Mission not-so-impossible

Robert Burton, Midland Texas — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:58:31 GMT

Ok, Here's the paradox, We build a machine that can duplicate a man, complete with all memories and love of his family, in every way an exact duplicate, then we kill the first man who had been duplicated. Is this man still alive?

This is a question for those who will someday be involved with teleportation (if it is possible).

Mission not-so-impossible

Sulayman Kadir, Charlotte, North Carolina — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:35:31 GMT

Ok wormholes, teleportation and cloaking devices all sound great and I would love to be around to see all of that neat stuff. However, is there any chance you can replicate, lets say . . ahh . . "oil."

Mission not-so-impossible

mark fink — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:41:56 GMT

One thought I have is the physical body that is alive vs the memory and knowledge (data) that is imbedded in our memory is immortal vs a physical being that is finite. Mark in Huntington WV.

Mission not-so-impossible

Jim Jaco, wilton Iowa — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:05:01 GMT

Another paradox. Build a robot give it true AI. Now, is it alive or is it a machine. Do you give it freedom or do you keep it enslaved? Is it your child or is it an illegal alien??

Mission not-so-impossible

jeffrey j scherer — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:36:57 GMT

Teleportation will be side stepped for quite a while and impulse sublight space ship engines could occur if we can generate a sizeable uniform field that spins nuclei near speed of light to use torque forces in all in one specific direction for all the atoms of a space ship. This would also solve artificial gravity in such space vessels. The teleporter substitue would have laser beamed energy to power a personal tranport tube space shuttle. Sending such a personal transport ahead of the spacevessel might push objects out of the space ships way and block significant radiation while the space vessel travels. Just a consistent use of an idea to launch a prestarship solar system and neigboring starship at sub light speed. Most people can't believe the consistent use of an idea can provide so many potential solutions so most people ignore me. I was almost a scientist, but now just a science fiction dreamer.Before you find flaws with these ideas take a look at Arthur c Clarks ideas again on impossibilities. I can see much farther than Arthur. Jeff S of Illinois.

Mission not-so-impossible

jeffrey j scherer ,waukegan, Illinois — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:08:56 GMT

Teleportation will be side stepped for quite a while and impulse sublight space ship engines could occur if we can generate a sizeable uniform field that spins nuclei near speed of light to use torque forces all in one specific direction for all the atoms of a space ship. This would also solve artificial gravity in such space vessels. The teleporter substitue would have laser beamed energy to power a personal tranport tube space shuttle using this same torque motor idea. Sending such a personal transport tube ahead of the spacevessel projecting from it that same kind of torque inducing field might push objects out of the space ships way and block significant radiation while the space vessel travels. Just a consistent use of an idea to launch a prestarship solar system vessel and a neigboring star starship at sub light speed. There has to be holes or snags to the idea, but its a direction to shoot for. Most people can't believe the consistent use of an idea can provide so many potential solutions so most people ignore me. I was almost a scientist, but now just a science fiction dreamer.

Before you find flaws with these ideas take a look at Arthur c Clarke's ideas again on impossibilities. I can see much farther than Arthur or Arthur only shares a few steps at a time so people listen to him more often so he could pay his bills. Jeff S of Illinois.

Mission not-so-impossible

Brett, HCMC, VN — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:11:37 GMT

I like the use of type class impossibilities, it puts up a fence to keep working scientists in and speculation on the fence. That way if someone trips over something we get to acknowledge it much quicker. Spectator sport science of the next hundred years might actually be fun after this. I might get a copy of that book.
(It's a shame we rate so small.)

Mission not-so-impossible

Charles Lurio, Brookline MA — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:33:00 GMT

It's always seemed intuitive to me that ANY form of teleportation that takes you apart and puts you back together at the other end is a death machine. That the 'new you' at the other end _thinks_ it's you is irrelevant; what is relevant is the initial demolition of 'you.' Wouldn't catch me getting into the ST transporter.

But if you 'jumped' the distance via something like a 'wormhole' without being taken apart in the process...that's not a death machine.

Footnote: I don't know if anyone recalls the ST:TNG ep where it showed the transport process from the viewpoint of the transportee. It seemed utterly seamless - the starting point gradually faded into a grey fog (or something like that) then the 'fog' faded into the new location. Continuous consciousness during the process? Hmm, could seem to contradict the deconstruct/reconstruct model. But in the end, it's just the first person's view stitched together with that of his reconstruction at the other end.
Or something like that.

