Re: starship-design: stuff

[Christoph Kulmann <kulmann@zfn.uni-bremen.de>]

Yes, you are right. The equipment must be perfect, and as every engineer 
would tell you, this is physically impossible. So we could only survive 
(eternity minus 1 week...)

On Fri, 9 Jan 1998, Mike Cross wrote:

> Hmm...  that sounds cool.  But wouldnt time seem seamless for a civilization
> that was doing that?  It's kinda like that problem where the guy said he
> couldnt walk across the dance floor to his girlfriend cause he would have to
> walk half the distance, then half of that, and then half of that...  he would
> never get there.  But he never stops moving.  That is interesting.  Obviously
> that assumes that the equipment used to start and stop the processes would be
> almost perfect, or else there would be an end to us.  right?  If it was
> perfect, then we would kinda go on forever, huh?  It wouldnt be much fun
> though, I bet..
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Also.

Yes, every decay process has a half live. Do you know the three laws of 
thermodynamics? 
1. You cannot win.
2. You cannot break even.
3. You cannot get out of the game...............
(It's a bad game, I know...)

But about proton decay? This has still to be found...
But even if protons don't decay, there are other quantum processes eating 
up normal matter... it only takes MUCH longer.

> I'm not sure about this one.  Is it true that everything has a halflife when
> it comes down to it, and that everything will break down?  If that was true,
> then it might pose a problem too...  I mean, a block of rock floating in space
> will decay, right?  Or a hydrogen atom..  will it not decompose into protons
> and electrons?
> 
> 
> Still, it's a cool idea!
> 
> ______________________________________________________________
>  webmassa@phatboys.com * Mike Cross *  Minister of Propaganda
>  "If you can't convince them, confuse them." -Harry S Truman
>   Mundus vult decipi, ergo decepiatur. Frontis nulla fides.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>