My motives for asking this question and projecting 1 million years into the future, was to gauge how open-minded(which I construe as a measure of intelligence) and how much the skeptics could extend themselves, and in general, their awareness of the latest developments in technology. As I expected; not too far at all.
1: How open-minded the skeptics are
2: How versed are the skeptics in science
It is true, that there is no right answer to what we maybe capable of in 1 million years from now assuming we still existed without any fatal setbacks to our growth. However, we can still, intelligently extrapolate from our current scientific and technological position and it's exponential growth.
Now Phlogistician forecast, although vague, was this:
Cheap and clean energy production with fusion
Complete working knowledge of GUT
Good educational and healthcare system for all
Phlogistican's forecast of the future is extremely limiting. He refuses to leave the confines of today even in a hypothetical 1 million years into the future. Further more, he seems completely unaware of current science.
1. Fusion as an energy source:
Fusion energy production, according to the leading proponents of this science, will become commercially available in 30 years from now(2040) some even think sooner. In fact as of today, we already have fusion reactors that can produce modest amounts of energy.
So, are we going to continue to use fusion energy for a million years? Is this the ultimate and final science of energy generation. No.
As of today the greatest energy density reactions known to us are anti-matter-matter collisions which convert matter to 100% energy - around 9 x 1016 J/kg. We already manufacture anti-matter at CERN, nanograms to be precise. The infrastructure in place at this point in time to manufacture anti-matter is extremely expensive, making one gram of anti-matter cost around $65 trillion per gram. Irrespective however, the energy produced by micrograms of anti-matter is sufficient to meet our future energy needs and power an interstellar craft. According to scientists at CERN, commercial anti-matter energy production could be available near the end of the century. However I am going to be far more pessimistic, and say, it will take 1000 years.
Now, are we going to continue to use anti-matter energy for a 999,000 years. Now is this the ultimate and final science of energy generation. Most probably not.
We can exploit the energy of a chemical reaction. We can the exploit energy of an atom. We can exploit the energy of anti-matter. Yet, there is even a greater binding energy, that binds space-time and void. We know this energy exists, because: 1. the universe is a reality; 2. the uncertainly particle and a vacuum; 3. the Casimir effect.
Take note, how energy density increases in many orders of magnitude as we delve deeper into matter - molecules - atoms - subatomic particles- quarks - vacuum field energy(who knows if it may even extends beyond this)
The energy contained within one cubic metre is estimated to be in the magnitude 10^36 to 10^70 Joules/m3. With access to such levels of energy we could warp space-time, have advanced control of gravity, and travel many times faster than the speed of light.
We already have realized ZPE theoretically. Now, considering the atom, took only 2000 years from becoming a theoretical concept to being exploited physically to unleash its energy and our currentge of scientific growth that's takes us from horse-driven carriages to hypersonic spacecraft in a century, we could be exploiting ZPE energy in less than 1000 years and exploiting its maximum output(10^70) in say 10,000 years, but I am going to be extremely pessimistic - 500,000 years; leaving us with 489,000 years.
Is this the ultimate form of energy generation? Probably not, there is yet another source of energy, the very fabric of existence and non existence and the energy it unleashes could be enough to annihilate universes. It would be like tapping into the power of God(if he existed)
- Nonetheless, let's not's get into that.
In other words in 1 million years from today, we would have an economy and productivity quadrillions and quadrillions of times greater than today. Allowing us to warp space/time, construct wormhole(energy in the order of planks constant) have advanced control of gravity, and travel at speeds many times that of the speed of light.
2: Grand United Theory:
Am I not surprised, that his idea of million years into the future scientific theories, would be a theory we are working on today?
3: Good educational and healthcare system for all, eradication of poverty.
That sounds almost like the promises of a politician to a developing country. Most advanced countries boast of a literacy rate of 95%+ and developing countries literacy rate are also rising rapidly. In addition bourgeoning economies are creating more jobs and rasing the standards for living in many of the major developing countries; India and China. In fact good education, healthcare and the eradication of poverty is far more closer than you think; perhaps just a few hundreds years, but let's be pessimistic again, 1000 years, yet what he envisages for a million years, would have become a reality 1000 times earlier.
And does he really think there would be an educational system as such in 1 million years. At this stage man would be augmented with a lot artificial technology and learning information could be as simple as downloading it instantly into a neural chip. Rather than going school for 20 years.
In fact, forget 1 million years, this technology is already becoming available today. Healthcare also can be self-automated with nano-chips designed to combat viral infections etc. In fact in 1 million years there would be no need for a healthcare or educational systems.
some subjects that I would hazard a guess on though: I think that AI machines will soon (much, much sooner than 1 Ma) challenge humans as the most powerful minds on the planet. I also think that they will be the pilots of most (all?) interstellar missions in the future.
I don't think that gravity will be harnessed as a source of propulsion, nor that the vacuum energy will ever be exploited (history prove me wrong... please!). I think that space travel will be forever limited to rocketry of varying sorts and to solar sailing (wind or light). Therefore, I think that interstellar missions will always be very difficult.
Interstellar exploration I see being conducted by Von Neumann probes.
These speculations are sure to be naive and misguided, so I wouldn't dare to address the other points, about which I am even more ignorant
You have a far more open-minded view of the future. I agree with you, AI may indeed become the dominant species in the not too distant future and may pilot some of the interstellar missions.
Do you realize that with Von Neuman probes or AI and speeds close to the speed of light, exploration of other constellations would be possible. In fact, a Neuman probe could land, and manufacture programmed human clones of us, thus we indirectly make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.
Now what about manned interstellar flight? At speeds of 10% c it would take us 40 years to reach Alpha Centauri and 10,000 years to explore up to 1000 light years. This would be possible with a multi-generation ship, or in which humans are placed in cryo-sleep and the ship is piloted by AI. It could be a ship specifically designed for space exploration, or a world ship, much like a planet.
Thus using the best anti-matter rocket technology - we could explore 10,000 light years in 100,000 years. In 1 million years, we could explore our entire galaxy.
don't think that gravity will be harnessed as a source of propulsion, nor that the vacuum energy will ever be exploited (history prove me wrong... please!).
Why do you need history to prove you wrong, when the present can.
http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/07/29/story61826.asp
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28473
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/09/05/wow.tech.black.world
(also proof of US black projects and how it's been experimenting with anti gravity technologies from 80's and prior; giving credence to the Disclosure project and the proof of reverse engineering, Corso and Lazar's witness testimony)
http://www.padrak.com/ine/TTB_EGP.html
Space ships capable of accelerating in a few seconds to speeds many thousand of miles an hour and making sudden changes of course at these speeds without subjecting their passengers to the so-called 'G-forces' caused by gravity's pull also are envisioned. These concepts are part of a new program to solve the secret of gravity and universal gravitation already in progress in many top scientific laboratories and long-established industrial firms of the nation.
Does that sound familiar, my friend
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/2depalma.html
In fact the implications of generating your own gravitational field and controlling gravity, as well as building a gravitational drive, which induces an accelerating gravitational field around the spaceship, so no matter how fast you accelerate in speed, you will not feel the effects of G or relativity and hence you could travel many times faster than speed of light with barely no fuel.
It is no coincidence that ETI's UFO's are using anti-gravitational technologies, as this technology is also key for faster than light travel.
Hence a civilization that is 1 million years advanced in technology(does not necessarily mean calender years) would be capable of interstellar travel.
Now add up for me:
1: ETI life is mathematically certain
2: Interstellar travel is scientifically possible
Does it make sense to you now that we really are and have been visited by ETI?