Mission not-so-impossible

Jay Roberts, Kansas — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:39:25 GMT

This brings a thought to mind. The food replicators on Star Trek: Voyager were my favorite things in t he world. I could really go for some replicated nachos right about now.

Mission not-so-impossible

a p garcia — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:44:11 GMT

The "HEAT RAY" is an actual weapon that the ARMY has.

Mission not-so-impossible

Chuck Heaton, Woodbury, CT — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:44:13 GMT

Reality is composed of matter and energy - that's it. Each can be converted into the other, but in order for information to exist, matter is required. It is matter that provides the framework that allows energy to contain and/or transmit information. In a sense (pun intended) the idea that memory is immortal makes some sense, but only if some physical entity exists to maintain its structure. Eventually, the ethical issues surrounding duplication of the information that makes an individual unique will need to be addressed, because it will certaily become possible. This is a fascination area of speculation full of what seem to be unresolvable paradoxes.

Mission not-so-impossible

StupidButThinking — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:38:18 GMT

It is important that we never limit imagination, but it is imperative that we focus on the immediate issues at hand. We must take the steps necessary to utilize our limited resources’ more cost effectively this includes air and water and completely eliminate our oil addiction. Oil that is poisoning our water, air, food chain, manufacturing process, transportation and social relationships. This is the only issue of the day that is impossible to solve, which is more critical to solve than all the other impossible to solve problems, because if we fail to completely eliminate the oil addiction we die. It is perhaps appropriate that a Japanese author has brought us a book about the infinity of imagination and possibilities. It is striking to note that his nation at one time faced the same issues as we face now, limited resource and unlimited demand. The solution at the time lead to a terrible War that left Japan bombed into dust. For all the technological superiority that Japan had it failed miserably in the face of creative imagination, education, scientific research, engineering, empathy, and World opinion. We too in the West are now face the same issues the Fascists in Japan faced. The question is; our we going to make the same mistakes or are we going to stop the oil addiction. An addiction that is funding enemies of freedom and free thought , traitors to the cause of democratic justice, [...]

The choices are crystal clear let our infinite imagination and possibilities create a replacement for oil or unfortunately no matter how unwilling we maybe, forced into a battle for scarce resources. There are no other options as; A. You cannot trade or negotiate with others whose only objective is to see you dead and B. Symbiotic relationships are only possible with mutually agreeable parties, the alternate relationship is more common, parasitic, and is the standard for most human relationships as our collective human history demonstrates. So let us focus for the time being on solving the oil addiction so that we may have a future left to solve all the other mysteries of the universe. [..]

Mission not-so-impossible

Steve, OKC, OK — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:24:06 GMT

One think for all to consider is this......As I have grown through the years and been a fan of science fiction I have observed this fact....yesterdays sci fi is todays reality...so todays sci fi will be tomorrows reality. If we can think it we can concieve it. Will be awesome to watch. It will be what we do with those discoveries that will be key. Use to help or what we normally do with new technologies. Just a thought from the Midwest.

Mission not-so-impossible

Shark — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:37:13 GMT

If you replicate an object on an atomic level you still do not have an exact copy of the original. Unless of course you use the same atoms as the original and they are assembled in the precise order, location, and in an amount of time that would not have a statistical impact on their sub atomic state.

Just an idea.

Mission not-so-impossible

Phil, Newark, California — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:35:34 GMT

>However, is there any chance you can replicate, lets say
>. . ahh . . "oil."

Probably you could replicate oil, but it would take more energy than producing it by other means (such as bio-diesel). It's rather like how nuclear reactions make transmutation of elements possible, yet turning lead into gold by firing a proton beam at it costs more energy than just extracting more gold from the Earth.

Mission not-so-impossible

Justin Smith — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:34:30 GMT

Time-travel paradoxes are already ruled out in the Many-Worlds version of Quantum Mechanics. If you go back in the past, you create a new universe (like the old one, but it has the "future you" in it). If you kill your grandfather, you cease to be born in that new universe. As far as the original universe you came from is concerned, you were born and than vanished when you went into the time-travel machine.

