it's just a jump to the left . . .

Have you seen those shows on Discovery about how Star Trek inspired scientists to create everything from the cell phone to the MRI? They're really cool, and totally worth tracking down.

When I worked on the show, I met lots of people who had been inspired by the original series in one way or another and followed that inspiration into a career. You know what's cool? Meeting so many astronauts and planetary scientists that it stopped being such an epic big deal, and I could relax enough to actually talk with them about their missions.

I recalled those days when I saw the following story at Netscape this morning:

NASA announces status of Warp Drive

"Warp Drives", "Hyperspace Drives", or any other term for Faster-than-light travel is at the level of speculation, with some facets edging into the realm of science. We are at the point where we know what we do know and know what we don’t, but do not know for sure if faster than light travel is possible.

The bad news is that the bulk of scientific knowledge that we have accumulated to date concludes that faster than light travel is impossible. This is an artifact of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. Yes, there are some other perspectives; tachyons, wormholes, inflationary universe, spacetime warping, quantum paradoxes...ideas that are in credible scientific literature, but it is still too soon to know if such ideas are viable.

There's an awesome little graphic of the Enterprise, accompanied by a discussion of why Chuck Yeager could break the sound barrier, but space ships may not be able to break the light barrier.

The positive impact Star Trek had on the world from civil rights to science during its first run in the late 60s was a frequent topic of discussion at conventions and in interviews when I was a teenager, and even during those die.die.die days, I always felt lucky and proud to be associated with the show because of its legacy. It's really cool to read a story like this one, and realize that the legacy continues.

Comments

[CHV]

Based on various Trek-related science shows I've seen, the greatest argument against the possibility of a real, warp-capable ship ever being created is that the power required for faster-than-light travel would be so enormous that no man-made vehicle could ever produce it independently.

Sure, there's no telling what future technologies hold for us. But for now, I'm more concerned with applying modern tech toward helping to curb climate change, and get the hell away from carbon-based energy sources.

[Riley Joy]

I don't believe scientists when they say that something isn't possible. How many times over the centuries has that been said and then Zap! all of a sudden it's not just possible, it's real. It's just that the knowledge to make it real hasn't been discovered yet. Everything is out there, everything is possible.

[Jester]

CHV -- I agree that today's problems are critical. But how many times have we found a solution for today when we were reaching for tomorrow?

The challenge - in science, in politics, in life - is finding the right balance between dreams and daily life.

Jester

[starshine_diva]

I totally agree. Star Trek has always been a source of hope, no matter in which context.

When I saw the story that came out a few days ago about the first habitable (read: M-class) planet discovered, I thought of Star Trek. Then I remembered that I'd be dead by 2200 -.-

[Exurban Mom]

Yes, many good things come from Star Trek. In fact, Birdie Jaworski wrote a piece called "A Love Letter to Star Trek" (in the most recent Good Housekeeping magazine) about how Star Trek had a positive influence on her sons. A quote:

"I never suspected Star Trek would become part of our life, like brushing teeth and doing homework. But....I began to hear my sons discuss the finer points of antimatter. And every chipped saucer in the cupboard became an impromptu starship. I can't explain the hold it had on them--and then on me, how Star Trek transformed them into something a little bit better, how they started asking me for the first time when would our people stop fighting and start working together as one planet."

And get this: I went hunting for the original on the internets, and I found it, a more raw and emotional and moving piece than the finished product in GH. And guess what? In the blog version, her son wanted a Wesley Crusher action figure for Christmas.

Here's the link for all to enjoy:
http://blogs.salon.com/0003522/2004/06/13.html

[Meg]

When my husband worked as a grip on ST he said that was one of the very cool things-meeting space shuttle astronauts, people who got into the space biz because of ST, and other really interesting folk like Stephen Hawking. One time the ST:TNG crew got invitations to a shuttle launch. Didn't get to go though, since it was another 16 hour workday. But just being invited was awesome!

[swingbug]

Wil, if you ever find yourself in Seattle, visit the Science Fiction museum. They have a great timeline exhibit showing the parallels between major scientific discoveries and important science fiction releases. It's trippy to see where science has led science fiction and where science fiction has led science.
http://www.sfhomeworld.org/

[Tara]

I don't like hearing scientists say that anything is impossible. My statistics teacher in high school once told me that nothing is impossible, it is just highly improbable. So I agree with Riley Joy, faster-than-light travel may be impossible today, but in 400 years it could very well be possible (thus it is actually highly improbable and should be stated as such). I wish I could be around in a time such as Star Trek (with peace not just on Earth, but between other planets), but since I can't be I just hope that the people of the future look back onto Star Trek and see how much an invisionary Gene Roddenberry was.

