. Here’s another way to look at it. To move faster, you add energy. But when you get going near the speed of light, the amount of energy you need to go faster balloons to infinity! To move a mass at the speed of light would take infinite energy. It appears that there is a distinct barrier here. Worm-hole transportation Alcubierre’s "Warp Drive" Is there any work being done to search for these breakthroughs? Yes, but not much.
NASA is all set to create a warp bubble in the lab A small team of NASA researchers were working on warp drive technology in the lab which was led by Harold Sonny White, the team devised a variation of the Alcubierre warp drive that could almost be feasibly produced — if we can work out how to produce and store antimatter. Now, White is ready to discuss some other facets of his warp drive, such as the energy requirements, what a spacecraft with a warp drive would look like, and what it would be like to travel at warp speed. When it comes to interstellar travel, due to the massive distances involved, the only feasible solution for reaching other planets and stars is a method of transport that travels at close to or faster than the speed of light. The nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is just over four light years away — at a speed of 62,136 km/h (the speed at which Voyager-1 is flying through space), it would take roughly 67,000 years for a spacecraft to reach it. There are a variety of proposed propulsion systems, such as ion drives, but none of them really get close to the speeds necessary to enable the exploration of other planets in under a few thousand years. Warp drives, while years away from even small- scale testing — if they’re even possible at all — are one of the few exceptions that would allow same-lifetime space travel. As the name suggests, a warp drive enables faster-than-light travel by warping space-time around it. In essence, Miguel Alcubierre proposed a device that causes the space in front of the spacecraft to contract, while the space behind it expands. This creates a warp bubble that carries the spacecraft through space-time at 10 times the speed of light. We know from our observations of the universe that such deformation of space-time is probably possible, but in this case there’s a huge step between theoretical and experimental possibility. There are numerous problems with an Alcubierre drive — such as whether you’d be able to survive inside the bubble, or my personal favourite: annihilating the entire star system when you arrive at your destination — but the amount of energy required to reach the speed of light, let alone surpass it, is probably the main drawback. Last year, Sonny White revealed a new design for the Alcubierre drive that decreases the energy requisite from the total mass-energy of a planet as good as the size of Jupiter, down to the mass-energy of Voyager-1 (700 kilograms). It is referred to as “mass-energy,” since no one knows how to actually fuel an Alcubierre drive, with some research that suggests it needs more energy than the mass of the universe that can be observed, or possibly negative quantity of energy. However, according to NASA’s preliminary research, the requirements of energy may be feasible to some extent if the drive is created in donut shape rather than a flat disc. Harold White produces a warp bubble analogy, where he explains how superluminal (faster-than-light) travel is possible in the first place: “You are walking along at 3 miles an hour, and then you step onto [a moving airport walkway]. You are still walking at 3 miles an hour, but you are covering the distance much more quickly relative to somebody who isn’t on the belt.” Speaking about what it would actually feel like to travel at warp speed, White says “you would have an initial velocity as you set off. It would be like watching a film in fast forward.” What would a warp drive-equipped spacecraft look like? “Imagine an American football, for simplicity, that has a toroidal ring around it attached with pylons. The football is where the crew and robotic systems would be, while the ring would contain exotic matter.” Warp Boom Finally, White warns us that the first real-world warp drives are a long way away. The NASA research team have some “very specific and controlled steps to take to create a proof of concept,” to see if the physics of the Alcubierre warp drive actually play out in practice, but we’re talking about a microscopic warp bubble that will have very little relation to a real-world prototype. We are probably looking at a decade or more before we can create a car-sized warp drive — and even then, that’s only if we can find some of that elusive “exotic matter,” which we probably won’t.