Mission not-so-impossible

Tony Clarkson, Greensboro, NC — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:39:55 GMT

I like the idea of impossible vs possible. Today we think we understand something and tomorrow could change everything. Science today seems to take the most distance technologies and tries to fill in the gaps on the way. This might be a quicker approach to understanding the universe

Mission not-so-impossible

Matt — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:09:24 GMT

I was under the impression that in Star Trek the Transporter did not take the body apart..just that it transported the body at the level of atoms. That is was completely seamless. Unlike the transporter device in the movie "TRON" where it took the body apart in pieces. I like what this guy said
jeffrey j scherer ,waukegan, Illinois (Sent Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:08 PM) And I do believe what he talks about is possible.

Mission not-so-impossible

ckn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:33:53 GMT

to chuck
Matter is not required for information to exist(cosmic microwave background radiation was generated at the same time as matter), matter is also not required as a "framework" to contain or transmit energy (X-rays, gamma-rays, etc. all propogate through the vacumn of space). Reality does not consist entirely of matter and energy (space by definition is the absence of both), if all there is is matter and energy what part of the universe is expanding that doesn't violate the mass/energy conservation laws?

Mission not-so-impossible

Brian — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:37:10 GMT

If we do manage to create true AI, how soon before it shows up on Bittorrent?

Mission not-so-impossible

Wade Whitlock, Aberdeen, MD — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:22:14 GMT

I herebye nominate Sir Arthur C. Clark's book "Profiles of the Future" for the book club. He said it first!
Then go forthe and search out Freeman Dyson on spheres!

Mission not-so-impossible

Ryan, New Haven, CT — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:40:31 GMT

The concept of individuality and continuous of conciousness during a "teleportation" event are almost entirely philosophical arguments. The question of whether it is physically possible to transport something via teleportation is essentially a physical issue. Granted, it is a much easier issue to deal with when talking about non-living matter. If my understanding is correct, and I may be a couple years off here, the current thought process on this entails quantum entanglement (spelling?). If this is the case, then it is my understanding that the object being teleported isn't truly being teleported, but the information of its atomic structure is and the object is essentially be re-created at another spot. If this is the case, then the philosphical implications are huge; is the original object no more? Is the new object the same, or inherently different? Is this even possible with a living being (assuming the atomic structure and patterns of our brains constitute our memory and sense of self)? However, as said above, if we rely on some other mode of teleportation, say, for instance, wormholes (see Charles from MA above), then it seems we are circumventing the philosophical issues and relying on spectaluarly new concepts in relativist physics... which we dont fully understand yet. However, to take the above philosophical question further, and this is the true meat of my post, what makes us us? If we are recreated with the exact same atomic structure, memories, sense of self, existing injuries and all.... what makes us any different? The fact that we are made of different atoms somewhere else? We are already made of atoms and subatomic particles, so would we truly be any different? Of course, the concept of a soul, especially one intrinsically tied to the body, throws a gigantic wrench into this, I dont see any difference. Death is ceasing to exist; but if we continue to exist, just at another location, have we died? If we exist in the same exact way, the atoms that once made our "previous" physical selves (for lack of a better term) have been recycled (as they cannot be destroyed, well atoms can, but you know what I mean, conservation of energy and all...) and we exist based on new atoms, with no energy or matter lost (except that used to transport); what is the difference? We continue to exist, in our same exact physical bodies, with our same thoughts and memories.... and while our "old self" (again, lack of a better term), we have not.

Also, Heat Ray, above, not a military project (ie, some top secret weapon), it was recently tested on civilians, and is not as dramatic as sci fi would make it seem, it slowly raises body temperature to make opponents uncomfortable, and is potentially a great non-lethal weapon (though, essentially, no weapons are "great"). I do imagine, however, it could be amped up and used as some sci-fi type devise if enough energy were available, but then again, anything could.....

Mission not-so-impossible

Eric, Huntsville AL — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:55:15 GMT

Actually if we as a people could focus on something other than killing each other, we might be able to create some of these techs. Certainly increasing science budgets would bring more business to the industry and thus new machines or?