Oh, and I heard about the other planet discovered today in the news as well. I want to know more about it. I hope this discovery can prove life on other planets.

[fairnhite451]

Sciency-type people really should be smarter about things like this by now.

It's not "This thing is not possible", it's "this thing is not possible at this time given our current understanding of life, the universe and everything".

Really, we've become almost immune to being surprised by things which are moving from "way out there sci-fi story telling" to "currently in general use" IN OUR LIFETIMES (which hasn't happened for long in the recorded history of man) that you'd think the scientific community would be better positioned with their weasel words around why we don't have our flying cars yet.

[linkerjpatrick]

I thought the whole point of warp drive was to act as sort of a cheat against FTL travel by creating a "bubble" universe around the ship. Breaking the sound barrier doesn't do anything like that. I look at the show where your "mother" aka Beverly existed in a seperate tiny bubble universe (maybe the universe of the traditional warp bubble itself) was produced or rather spawned seperately from the mind of person. Sort of like the way you stopped time in the last official episode you were in. Maybe that is why Q is so concerned about Humanity is humanity one day harnesses warp technologies with their mind instead of with ships that use matter/anti-matter controled explosions. Barclay may have even used a similar "tech" in the Nth degree.

When you look at it then Internet sort of breaks the rules of traditional communication by essentially sending our communication through the crude "transporter beam" of TCP/IP. i.e. breaking all of the messages, files, etc. into packets.

[andy]

I think people may need to go back and actually read that article... the whole thing.

They actually *do* say that it's possible; just highly unlikely that we will ever see it. And by "we" I mean us, our children, their grandchildren, and even their grandchildren.

By way of coincidence I just wrote a blog post (http://www.virb.com/vertigo25/blog/25439) about why we'll "never" go to recently discovered planets even though they have the potential for life.

In my mind, it's really important that we all understand this. Science and progress really don't work in such a way that all of a sudden new discoveries propel us ahead in to science that has never before been considered. It's evolutionary and the laws of physics apply even when our understanding of those laws changes.

I know that it's an incredibly compelling and desirable belief that maybe 400 years we'll be able to reach the stars. Unfortunately, science doesn't work because of belief or desire.

As much as I love Trek and other sci-fi, I wish that more of the fans of it would also read the work of people like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. Sci-fi certainly is a venue to create wonder and inspiration. It is even an amazing realm to explore morality and human issues. It's important, however, to take those things we get from sci-fi and apply them to real-world conditions.

We don't have the ability to go to the stars. It's highly, highly, highly unlikely that sentient life elsewhere has the ability to come here. I don't say this to be a buzz-kill, but in an effort for people to realize that our destiny is ours alone. We are responsible for this planet. If we can not work towards harmony and preservation... here and now, we won't be escaping, and no one will be coming to save us.

[dexterace]

It's true that faster-than-light travel seems to be impossible. However it is still possible (but technologically difficult) to travel the galaxy in your lifetime. If you have enough fuel you can accelerate for a long time and get closer and closer to the speed of light. While you do so, people on Earth for example, would see your clock slow down while you traveled the galaxy. If you're in the spaceship, what you see is the length contraction of space, so distances will appear to be shorter when compared to the map you made on Earth. In short, you could travel around the Milky Way galaxy, but when you came back to Earth millions of years would have passed. Of course if you traveled the galaxy near the speed of light you wouldn't be able to stop and actually do anything like look around.

[andy]

It's not even just a matter of having to have enough propellant to travel at that speed. It's also a matter of of... well... matter. Your "ship" would need to be made up of pretty much an infinite amount of the stuff.

The other scientifically credible possibilities that the article mentions (tachyons, wormholes, inflationary universe, spacetime warping, quantum paradoxes) have all, so far, suffered from another problem of infinite scope: the amount of energy required to generate such things artificially.

[geekrebellion]

Anything that inspires imagination and creativity for decades like ST...that ain't bad. Whether faster than light travel happens or not, there are people out there having fun trying to make it happen. As quixotic as it may be, it's still fun and the search has ancillary benefits that can't be predicted ahead of time.

[Denise]

..And then a step to the right. Now you have me singing Rocky Horror Picture Show tunes here in the office.

Let's do the Time Warp again sometime. =)

[CHV]

>>By way of coincidence I just wrote a blog post about why we'll "never" go to recently discovered planets even though they have the potential for life.

Well, a big reason against this right off the bat is even if a lush, earth-like planet were close to us we could never visit it without closed environment suits since human travelers would have no immunity to the alien bacteria on that world (i.e. War of The Worlds).

