We'll be immortal within 20 years
- Thread starter masta247
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Actually, as amazing as it seems with 100 to 200 billion stars per galaxy, the spaces between stars are so great that there’s little chance anything in one galaxy will collide with anything in another one when they pass through one another. So enjoy.
Or comets. What also can happen at any time is if a star 30 light-years away were to become a supernova, the energy falling on the surface of the earth might be the equivalent of that produced by 1 million H-bombs. We would experience no blast; a supernova would not flatten any buildings, neither would it cause any fires. The radioactive fallout, however, would be intense. Cosmic rays would continue to bombard the earth for hundreds or thousands of years and life on earth would end.
It’s estimated that one takes place in our galaxy about once every fifty or one hundred years. Since there are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy and since only a few hundred of these lie within a 30 light-year radius of the earth, it’s obvious that nearby supernova explosions don’t take place very often. Rare events do, however, happen sooner or later. Every star larger than a certain minimum mass is a potential bomb. As they are blown apart, for a short time they radiate more energy than an entire galaxy. We can expect that the earth will have to endure this energy several times between the present and the time that the sun dies. If it’s beyond 30 light-years away but within about 100, we’ll still be in for some bad times.
We also have to worry about the earth’s magnetic field reversals. They take place at irregular intervals. At times the field retains the same polarity for 50 million years or more; sometimes it will reverse itself after 100,000 years or fewer. The last reversal took place about 600,000 years ago. The evidence that biological extinctions are associated with magnetic field reversals is conclusive. We know that during reversals large numbers of organisms die. We can be reasonably sure that future reversals of the earth’s magnetic field will present significant danger to the human race.
We could also wipe ourselves out with man-made, or caused, bacteria and viruses. Twenty years ago E. coli caused few medical problems. Today 50 percent of E. coli are harmful. Our environmental tampering has caused this change. The use of antibiotic additives in cattle and poultry feed has certainly created selection pressures that have been responsible for some evolutionary modification of E. coli. Also, increased levels of water pollution have enhanced its opportunity to exchange genetic material with other species of bacteria. Since new technological processes are being introduced continually, it’s likely that we are today creating new hazards which we will not recognize for years to come.
So let's enjoy our immortality until we die from any of these things and much much more.
Or comets. What also can happen at any time is if a star 30 light-years away were to become a supernova, the energy falling on the surface of the earth might be the equivalent of that produced by 1 million H-bombs. We would experience no blast; a supernova would not flatten any buildings, neither would it cause any fires. The radioactive fallout, however, would be intense. Cosmic rays would continue to bombard the earth for hundreds or thousands of years and life on earth would end.
It’s estimated that one takes place in our galaxy about once every fifty or one hundred years. Since there are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy and since only a few hundred of these lie within a 30 light-year radius of the earth, it’s obvious that nearby supernova explosions don’t take place very often. Rare events do, however, happen sooner or later. Every star larger than a certain minimum mass is a potential bomb. As they are blown apart, for a short time they radiate more energy than an entire galaxy. We can expect that the earth will have to endure this energy several times between the present and the time that the sun dies. If it’s beyond 30 light-years away but within about 100, we’ll still be in for some bad times.
We also have to worry about the earth’s magnetic field reversals. They take place at irregular intervals. At times the field retains the same polarity for 50 million years or more; sometimes it will reverse itself after 100,000 years or fewer. The last reversal took place about 600,000 years ago. The evidence that biological extinctions are associated with magnetic field reversals is conclusive. We know that during reversals large numbers of organisms die. We can be reasonably sure that future reversals of the earth’s magnetic field will present significant danger to the human race.
We could also wipe ourselves out with man-made, or caused, bacteria and viruses. Twenty years ago E. coli caused few medical problems. Today 50 percent of E. coli are harmful. Our environmental tampering has caused this change. The use of antibiotic additives in cattle and poultry feed has certainly created selection pressures that have been responsible for some evolutionary modification of E. coli. Also, increased levels of water pollution have enhanced its opportunity to exchange genetic material with other species of bacteria. Since new technological processes are being introduced continually, it’s likely that we are today creating new hazards which we will not recognize for years to come.
So let's enjoy our immortality until we die from any of these things and much much more.