Mission not-so-impossible

Bible=science — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:23:44 GMT

Ummm...why is predicting the future a Class III impossibility? It's been known to happen, the so-called 'scientists' of the time just choose to ignore it. Most scientists do that, though; they ignore facts that contradict their theories. I cite as an example of predicting the future the Book of Isaiah. No one who claims to be intelligent can call it a fake or a hoax, and the predicitions in it came true a few thousand years later. It's even better than Notradamus's predictions, because instead of vague phrases and misinterpretations, it is a specific picture of the life and death of Yeshua of Nazereth. Let's face it, it's happened before. Accept it and move on.

Mission not-so-impossible

Robert Minutella, Philadelphia, Pa. — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:30:44 GMT

I must agree with those who already stated that our addiction to oil is the most important issue to resolve. We cannot move to a type 1 civilization on oil. Energy is the key to our survival as a species. We always hear about saving the planet, but the reality is that the planet will be fine, it is humans who will become extinct if we do not get to the next level of civilization, without the oil that is soon to kill us all. With enough clean energy, we can achieve the impossible and perhaps survive as a species.

Mission not-so-impossible

OneVoice, Frederick, MD — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:47:32 GMT

Perpetual motion does exist. Orbital mechanics presents many examples of almost perpetual since most objects are either spiraling in or out. A balanced system would stay in perpetual motion. Can we do something like this on a smaller scale here on earth? Well, we'll see...

Mission not-so-impossible

SageHunter, Richmond, VA — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:11:08 GMT

In a way, I agree that we must focus our considerable intellect on solving the immediate problems of oil addiction and adjusting to climate change. I also note that teleportation and space travel may change the manner in which we use energy or oil and also make resources of other planets and space debris available for use. It seems that all exploration is still necessary to solve problems that are always interconnected.

Mission not-so-impossible

Brian Norwood, Bethlehem, PA — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:32:42 GMT

I just want to figure out how to program my VCR!

Mission not-so-impossible

cole, raleigh, nc — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:42:33 GMT

reaching faster than light speed without the use of teleportation has 1 fantastic drawback. its called acceleration.

even in space acceleration creates G forces on the human body. Accelerating too quickly would cause too much strain on the body to be handled and would cause serious injury or death. This is a limitation of standard high speed travel. It would take SOOOOOOOOOOOO long to accelerate, safely, to light speed or faster that by the time you reached your top speed you would have to begin an equally slow reduction in speed so you wouldnt fly by your destination. Not to mention, if you were traveling at the speed of light every particle of anything in your way would become a light speed projectile. So for all you people who think being taken apart and put back together is death, i would look again at the time it would take to make great distances traversable by conventional means. Not to mention the extreme dangers of the trek. Yay for wormholes, providing they do not deconstruct you as well.

Mission not-so-impossible

Matt Morris, Bloomington, IL — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:46:26 GMT

In response to Charles:

Certainly you don't think that all the atoms in your body now are permanent? "You" are the continuation of the pattern, not of the "stuff". The stuff is entirely different today then the stuff you might say you were composed of when you were five. However the pattern of the matter (which is really information) remains mostly in tact.... of course, this too takes on quite a different shape at different points in space-time. Furthermore, there's a basic underlying assumption to your statements that we have a single "ego" that would "die" when the new one is created. I suggest you read Minsky's Society of Mind and/or simply digest some Jungian Pyschology (also see: Alan Watts). Deutsch's Fabric of Reality also provides some intresting insights about the nature of replicated information.

Mission not-so-impossible

J. Quinlan — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:48:35 GMT

Many of the recent sitings of objects that move to blinding speeds instantaneously, precludes the objects being operated by perhaps living beings. Our physical nature tells us that we could not withstand the g-forces involved with instant acceleration without damage to that physical being. If these objects are indeed found to exist in our present world,then they must come from beyond the realm of our existence. Perhaps another world or another dimension with a knowledge of physics far beyond our own. Sentient mechanical beings of any shape could withstand the trip. Beings which have a direct biological double in another world from which they come. Beings with all the experiences and knowledge of their biological double. I hope that someday we will accept the possibilities and dispense with the laughter and finger pointing. We have a long way to learn.

Mission not-so-impossible

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:50:56 GMT

If replication ever becomes a reality, you can kiss any economy goodbye...money, gold, diamonds..you name it.

Mission not-so-impossible

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:54:07 GMT

I just hope they put the first documented case of teleportation on youtube for all to see.

