We know exactly what has happened in the past, and sort of what is happening now. But one thing we are unable to know is what is going to happen in the future. And I’m talking about spaceships, robots, and other advanced technology. Because of all the science fiction shows on T.V. we have a very fixed idea about what space life will be like. But upon having a full day to think about this, I realized that space life will not be anything like it is on T.V.
The first issue is getting across huge distances in a few seconds. It has now been proven that it is impossible for humans to travel over the speed of light. This is because hydrogen gas would be forced into a high intensity radiation beam that would kill all affected life forms in a matter of seconds (so much for Star Trek). And even if you were to travel close to the speed of light, it would take too long to get up to speed without killer “Gs” – gravitational force. There is another form of space travel that is widely used in fiction, and that is warping technology. Warping technology basically consists of taking the ship it’s on out of existence, and in again somewhere else. This hasn’t been proven impossible, but if it is possible it will take centuries to develop. Overall the transportation needs for spaceships would require you to spend many years waiting to get to your destination.
By the time we humans have reliable spaceships, there will probably be many more countries than there are now. And the chances are that there will be wars between some of them. That leads us to my next point. In science fiction you always see epic space battles going on. The weaponry consists of plasma related projectiles and missiles. Plasma weaponry, on a large enough scale for a ship, isn’t invented but it is quite possible for it to be invented in the next 50-100 years. As for missiles, they’re only going to get bigger. On the battle side of things, a space ship could easily engage in space-combat many years from now.
Another thing that you often see on T.V. is alien life forms. Mathematical formulas have proven that there is intelligent life somewhere out there. The problem is that coming across them, or finding something they left behind is like finding a needle in a haystack bigger than our sun. And if we were to come across them, it would be survival of the fittest. Although we would be able to profit off of each other’s technology and knowledge, the governments would order to destroy anything that is a threat. Or perhaps it’ll be their side where the hostility originates. Either way it won’t be fun for us. Also, if we are friendly to each other, what are the chances of having the same understandings of the way things work. The concept of aliens has a major impact on our thoughts of the future, but whatever you think will happen, it is very unlikely.
T.V. is completely changing our thoughts of what space life will be like. There won’t be any “hyperdrives” that take you past the speed of light; it will be quite a long boring ride. And if there are any space battles they’ll probably be pretty cool to watch from a distance, but not exactly what’s seen on T.V. Finally, if we ever do meet aliens, there is a high probability of hostility. I don’t think any of us can truly predict what space will be like when we travel through its great expanses, but I only hope that there is a hint of 21st century imagination in there some where.
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