Wouldn't it "fuck up" everything if - for example a star a few times bigger than the sun came across our solar system? Like a huge disturbance in gravity? Also chances are that something will collide with something else - what if 2 big stars (even just a few hundred times bigger than the sun) collided?
In theory that would be like 2 huge supernovas right? Over a short time that would release a huge amount of energy - probably equal to the energy they generated during their whole life spans.
So chances are that it has already happened but we are not aware since energy/radiation can't travel faster than the speed of light (though I remember reading about a radiation that can).
However it also means that the whole earth could be annihilated in less than a split second if anything (including any kind of energy) close to the speed of light was about to hit us. And that would obviously happen without any earlier warning signs - no matter how advanced the technology gets we wouldn't be able to send any info on upcoming doom, even having a probe one light year away (which is ridiculous itself) since its radio signals would still be slower than the light.
Chances of us all being killed by a virus are small though since there will always be people who are safely isolated. The idea of a killing bacteria though seems a bit horrifying and possible. Actually it would only take one stupid mistake to unleash one and since human kind is losing the war with microorganisms that evolve faster than our abilities to waste them we would be..fucked.
In theory that would be like 2 huge supernovas right? Over a short time that would release a huge amount of energy - probably equal to the energy they generated during their whole life spans.
So chances are that it has already happened but we are not aware since energy/radiation can't travel faster than the speed of light (though I remember reading about a radiation that can).
However it also means that the whole earth could be annihilated in less than a split second if anything (including any kind of energy) close to the speed of light was about to hit us. And that would obviously happen without any earlier warning signs - no matter how advanced the technology gets we wouldn't be able to send any info on upcoming doom, even having a probe one light year away (which is ridiculous itself) since its radio signals would still be slower than the light.
Chances of us all being killed by a virus are small though since there will always be people who are safely isolated. The idea of a killing bacteria though seems a bit horrifying and possible. Actually it would only take one stupid mistake to unleash one and since human kind is losing the war with microorganisms that evolve faster than our abilities to waste them we would be..fucked.
Well, a star coming near enough to our sun would more likely wind up in a common orbit with it and become a binary star system rather than collide with it. Of course, earth, or life on it, would still be destroyed if that happend. But like I said, the probability of two stars coming near to each other when galaxies collide is almost zero. Astronomers have observed galaxies colliding with no destructive occurrences. In fact, this is one of the ways galaxies evolve. I can't wait for Andomeda to get here.
We would have some warning. The electromagnetic radiation given off by a supernova would not be given off all at once. We would see the visible light first, which would be a thousand times as bright as the full moon. Except for making street lights unnecessary, it would have little effect on us. After about a month, such a supernova would begin to dim, but even so it would remain a prominent feature of the night sky for years. The ultraviolet radiation that accompanied the visible light would not be dangerous either; most of it would be absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The real menace, cosmic radiation, would not arrive until years or decades after the light had faded from the sky. This radiation would not fall upon us at once, but once it started, our continued survival would become problematical.
Cosmic rays consist of protons and electrons. The earth is constantly being bombarded by them from all directions. These come from billions of supernova that have exploded over time in the universe. Cosmic rays constitute a significant part of the radiation background that's present everywhere on earth. It's this background which produces genetic mutations in every living organism and which makes evolution possible.
However, cosmic radiation also produces effects that are anything but beneficial. The vast majority of the mutations which it induces are harmful. If the mutation rate was to rise to high enough levels, selection would hardly have a chance to operate at all. Mutations would proliferate, killing an increasingly large number of individuals and making it difficult for a species to reproduce.
A threefold-to-tenfold increase in radiation is sufficient to double the mutation rate in most large species. Since cosmic rays from a supernova might cause radiation levels on the surface of the earth to increase by as much as a factor of 100, it's obvious that the results would be catastrophic if the bombardment continued for any significant period of time.
Although cosmic rays travel close to the speed of light, it would take months to reach us after the visible light because they do not travel in a straight line; instead they bounce around in the magnetic fields that permeate space. This very effect, however, would ensure that they remained at peak intensity for as long as a century. Even then they would not fade away completely; cosmic radiation could remain at levels that were higher than normal for millenia.
If human beings somehow managed to live through such intense fallout and produce viable offspring, their problems would only be beginning. There would be mutations in all terrestrial species, including plants and microorganisms. Mutated viruses might create plagues against which we would have no resistance, and many of our food crops might become mutated to such a degree that they would become inedible.