Mission not-so-impossible

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:06:57 GMT

Do any of the ideas deal with finding other sources of energy. In fiction that deals with magic, there is the strength of will to bend the "magical energy" to the mage's will. I would like to assume that would be under the Class III group. I would love to read about that and how it, if possible, would be found.

Mission not-so-impossible

Bob, Washington DC Metro Area — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:31:16 GMT

It's important to remember that fiction is craft. Star Trek had teleportation as a plot device, not as a scientific prediction. Gene Roddenberry decided it would clutter up the action and add cost (by requiring additional special effects) if he was required to show take-offs and landings from every planet. So the "transporter" was added as a plot device to avoid the need for take-offs and landings. Once this plot device had been chosen, it was developed to a significant extent. But it wasn't there because anybody thought it was a technology that would probably be developed within any foreseeable time frame.

Mission not-so-impossible

Dennis McClain-Furmanski, Dalworthington Gardens, Texas — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:45:58 GMT

Kaku's ideas are interesting, but arbitrary. He simply chose certain classifications for convenience. This is not to say that's a bad thing. It's all we can do in the absence of data to give us reasons for a certain classification system.

Any time someone says something is a "law" of science, they're saying it's a theory for which they can find no possible alternative. But, as Sagan was so fond of saying, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. An alternative may exist outside our present understanding, or ability to understand due to lack of technology to investigate it.

I disagree in the extreme with Kaku's time classes. It was less than 25 years from Einstein's first paper on relativity to the Copenhagen conference which laid out the majority of the "standard model" of quantum mechanics (some of which Einstein himself disagreed with). That model has been tested more accurately than any previous scientific theory and found to hold. This does not preclude another 25 year period -- which could happen at any time -- during which our understanding changes drastically. A new theory would not contradict what we know, but would explain it better, or add new concepts, or both.

According to relativity, teleportation and faster than light travel cannot exist without time travel, since time and space are a unitary phenomenon. A future theory may present the possibility of seperating those, just as we now have a theory which (hypothetically, so far) seperates mass and momentum, something previously unthinkable. The "law" that "prevents" FTL is the concept of simultaneity, part of relativity which states there is no priviledged frame of reference. However, there is one hypothetical space travel technology in which a ship creates its own region of space-time, artificially outside our own universe. Such a frame of reference might hold to relativity inside itself, but apparently violate it according to outside observers. Thus, our present understanding of simultaneity and its violation may prove to be an illusion due to our assumption we cannot get outside our familiar space-time continuum. This possibility is theorized in John Bell's 1964 paper "On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox" (ie. the "Bell's Theorem" paper). The theory exists -- the technology doesn't. And I will insert a "Yet." Stephen Hawking once toured the set of Star Trek. When he was shown the engineering section, he was told "This is our warp engine which allows us to travel faster than light. Of course this is impossible." Hawking replied, "I'm working on that." Those four words implied a violation of the laws of physics, but did support Clarke's laws of impossibility.

It's important to note that these "violations" do not come from a new theory entirely outside the presents ones, but rather from within them. They are the predicitions of impossibilities within a theory, shown to not always hold. They break the law, but not the theory, which can simply be improved to include these.

I consider myself fortunate that I'm in neuroscience rather than physics. We have very few "laws". One we had stated that the brain cannot repair itself because it cannot grow new neurons. This was proven wrong about 10 years ago. We're now more wary than ever of "laws", which can guide technology when they work but can then restrict thinking (or more accurately the acceptance of thinking) in new directions. On the other hand, physicists are fortunate in that they get big money for Big Science (ref: Alan's recent articles on CERN). Plus, with their confidence in their "laws" comes a more relaxed attitude that allows for some humor. Physicists get to use cool names for things like quarks, WIMPS and such. Sadly, my collegues are still too unsure of their science (for some good reasons) to allow that.

And with that, I'll propose two corallaries to Clarke's Laws:

1. "A theory that is proven to be at least pretty right will be replaced, probably not by a new theory that proves it wrong, but by one that's simply an improvement that makes it more right."

2. "When even the distinguished, elderly scientists within a field can include humor within their science, you can be sure they're sure they're at least pretty right."

