Faster Than Light Travel Article

[Serendipity]

SFCrowsnest has today published my article on faster than light travel. It discusses the ideas behind achieving it and where such ideas might be found in science fiction. It also notes the status of real science behind these ideas. Link here.

 

[Parson]

Well done Rosie!

 

[Swank]

Nice!

Folks should bookmark as reference.

 

[RDArmstrong]

It's interesting. When talking about faster-than-light travel, I also wonder if it'll be like crossing the ocean or human flight. Both of which were said to be impossible at one point. Many other examples of this. Is it just a matter of time and our survival as a species? I think so. Technology far into the future will look like magic or impossible but only because we're not seeing the incremental breakthroughs to get to that point.

 

[Swank]

FTL is a fictional tool that allows humans - with their short lives and short attention spans - to travel in timeframes that suit normal narrative conventions.

It is funny how we have bought into this so heartily that we consider FTL necessary or inevitable. Like living on the surface of a star is inevitable.

 

[Parson]

FTL is a fictional tool that allows humans - with their short lives and short attention spans - to travel in timeframes that suit normal narrative conventions.

It is funny how we have bought into this so heartily that we consider FTL necessary or inevitable. Like living on the surface of a star is inevitable.

It is strange, but this is the device by which you can project an individual into different star systems and situations in a life time and in a timeline which allows some activity in one star system to effect something in another star system relatively quickly.

I think it would be most accurate to say that FTL is a necessity for much of the SF that I enjoy. And that I hope humanity has the good sense not to make it necessary for the survival of the species.

 

[Swank]

It is strange, but this is the device by which you can project an individual into different star systems and situations in a life time and in a timeline which allows some activity in one star system to effect something in another star system relatively quickly.

I think it would be most accurate to say that FTL is a necessity for much of the SF that I enjoy. And that I hope humanity has the good sense not to make it necessary for the survival of the species.

Change how long people live and you can stay under light with the same narrative.

 

[Parson]

Change how long people live and you can stay under light with the same narrative.

I really like military SF and the only book where I know this was pulled off successfully was Ender's Game and then FTL communication was possible. Otherwise the timelines between developments in space and developments on the home planet are just too far apart to be relevant to the situation in which the fleet left home very often.

 

[Swank]

I really like military SF and the only book where I know this was pulled off successfully was Ender's Game and then FTL communication was possible. Otherwise the timelines between developments in space and developments on the home planet are just too far apart to be relevant to the situation in which the fleet left home very often.

You don't count all of Reynold's stuff or Vinge's books?

 

[Parson]

Neither of those guys came immediately to mind. I haven't read much of Vinge's stuff (none that I can remember anyway), and accept for the early stuff, Allstair Reynolds are just too convuluted to enjoy for me. (I'm thinking particularly of The Revelation Space series.) Pushing Ice was a study in how to take a good concept and ruin it with unneccessary and illogical conflict.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I do think that we will find a way to travel faster than light. Although this is likely to be done by cutting corners.

In fiction, as I think Parson is saying, we have to accept FTL travel to be possible when reading many science fiction stories. I'm happy to do so, although those involving time travel often leave too many gaping loopholes.

 

[Swank]

I do think that we will find a way to travel faster than light. Although this is likely to be done by cutting corners.

In fiction, as I think Parson is saying, we have to accept FTL travel to be possible when reading many science fiction stories. I'm happy to do so, although those involving time travel often leave too many gaping loopholes.

I like FTL stories. I was just pointing out that FTL didn't arise from some sort of probability, but because it allows SF stories to resemble every other kind of existing travel story - anywhere you want to go somewhere between instantaneous and a few years. Just like on Earth.

But, uniquely to SF, the other way to solve the time and distance problem is to have characters that aren't nearly so affected by time.

Reynolds' House of Suns seems to be incredibly well liked, and pivots entirely on long time periods of travel and people built for it.

 

[THX1138]

I use something similar to an Alcubierre Drive in my novels as a means of propulsion. Not as mentioned in your article for faster than light travel, but still.

That was a good read!

 

[paranoid marvin]

I like FTL stories. I was just pointing out that FTL didn't arise from some sort of probability, but because it allows SF stories to resemble every other kind of existing travel story - anywhere you want to go somewhere between instantaneous and a few years. Just like on Earth.

But, uniquely to SF, the other way to solve the time and distance problem is to have characters that aren't nearly so affected by time.

Reynolds' House of Suns seems to be incredibly well liked, and pivots entirely on long time periods of travel and people built for it.

Yes, FTL is an invention of convenience to allow for many SF stories to work. Same as different alien races being of broadly similar size and humanoid shape, and finding ways to effectively communicate.

Other methods of combating the time and distances of space in order to write SF include generation ships, or extended life.

The older I get, and the more we discover about science and our solar system/galaxy/universe, the more unlikely and unrealistic become many SF stories. That doesn't make them less enjoyable to read though.