ETs May Use Lasers, Black Holes for Transport

[bison]

An astronomer has written a paper explaining how laser beams aimed at certain binary Black Holes could harvest energy from them. This would greatly increase the efficiency of laser propelled space vessels, also known as 'solar sails'. The laser beams would pass near the Black Holes and then outward again. In the process they would steal a bit of their kinetic energy, which could be transferred to the space ship. Near light speeds could be achieved at a relatively low  energy cost.   Further-- if this were a common practice, it might alter the orbits of the Black Holes over time, and in such a way that we could detect it. 

Please see the linked article below for further information.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/astronomer-says-aliens-might-zap-black-holes-lasers-travel-galaxy-ncna983836 

Edited March 16, 2019 by bison

[+DieChecker]

The physics sound interesting, but I don't think this sounds good as a ship movement system. Unless you happen to have binary black holes right outside your solar system, it would be decades before your laser returned. And then assuming that your ship is in the exact right place at the exact right time.

Imagine trying to line up your ship so the sail works correctly, and your ship is not hit, when the laser was fired decades before. Just being off a millionth of one degree would mean it missing, or your ship bring hit by super high energy radiation.

Can we even imagine a material that would function as a sail for what would have to be upper end gamma rays?

[gadfly21]

Interesting variation of the hypothetical Kugel-Blitz starship. Using ye ole black hole to pump your lasers versus using the black hole itself to warp you around. I don't see how the moved black hole would tell you it was really ET starships that did it though.

[tmcom]

Far better to use Cern to trap our own, and then use those little suckers for our own purposes.

Using lazers to control them, for an infinite power source, or using three to create a time dilation bubble.

We have been able to capture a small amount of antimatter, so it is not as sci, fi as it seems.

Give it 100 years give or take.

[bison]

On 3/18/2019 at 10:16 PM, DieChecker said:

The physics sound interesting, but I don't think this sounds good as a ship movement system. Unless you happen to have binary black holes right outside your solar system, it would be decades before your laser returned. And then assuming that your ship is in the exact right place at the exact right time.

Imagine trying to line up your ship so the sail works correctly, and your ship is not hit, when the laser was fired decades before. Just being off a millionth of one degree would mean it missing, or your ship bring hit by super high energy radiation.

Can we even imagine a material that would function as a sail for what would have to be upper end gamma rays?

Yes, such a propulsion system would be easiest to use for a civilization residing near twin black holes.  I don't believe it would be too practical to have the ship and the laser beam source at interstellar distances from the black hole. They would presumably travel to the black holes' vicinity, and then use it for propulsion. It would probably be useful to have a colony planet, or at least a base on a planet as near the black holes as possible, consistent with safety. 

Recalling the radiation resistant properties of graphite, perhaps a thin film of this could serve for the light sail, or maybe fullerene? 

[bison]

13 hours ago, gadfly21 said:

Interesting variation of the hypothetical Kugel-Blitz starship. Using ye ole black hole to pump your lasers versus using the black hole itself to warp you around. I don't see how the moved black hole would tell you it was really ET starships that did it though.

It was suggested that 'stealing' kinetic energy from black hole pairs could eventually cause them to merge, presumably in a manner  inconsistent with what could be expected from them naturally. It was also suggested that the orbits of the utilized black holes around one another could be rendered more eccentric than expected.  

[marsman]

even at the speed of light it takes 200,000 years to cross our own galaxy

man and any aliens wont live long enough  to make the journey

 

It Would Take 200,000 Years at Light Speed to Cross the Milky Way

https://www.space.com/41047-milky-way-galaxy-size-bigger-than-thought.html

 

[acute]

7 minutes ago, marsman said:

even at the speed of light it takes 200,000 years to cross our own galaxy

man and any aliens wont live long enough  to make the journey

 

It Would Take 200,000 Years at Light Speed to Cross the Milky Way

https://www.space.com/41047-milky-way-galaxy-size-bigger-than-thought.html

 

This is a totally redundant argument!

The idea that an advanced alien species would use our primitive combustion methods of propulsion is laughable.
It will be the Black Hole method, space-time bending, or some other wizardry that we can't even imagine.

[marsman]

1 minute ago, acute said:

 or some other wizardry that we can't even imagine.

 

if it cant be imagined......it cant be done.....can it?

[marsman]

11 minutes ago, acute said:

 

The idea that an advanced alien species

 

assuming they even exist

[acute]

13 minutes ago, marsman said:

if it cant be imagined......it cant be done.....can it?

We've only had electric lighting for about 150 years. Two hundred years before that, you would have been burned or drowned as a witch for having a functioning light-bulb.

Things move on, and we learn more stuff.  In the grand scheme of things, we only recently had the Industrial Revolution!  We've got loads to learn, and we're not even close.

[marsman]

1 hour ago, acute said:

We've only had electric lighting for about 150 years. Two hundred years before that, you would have been burned or drowned as a witch for having a functioning light-bulb.

Things move on, and we learn more stuff.  In the grand scheme of things, we only recently had the Industrial Revolution!  We've got loads to learn, and we're not even close.

 

"But there are very strong indications that wormholes that a human could travel through are forbidden by the laws of physics. That's sad, that's unfortunate, but that's the direction in which things are pointing."

https://www.space.com/27845-interstellar-movie-wormhole-travel-feasibility.html