Tubes and Curves. Montserrat, Catalunya, 2018
This one is mos’ definitely off-off-topic from my usual photography beat, but here we go…
Some say the way around the *apparent speed of light limitation in regard to interstellar space travel over vast distances is the concept of wormholes. The idea is that there might be entrances and exits scattered throughout the galaxy and universe that would allow us puny and fleshy human beans to physically transport ourselves, our cell phones, our waste products, and our spaceships nearly instantaneously over tremendous distances. Or, just maybe, we could actually learn how to construct such wormholes ourselves, just like your average New Jersey turnpike (and most likely, with tolls).
As a reminder of what the term “vast distances” truly means within the context of space travel, consider that–at the speed of light–a round trip to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, would take about 8 1/2 years (much longer if you count in the acceleration and deceleration phases, and exploration time at the destination). Then you would have the issue of everyone on Earth aging at a “normal” rate while your star-bound astronauts would age much more slowly.
So, are wormholes the answer?…Maybe…
How about this novel idea: we achieve interstellar travel through the mind–mentally–and not physically. That is, we somehow learn to stretch the mind to be able to transport our consciousness instantaneously to other parts of the universe (and to communicate with other civilizations!), but we don’t actually transport our physical bodies with us.
There are so many issues associated with physical long-term space travel that it seems to me that maybe we have been barking up the wrong tree with our extreme infatuation with hard technology, rockets, computers, steel, titanium, and so on. There are problems of weightlessness on bone density, dangers of a high speed collision with a stray particle or even larger objects, radiation issues, how to transport or create the food and water required, how to pick crews who will pschologically survive extremely long (multi-generational?) voyages, what to do once we arrive at a destination, etc?
Yes, our world is enamored with technology but we pay little attention to the enormous potential of “our little grey cells“.
Could it be that we will eventually travel to the stars and beyond only once we learn to harness the power of our mind? (Or is the answer to life, the universe, and everything simply…42?)
*There does appear to be some evidence that certain things/reactions might indeed exceed the speed of light…but whether this barrier can ever be exceeded by a full-up NASA-type metal space ship filled with humans and freeze-dried Top Ramen seems pretty doubtful at this point. After all, we would then essentially be entering into the realm of time travel, no?
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