So, yes, we would have a warning by the visible explosion, but a lot of good that would do. We'd probably panic ourselves to death before the first cosmic rays hit us.
We would have some warning. The electromagnetic radiation given off by a supernova would not be given off all at once. We would see the visible light first, which would be a thousand times as bright as the full moon. Except for making street lights unnecessary, it would have little effect on us. After about a month, such a supernova would begin to dim, but even so it would remain a prominent feature of the night sky for years. The ultraviolet radiation that accompanied the visible light would not be dangerous either; most of it would be absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The real menace, cosmic radiation, would not arrive until years or decades after the light had faded from the sky. This radiation would not fall upon us at once, but once it started, our continued survival would become problematical.
Cosmic rays consist of protons and electrons. The earth is constantly being bombarded by them from all directions. These come from billions of supernova that have exploded over time in the universe. Cosmic rays constitute a significant part of the radiation background that's present everywhere on earth. It's this background which produces genetic mutations in every living organism and which makes evolution possible.
However, cosmic radiation also produces effects that are anything but beneficial. The vast majority of the mutations which it induces are harmful. If the mutation rate was to rise to high enough levels, selection would hardly have a chance to operate at all. Mutations would proliferate, killing an increasingly large number of individuals and making it difficult for a species to reproduce.
A threefold-to-tenfold increase in radiation is sufficient to double the mutation rate in most large species. Since cosmic rays from a supernova might cause radiation levels on the surface of the earth to increase by as much as a factor of 100, it's obvious that the results would be catastrophic if the bombardment continued for any significant period of time.
Although cosmic rays travel close to the speed of light, it would take months to reach us after the visible light because they do not travel in a straight line; instead they bounce around in the magnetic fields that permeate space. This very effect, however, would ensure that they remained at peak intensity for as long as a century. Even then they would not fade away completely; cosmic radiation could remain at levels that were higher than normal for millenia.
If human beings somehow managed to live through such intense fallout and produce viable offspring, their problems would only be beginning. There would be mutations in all terrestrial species, including plants and microorganisms. Mutated viruses might create plagues against which we would have no resistance, and many of our food crops might become mutated to such a degree that they would become inedible.
So, yes, we would have a warning by the visible explosion, but a lot of good that would do. We'd probably panic ourselves to death before the first cosmic rays hit us.
This is what's going to happen...
Technological singularity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, because technological advance is expontential. :thumb:
Technological singularity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yes, because technological advance is expontential. :thumb:
@Jokerman: Yeah I remember reading that it's very unlikely that any star will hit another one but it seems unbelievable with trillions of them mixing together.
It would be interesting to observe these galaxies collide.
However I wonder if any human being gets to see the Andromeda galaxy mixing up with the Milky way. However in 2.9 billion years from now the sky will no doubt look amazing.
I always thought that the life on earth will end with a comet/asteroid hitting us.
Where can I read more about that supernova theory? (outside of Wikipedia of course) Especially that part about mutations caused by the cosmic radiation.
It would be interesting to observe these galaxies collide.
However I wonder if any human being gets to see the Andromeda galaxy mixing up with the Milky way. However in 2.9 billion years from now the sky will no doubt look amazing.
I always thought that the life on earth will end with a comet/asteroid hitting us.
Where can I read more about that supernova theory? (outside of Wikipedia of course) Especially that part about mutations caused by the cosmic radiation.
I dunno if you're joking or not, but that's another thought I think was born out of not knowing. You know technology, so you know that every electronic device needs to be preprogrammed to even have a purpose. So with limitations like "if", "and" and "then" I don't understand what kind of programmer language could ever make something that's dynamic and evolves itself. The very concept seems as impossible as there being and not being a god at the same time.
Its a newfound interest. I've been indulging my nerdy side a lot lately. It started out with an obsession with mythology.. this turned into a love of sci-fi coupled with an intense interest in nature, which led to vast outside the box thinking of what ifs... what if the balance of Earth's atmosphere was destroyed, could humans survive on Titan submerged in its lakes through liquid breathing like with Perfluorocarbons? Though the atmosphere is denser so we'd probably be crushed under our own weight (not to mention the temps, lol).. Just random musings though.
(Off topic, sorry, lol)
(Off topic, sorry, lol)
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