Mission not-so-impossible

Bob Saget, Nellsonville, Ohio — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:13:47 GMT

another way for intersteller travel would be to use our sun. It has plenty of energy to send us around space, all that we would have to do is find some way to store the energy from the sun in some sort of machine and have that energy build init till crital mass or to where we want to go. Then you put a ship of some sort in front of the release of that machine and of you go, it's like star jumping you could in therory go from star to star but you could always bring along some more fuel if the star doesnt throw you far enough

Mission not-so-impossible

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:41:13 GMT

We are a tiny portion of the universe. We have no beginning and no end, there is nothing new and nothing old. Everything that ever was, is, and what is, will ever be.

Energy and matter turns into some other form, but it is never destroyed or lost. There is always a balance in the Universe. The knowledge we used is turned into raw data and returned to co-mingles with all other matter when we in turn change form.
What we can think will become reality because there is this inherent knowledge stored in every particle in existence.
Mark of WV thinks our memory is immortal. Great thought, but not immortal in the sense of not dying; just always been here, stored somewhere and always available for reference and reuse some day when the time and conditions are right.

When a boy back in the 50s, I read where the Indian Sanskrit books have man flying in machines tens of thousands of years ago,long before most written history. Eye pieces to look through to recognize a friend made from quartz during Biblical times two thousand years ago, Archimedes and others using early forms of "computers" (sand or water falling into pails with ropes, pulleys and pegs) to move something seemingly without anyone's interference, thereby amazing worshippers or theater goers out of their hard earn coins. The Egyptians doing a brain lobotomy on "crazy" people three thousand years ago.
Nothing new, just may take a bit to put the information together correctly so it is useful at the time we need it.
Dark matter or dark energy passes through us and our Earth every day. Sounds like being able to walk through walls. Harness this dark energy and go on a trip without touching anything until your destination.
Nothing new that we don't already know about. Just find the correct information and put it together in the correct order.
Mr. Kaku's books sound just like the material we call "Our meat and potatoes".

Mission not-so-impossible

Brian Mason Kenosha, WI — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:41:53 GMT

Actually there have been scientists that can do teleportation I believe in Australia just this past year. As far as the cloaking we already are doing a form of it in our airplanes so that is not that far off. Now for the worm holes. Sceintists today are doing micro wormholes. So that list is out of whack. It may have been in 1800 but not today. They need to keep up with development.

Mission not-so-impossible

Theodore Knerly, Crystal River, FL — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:53:34 GMT

I believe the seemingly impossible has already happened. Around the world people have developed perpetual motion motors using permanent magnets. These will do away with all power plants,power lines, internal combustion engines,etc. I think this why the greedy oil people like the BUSHES have run up the price of oil to get as much money as they possibly can before these motors go into full production. The price of oil will then probably fall back down to under $7.00 a barrel. Anyone who does not believe this must go to "youtube.com" and type in MAGNETIC MOTORS. One group in Australia already has it ready to go and now developing a 300 horse power motor. All this leads to zero air pollution in the future for the entire planet. Remember, this is perpetual motion. Especially if used with air bearings.

Mission not-so-impossible

Jeff, Portsmouth, VA — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:31:23 GMT

what is the effecton quantum decoherence of the now videotaped electron in motion? and what are the implications?

Mission not-so-impossible

Floridian Prophet — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:23:20 GMT

To Chuck Heaton: YOu said, " the idea that memory is immortal makes some sense, but only if some physical entity exists to maintain its structure."

We know that lights benda around the universe due to gravitational forces, that something as seemingly not structural has structure.... and therefore, until you understand the soul... which is where your "mind" resides, think of it that way... as if your memory where attached to a point of light. However, the soul is much more my friend....and it along with your mind and memories is immortal.

I have enjoyed reading everyones entrys and am inspired by the fact that there are still intelligent minds untouched by corporate hands.

And to Jeff S of Illinois....You are a Scientist my friend, you may not have the Job and pay, but you are as much a scientific mind as many...and moreso than many that work for corporate and government labs.

Learn to follow your intuition...learn about the "inner voice" and how to speak to yours...then you will know you can "be" anything you desire...still...no matter how old you are.

odnt try to figure out how to do it... Just decide it, and your intuiton will guide you there..the "master mind" supercomputer that handles these things is much better left on "auto", than you trying to guide it yourself...kinda like walking..

Be not concerned with the coming woes, they are out of your hands, and are for a purpose designed by a creator race long ago. The One they sent will return, and there will be great destruction, but in the end.....all good loving honest souls shall triumph.

