Are we alone in the universe?

[redwood87]

You guys shrug this subject off as if it were Ruffle crumbs, have you not ever wondered about your very own living breathing biological conscious existences? Why can't you or I explain to ourselves or anybody else where we truly stand in the grand scheme of things? We go on and on with our daily lives and yet fail to even think of the greater mechanics that sustain our very own existences you and I are subsequently very much a part of.

Who cares about alien life, I want to know more about my own and that of life forms on Earth. That is unless exterior alien life forms are confirmed to exist and pose a threat to life on Earth.

On that note it would take all of our means by which to thwart that threat including but not limited to the utilization of all advanced knowledge and technology to prevent the vaporization of mankind and the Earth that has fostered Precambrian life forms, dinosaurs and myself.

 

[Bear44]

You guys shrug this subject off as if it were Ruffle crumbs, have you not ever wondered about your very own living breathing biological conscious existences? Why can't you or I explain to ourselves or anybody else where we truly stand in the grand scheme of things? We go on and on with our daily lives and yet fail to even think of the greater mechanics that sustain our very own existences you and I are subsequently very much a part of.

Who cares about alien life, I want to know more about my own and that of life forms on Earth. That is unless exterior alien life forms are confirmed to exist and pose a threat to life on Earth.

On that note it would take all of our means by which to thwart that threat including but not limited to the utilization of all advanced knowledge and technology to prevent the vaporization of mankind and the Earth that has fostered Precambrian life forms, dinosaurs and myself.

The advanced technology that would be needed to bring a hostel force to the earth from another star would be able to brush our defenses away as if they never existed. Preparation would be costly and useless at this point. The movie "Independence Day" is science fantasy, not science fiction.

 

[dunkel]

I'd say the odds are greatly in favor of there being life out there. Near as we can tell, there is nothing particularly special about Earth or our Sun in the grand scheme of things. We know from life right here on Earth that it can pop up in the most inhospitable places, so we really don't even need to consider only temperate Earth-like planets as possible hosts for alien life. And, course, one of the theories of the origins of life is Panspermia...where the building blocks if life are spread out throughout the universe on comets and asteroids...if Earth got seeded, there's no reason to think it didn't happen elsewhere.

Now, the question if whether or not we will ever meet any of this life is more problematic. There is a chance of life, or the previous existence of life, elsewhere in this solar system...the moon Europa, I believe, is a prime suspect. But if it comes from anywhere else, we must consider the vastness of space. As others have pointed out, the technological obstacles are overwhelming. That is not to say that it will always remain so, but right now that certainly is the case.

Now consider this...what separates us from chimps? Just a few % of DNA? A couple of chromosomes? That is, apparently, enough of a difference to give us, on the one hand, using a stick to get ants out of an ant hill...and on the other, putting several members of our species on the Moon. It doesn't take a lot of change at the genetic level to produce vast changes in potential intelligence. So imagine an alien species only 2-3% more advanced or smarter than us...then think that they could be as far ahead of us as we are to chimps...a sobering thought.

Of course, the possibility does not imply the certainty. I hope that we are able to solve this problem in my lifetime, but I'm not counting on it.

 

[Bypass]

At some point we need to continue research and development in such fields as aeronautics and space travel. One day our planet will face an event similar to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. We should be ready not for ourselves. Mainly because those advancements aren't likely to happen in our life time. But for the future of the human race. Explore and set up colonies on every inhabitable planet. Also lets see if we can develop some decent weaponry to arm them with. We might need it when we start poking our heads around that corner.

 

[Bypass]

The wars we have fought have forced us to learn how to harness the power of the atom. We have adapted this technology to power our cities and to drive some of our most powerful war machines: nuclear powered submarines that allow us to travel the oceans at will. Space is a vacuum. The main way we move in space at this point is by releasing stored energy/gases which creates propulsion of a sort. What if we used a atomic reactor and found a way to direct the released atomic energy to propel a ship. Would it not generate propulsive energy exponentially? Basically driving the ship faster and faster every second it is on?

Just a thought. I am rambling I should try and get some sleep.

 

[Bypass]

I have no problem believing that they don't have that proof. The technological difficulty of interstellar travel is staggering, so it would not surprise me at all if there were millions of advanced civilizations that have never conquered it. Even if they have, why would they be interested in coming to earth. Hell, we aren't even serious about going back to the moon or ever getting to the other planets in our own solar system. Think about it. The MORE advanced civilizations there are out there, the LESS significant ours is to everyone else. The thought that they would have a driving need to visit or contact us is just as arrogant as the belief that we are the only intelligent life. I know I use this word a lot when discussing this type of thing, but "insignificant" fits very well and the only reason we don't realize it more easily is because humans have no shortage of ego.

Resources brother.We have already dug most of the natural resources out of the ground they would need to continue to drive their gears of war. Expansion. The same thing we as a race did on Earth we can and most likely will have to continue into the universe. Intelligent life will soon realize that their planet will over populate and run out of resources. That or their species has faced a Global killer and must relocate. We might be in their way. I, personally would rather hold the upper hand in this scenario and have them be in my way.

 

[Bear44]

Resources brother.We have already dug most of the natural resources out of the ground they would need to continue to drive their gears of war. Expansion. The same thing we as a race did on Earth we can and most likely will have to continue into the universe. Intelligent life will soon realize that their planet will over populate and run out of resources. That or their species has faced a Global killer and must relocate. We might be in their way. I, personally would rather hold the upper hand in this scenario and have them be in my way.

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think that our type of planet is exceptionally rare. The chances that earth is the closest one to them is slim. I would also imagine that a civilization that would be advanced enough to get here in force would also have solved most, if not all, problems with availability of resources.

As for a nuclear drive. They are already working it out theoretically. There are a couple ideas out there. One that is simple and would work is to simply set off a devise behind the ship, which will have a large shield at the rear, and actually use the detonation as the propulsion. Do this periodically and you will continue to accelerate. Two huge problems that have to be worked out before we can try any type of deep space travel are protection from physical objects and protection from radiation.

At the speeds that a ship like this will be traveling, if an object the size of a grain of sand is hit it will destroy the integrity of the hull. A really tough armored hull and they have not come close to figuring the problem out. They also have not been able to figure out the problem with long term radiation. Even with the best protection from it that we have it will not protect the crew well enough from the basic radiation levels found in space for long enough periods of time. Add to that the possibility of running into spikes of radiation caused by solar flairs and several other natural phenomenon and we're screwed. One flair and every piece of electronic equipment and anything organic (that would be us) are fried.

 

[A-Aron]

Prob not

 

[Glorfindel]

Prob not

Are you @fastfish66 burner account?

 

[Falcon1]

Are you @fastfish66 burner account?

Fo real lol. Wtf is happening here a aron