Insterstellar Travel and Difficulties
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Will it be possible in the future to travel to other stars ? What difficulties are there?
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Solution Summary
This solution discusses some of the potential issues with interstellar travel such as time frame, fuel source, food source and others. Links are provided for further topic exploration.
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As resistance and gravity are both negligible in space, the critical issue isn't the ability to push a craft in the right direction but instead the amount of time needed to arrive. If we consider the nearest star as a potential - Alpha Centauri - at 4.3 light years it would take 80,000 years using extant technology. (And this is "next door")
So to really "get there" would require a significant breakthrough in the realm of physics --- yes, the "wormhole" idea, or some other quantum-mechanical contrivance that circumvents Newtonian mechanics, or time, or both. Energy and/or time are the main issues. In order to take enough fuel using current technology to propel and to stop (it ...
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