Mission not-so-impossible

Eric Anderson — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:23:38 GMT

It is theorhetically impossible for an aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound. The compression wall in front of the craft will get stronger as the craft nears the speed of sound. It will never be able to break through.
-----------
BTW, the world is flat.
As our galaxy hurdles outward through space at somewhere near the speed of light, mass increases and deminsion decreases.

The world really is flat. It just looks 3D to us.

Mission not-so-impossible

Van Humphries — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:48:41 GMT

Robert Burton: There is no paradox. You cannot copy an atom, so you certainly cannot copy a man. Copying an atom is a "class III" impossibility. Teleportation is very consistent within the framework of our science of physics and has of course been demonstrated in the laboratory.

Mission not-so-impossible

JOhnny — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:01:00 GMT

I can see much farther than Arthur or Arthur only shares a few steps at a time so people listen to him more often so he could pay his bills.But if you 'jumped' the distance via something like a 'wormhole' without being taken apart in the process...that's not a death machine. Ok, Here's the paradox, We build a machine that can duplicate a man, complete with all memories and love of his family, in every way an exact duplicate, then we kill the first man who had been duplicated.On the other hand, scientists (and, by the way, journalists who write about scientists) aren't always good at picking up on what is truly possible. Kaku's reference to magicians brings science-fiction guru Arthur C. Clarke's three laws of impossibility to mind:I do have a huge Penis. The teleporter substitue would have laser beamed energy to power a personal tranport tube space shuttle. Sending such a personal transport ahead of the spacevessel might push objects out of the space ships way and block significant radiation while the space vessel travels. Just a consistent use of an idea to launch a prestarship solar system and neigboring starship at sub light speed. But thats just my opinion...

Mission not-so-impossible

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:21:27 GMT

As the White Knight in Alice's Adventures Through The Looking Glass said to her - "I have no trouble believing six impossible things before breakfast every day." I'm happy that so many here are in that same Army.

A few comments -

We do not suffer from an addiction to "oil" but to the money which it generates.

If time travel was a possibility, we would have already been visited from the future, a visitor appearing here as a fait accompli, but then continuing here as if from the past.

The mass of an object increases as the object approaches the speed of light, requiring more propellant to be carried by the object in order to increase its velocity until the original mass plus propellant approaches infinity.

Our misunderstanding of science results from our misunderstanding of language.

Dennis McClain-Furmanski deserves his Ph.D.

Mission not-so-impossible

john evans — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:22:09 GMT

ok that question is a ripoff from the outer limits show episode think like a dinosaur where aliens have shared teleportation with us as part of a trial peace theory

Mission not-so-impossible

J. Quinlan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:28:39 GMT

Just imagine taking a trip to one of the moons of Saturn. Your mechanical body double; Your body double with every memory you ever had in your lifetime, preprogrammed exactly from your memory and then sent to another world to experience the entire trip for you. And when he returns, his total experience of the trip was downloaded into your biological memory. What a trip! What a scientific tool! A tool which would allow you to "send yourself" anywhere in the universe to experience different worlds; To study and learn without the dangers. None.

Mission not-so-impossible

JOhnny — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:10:12 GMT

A theory that is proven to be at least pretty right will be replaced, probably not by a new theory that proves it wrong, but by one that's simply an improvement that makes it more right. Any time someone says something is a "law" of science, they're saying it's a theory for which they can find no possible alternative. But, as Sagan was so fond of saying, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. An alternative may exist outside our present understanding, or ability to understand due to lack of technology to investigate it. I disagree in the extreme with Kaku's time classes. It was less than 25 years from Einstein's first paper on relativity to the Copenhagen conference which laid out the majority of the "standard model" of quantum mechanics (some of which Einstein himself disagreed with. Also I failed to mention in my first comment, that my balls are extremely huge also. Huge like grapefruits. Just a consistent use of an idea to launch a prestarship solar system and neigboring starship at sub light speed. I would like to assume that would be under the Class III group. I would love to read about that and how it, if possible, would be found. But once again...thats just my opinion.

Mission not-so-impossible

Frank Glover Rochester, NY — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:58:38 GMT

"Ok, Here's the paradox, We build a machine that can duplicate a man, complete with all memories and love of his family, in every way an exact duplicate, then we kill the first man who had been duplicated. Is this man still alive?