This is one of the biggest TV-made myths a la shows like "Star Trek," that even with high-warp technology, people could visit any world they wanted to with no special equipment.

[Tara]

Even if there is life on other planets, it will be so different than ours that we will have a hard time distiguishing if it is intelligent/sentient, since communication will be EXTREMELY difficult. The one thing that makes humans different from all other life (atleast here on Earth) is our ability to use symbols, such as language (written and spoken) and art to communicate. Other animals can make noises to call mates or warn of danger, but they cannot communicate like we can. If there is life on other planets (which I believe to be true), finding any life like ours, or close enough that we can communicate, will be rare. Unfortunately, Star Trek is completely off base with all the humanoid species in the galaxy (but how else do you create aliens without the actors, who are of course humans?)

[CHV]

Agreed, Tara.

Plus, Stephen Hawking brings up a very good point when he says that if/when we do bump into intelligent, technology-capable life there's about a 50/50 chance that it would be hostile.

Hell, look at humanity. I'd hardly call us a "peaceful" race.

[Byron]

That positive attitude about the future is what I like about Star Trek, and consequently hated about DS9.

I really miss that positive viewpoint.

[Kristen]

Since someone mentioned Carl Sagan, I feel that I should post one of my favorite quotes involving the cosmos! The early universe (and the now universe) was/is made up of primarily hydrogen. Describing both the follies and achievements of the human race, Carl Sagan said, "These are the things that hydrogen atoms do - given 15 billion years of cosmic evolution."

[bitguru]

Have you seen this article about testing a "warp" (if you will) engine?

http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg18925331.200-take-a-leap-into-hyperspace.html

It's probably bunk, but it manages to maintain a hint of respectability, even as it says "11 light years away in only 80 days."

It's an oldish article, but it has been making the rounds through the blogosphere.

[Spartica]

Yeah, Star Trek inspired just about as many people as Jules Verne. It's interesting how he predicted so many things, from the atomic subamrine to the space shuttle, what country would go into space and where they would launch from. Considering he was from the age of horse and buggy, his predictions are uncanny. You had to go and mention Discovery, Damn Bloodhound Gang and their song. You know that one it goes like,"You and me baby ain't nothin but mammals, so lets do it like they do on the discovery channel." Everytime I hear Discovery Channel I think of that song.'The Bad Touch,' thats it. Star Trek inspires NASA, NASA inspires Rob, I built this massive scale model of the space shuttle, launch pad and all, the ripple goes on. It must have taken me a week to paint this thing to exact detail with astronauts and all. Speaking of worm holes, did you watch that one special, suggesting the theory of a blackhole being in the center of the earth, the theory has some merit when they explain it. So very little is known about these things, anything is possible given we don't know the order of the universe.

[Meeker]

I figured out why all those boys were telling you to die.die.die.
I saw an interview with that guy who subbed for Grissom on CSI and he said he went online and that the people in some forum were really nasty and talking about how ugly he was.
I was shocked because my reaction to him was "NO!!! Grissom can't leave! Well this new guy sure is cute, and a good actor... ah well." I even told my boyfriend how cute he was.
This is the problem. All these people that hated Westley? It started because they were sick of their girlfriends and sisters saying how cute and wonderful you were. Anyone else who jumped on the "die Westley die" bandwagon were just swept up by the brainwashing energy of these miffed boyfriends and brothers.
I stopped watching the show when you left, so there. Of course that gives me the joy now of occasionally catching a show I haven't seen before but... you understand.
I've been thinking about this for a while, obviously, and I hope you consider this seriously.

[fairnhite451]

400 years is a huge amount of time for our understanding of the world and how it all works together (energy, matter, speed, etc) to shift in ways we can't begin to grasp from our viewpoint in 2007.

350 years ago, we didn't understand the basic chemistry of the elements.

160 years ago we finally became capable of accurately measuring the speed of light.

Barely 100 years ago Einstein popularized the E=mc2 relationship.

50 years ago, computers were housed in large rooms, and the concept of carrying more power on your wrist was inconceivable.

Yes, our growth of understanding is evolutionary, but to assume that we can't get to a point where something isn't possible is to dismiss history as a teacher of what we can accomplish.

True, we may blow ourselves to smithereens, or bury our planet in run-away nanobots, or lay waste to the environment to the point that we go through another Dark Ages before we get to warp drive ... but, we'll get there evetually.

[Roger Weeks]

Wil, I thought you might find this article at New Scientist interesting:

http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg18925331.200-take-a-leap-into-hy
perspace.html

Roger Weeks