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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/25/2009 3:36:21 PM | A lot of inventions and other things come from studying nature. Something as simple as the flight of a bird has given us the ability to create airplanes by studying how they fly.
A lot of things have been designed by nature, and then taken by us in an attempt to mimic it. There are a lot of complex systems, including the entire system of life that starts from the core of the sun. We rely on this planet to survive. A tree is taken for granted by all, but when you really look at it, we need them to survive. Trees convert sunlight into chemical energy, they produce oxygen, they enrich soil, they shelter us, feed us, and from them we can create wood, paper, syrup, medicines, dies, and various other products.
Do you really think the Human race can possibly survive without this planet? Even if we design a spaceship, and a more efficient way to harness energy from the sun, can we really live in space? We rely on the planet to survive biologically, and even if we could create a robotic body, with a circuit board brain of some kind to break free of the reliance we have of the Earth, of biological food, oxygen, and shelter, could we live on?
Our biological brains alone are designed by nature, and are extremely complex already. They can grow, evolve, and learn on their own with no additional programming. Our brains can perform more actions than even the worlds largest super computer (at the moment, but one day computers will surpass us). Considering how long our brains have been around, and how advanced they are, I think we have a LOT more to learn about Mother Nature before we even consider leaving this planet.
More computer power in your head than a super computer, and yet no cables, no interference from magnets, and most of all, Very low power consumption. I picture future technology as using no more power than a plant would. A TV can be a small device that interfaces in some way with you brain, and gives it the information to generate the images and sound it has to offer. The brain already has that power, as well as the power to create the illusion of sound, even without external stimuli. These devices could work with small amounts of chemical energy gathered from the sun, and use something similar to neurons in our brains to transmit data. | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/25/2009 4:35:52 PM | I don't know where you get that 'low power consumption' part from... the human brain consumes 1/5 of the oxygen and 1/4 of the energy used by the *entire* body.
And the question shouldn't be about living in space *in isolation*... but just how much of our terrestrial systems do we need to live in space. What can we find out there, and what do we need to bring with us... | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/25/2009 7:27:02 PM | OP, is there something on your mind? What do you want to discus?
BTW, no we were not designed by nature. It's more accurate to write that all living things are a result of circumstance and heredity. | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/25/2009 9:10:08 PM | Certainly the flight of birds inspired us to develop flight, but attempts to mimic the flight of birds were unsuccessful for various reasons, early ones fatally so and later ones simply surpassed by the increased understanding it helped foster.
It's not accurate to compare modern aeronautical engineering with bird flight as a form of mimicry unless you speak representatively, it would be more accurate to describe it as inspired by bird flight.
Similarly a closed artificial environment may in fact be more healthy in every respect than a natural one, if it is very well and correctly developed. You might even call it a controlled natural simulated environment, but again it would need to be very well developed and indeed there is some philosophical argument for the detriments of a natural and chaotic ecosystem (any kind of medical resistance could be easily introduced into an artificial one so the argument is purely philosophical). | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/26/2009 12:27:54 PM |
Do you really think the Human race can possibly survive without this planet? Even if we design a spaceship, and a more efficient way to harness energy from the sun, can we really live in space?
me thinks the late, great carl sagan said it best: "the meek shall inherit the earth. the rest of us are going to the stars". | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/26/2009 1:24:20 PM | "Do you really think the Human race can possibly survive without this planet? Even if we design a spaceship, and a more efficient way to harness energy from the sun, can we really live in space?"
Yep, I think that we can live in space........... Proof? We have been living in space for how many millenia? Our planet is in space................
As far as space travel goes, unless we have a power source that is almost limitless, we will never be able to reach the velocities necessary to go to other stars......... Using solar power would be a crapshoot, because as you approach the speed of light, assuming that you are constantly accelerating via your solar power, you would soon out run your power source. You would constantly have to find new power sources....
I'd rather live here, where it is pretty nice.
Paul | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/27/2009 11:34:55 AM | Well this thread was a misfire. Maybe I should have waited before typing everything I was thinking about. I'll try to fix it:
I was just thinking that we cannot possibly think of trying to explore space or leave the earth unless we learn how to mimic the complex systems we rely on to survive. The entire solar system and planet is like a giant ship with 2 force fields, a long lasting energy source, and a planet that produces everything we need on it's own. (the sun's solar wind, and Earth's magnetic field are the 2 shields we have from harmful radiation coming from outside the solar system).
If the Earth ever blew up, or If we were ever cut off from the earth, and Nature, could science alone keep us alive? I don't think it would be as simple as some people think. Even if we created a large ship with long lasting nuclear power source, and plants to create oxygen and food, we could still be killed off easily. A storm of radiation could kill all plants and even some people, a disease could spread without a cure (we find a lot of remedies in nature from plants or animals, that wouldn't be possible in space). There's also possible psychological issues that could come up from being isolated on a ship away from Earth.
There are just a lot of things we take for granted on this planet. We're tied to it in so many ways that it's hard to think of how we could ever survive without it | |
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| Science, Nature & Space Travel
Posted: 8/27/2009 4:23:45 PM | We have a hard time trying to simulate "nature" in an artificial environment. Take a look at the "bio-dome" projects...each a failure. Right here ON the planet!
We need to work on artificially replicating diverse systems in order to accomodate human life in space.
Studying "natural" systems has lead to failure after failure. We can't duplicate it on a small scale...although it could possibly be done on a terran-wide scale, such as on Mars. Small systems need to be kept simple. Otherwise we are just looking at failure again. | |
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