This is a question for those who will someday be involved with teleportation (if it is possible)."

Which is exactly why the only teleportation device I would consider riding in would be a Quantum Teleporter. By the very nature of the process, you can't be duplicated. A quantum state (which defines all the physical characteristics of an object, even a living thing) can be moved, but never 'cloned,' not even in theory. At the far end (if I understand correctly) that quantum state can is re-expresed in mass of the same state as before.

Now, philosophical issues such as wether your soul (if such exists at all) makes that same jump with the quantum state (I might even offer a purely metaphysical suggestion that your quantum state *is* your soul), I don't know...

On the other hand, it's also theoretically possible to use a quantum state to create multiple *imperfect* copies, that could then be re-intergrated into the *precise* original...

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=554
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19054
http://www.citebase.org/cgi-bin/citations?id=oai:arXiv.org:quant-ph/9806082

...so the Star Trek episode wherein a transporter problem split Kirk along personality lines and was re-intergrated into his complete self later, isn't QUITE as far out as it may seem.

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=554

Mission not-so-impossible

Inukai — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:30:44 GMT

How long, in theory, would it take to teleport to Alpha Centauri? Perhaps, we should send a robot probe on a 200 year sub light speed journey to Alpha Centauri now and get it to build a teleport station on its arrival. Instructions on how to build a teleport station being sent to the robot probe, mid voyage or at whatever date in the future human teleportation is invented.

Mission not-so-impossible

Peter Chang, Denver CO — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:10:36 GMT

Bible=science:
Most scientists choose to ignore the bible when making/testing scientific theory because it is based on heresay, which is given no credibility by scientists, who instead must rely on direct observations and evidence to support or refute a hypothesis. Its not just the bible that is ignored, experiments in cold fusion are largely ignored due to the fact that nobody has been able to reproduce the supposedly successful results.

Mission not-so-impossible

Hestia M., Guanajuato, MX — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:50:38 GMT

To those who claim that perpetual motion is not only possible, but its existence is being covered up by oil companies:

You scare me.

Mission not-so-impossible

SixHouse, NY NY — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:48:39 GMT

To: Bible=science,

I just made 12 predictions and wrote them down. The law of averages guarantess that in a few thousand years at least one will have come true. Bible=science? LMAO. Bible=Fables told at a a time when people were literally dumb and ignorant. Get a clue. Ancient religious nonsense has no place in todays world, and will ultimately (thankfully) disappear completelty.

Mission not-so-impossible

TERRY FRASER CALGARY ALBERTA — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:18:57 GMT

Hi, time travel is most likely true,it happens all the time ,but people don't realize when they have entered a time machine.The machine would have a quantum computer,and of couse there are only enough machines to get around in.In order to realize you are in one is that things are really strange,[and not a shed that surrounds you]. This machine is very powerful and if you don't know you are in one you will end up in a nut house or get killed in trying to explain whats happening to you.So you have to be really really on the ball ,then you will experence things that very few people can . You now can get around and find out secrets or correct catastrophys, only you will know this and in the future you will see the good things you have done but you can't explain to others,so go on with your life till some one needs your help by going in and out of the machine with out detection, except by other time travelers,be carefull, but have fun, don't get caught.

Mission not-so-impossible

john bomhardt hudson ,florida — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:11:19 GMT

while working on the effects of reflection and refraction in low light environment; I discovered a way to see into a micro wormhole which led me to an unbelievable experience in inner and outer space. I was so shocked by what I discovered that I have been hesitant to share the methodology with anyone. Spacetravel is here and now and easier to do than I ever expected. That was over 20 years ago, and I have not done it since. Not only is it mind boggling, but the experience is life changing.Deep Space travel is possible now.

Mission not-so-impossible

Wata1993, Tokyo — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:41:47 GMT

all this talk of teleportation reminds me of The Prestige, its a good movie people should check it out =]

The teleportation theory about how the object being teleported is merely duplicated at the other end doesnt fancy me.

I believe more in the teleportation theory that teleportation is the process of breaking down an object into very small matter, at an atomic level or lower, then all of these matter is, say accelerated in a particle collider-like machine to another destination and then put back together again

A simple analogy I could think of is like winzipping data, then you upload it on the net, someone download it and unzip it, the data has been "teleported" in a sense. Thats just my $0.02