Perpetual Spaceship

Discussion in 'Physics & Math' started by jmpet, Jul 13, 2011.

  1. jmpet Valued Senior Member

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    Is it possible to run a spaceship that can take a million year journey? Or more closely, is it possible to have someone survive in perpetuum in a closed glass bowl? I know it's a dumb question but it has profound answers.
     
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  3. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Unless the ship had a way to rebuild itself, it would eventually fall apart little by little. Things would hit it no matter how good the radar system was and that would happen allot over a million years.
     
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  5. nietzschefan Thread Killer Valued Senior Member

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    Morbus Gravis.
     
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  7. jmpet Valued Senior Member

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    I am imagining a spaceship no bigger than a shuttle craft with an immortal human being on board. He lives off the food the ship generates, and he expels waste which the replicators reassemble. Can he go on forever this way??? Can a man live in a glass bubble?
     
  8. BWE1 Rulers are for measuring. Registered Senior Member

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    Entropy appears to be inescapable at the scales humans can detect. So, no. Even black holes eventually evaporate (according to steven hawking and roger penrose anyway, I've never seen a black hole).
     
  9. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Your imagination leaves something to be desired, unless this person you are talking about is your worst enemy. Let's see, cooped up in a small space all alone forever with no way to die. I'm already bored just thinking about it. I'm betting total insanity will happen withing 2 or 3 years at most.

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