How easy is it actually to reverse engineer a UFO?
- Thread starter valkyrie013
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Reminds me of that Turtledove story of a race with interstellar flight and antigravity but otherwise no more advanced than we were in the 17th century attempting to invade us. Turns out we are much more advanced in many other ways because we never invented interstellar flight early and the rest of the galaxy is pretty much defenseless against our superior technology once we do reverse-engineer their drives.
A nice story, but not very likely, of course.
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Yeah, not very likely.
Interstellar travel if it is at all possible which I seriously doubt, is gonna take all our scientific accomplishments and then a great deal more. Since we can't even imagine a method to do so at this point, that should tell you how more we need to know before we can even dream of such a thing. The moon is the only extra-planetary thing we've managed to land on and walk on and it's been nearly FIFTY years since we've done it for the last time and no noticeable progress has been done since and the moon is ONE LIGHT SECOND away that's less than one-hundredth of a millionth of the distance to the nearest star!!!
There has been significant progress since the 70's. We have better computers, better material (science), better engines are under development, to mention just a few things. In those 50 years, we have learned to build re-usable space vehicles, and we have advanced from the point that basically only the two largest nations on earth with a hugely inflated budget could launch vehicles into space, to the point that it's coming into (financial) reach of comparatively small private companies like SpaceX - which means that relatively speaking, it has become a good deal cheaper. The fact that that kind of progress is perhaps less 'spectacular' makes it no less important, since economic viability of space travel will be an important driver in the future for further progress.
That said, I fully agree that in the larger picture interstellar (FTL) travel seems a long way off (if it should even prove possible at all), even though interplanetary travel seems a good deal closer to our grasp technologically and financially than it was 50 years ago.
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One thing's for sure we won't be around to see it. It is so costly to send someone to Mars and then back that they even envision leaving the people there!!! Talk about a vacation spot!!!
Now the Turtledove scenario might not be that off the wall...let’s say there was truth to the Nazis on the moon crap. And they had anti-gravity, but little else. Hover too low, and the fighters might still eat them alive.
It would be nice to idle to orbit...I’m surprised no one has done Footfall
It would be nice to idle to orbit...I’m surprised no one has done Footfall
According to the story, anti grav is easy, it's just that we didn't figure it out when we should have.
And there going oh shit we jst released Pandora..
There is a sequel book of it. How an earth empire rose and fell and trying to rise again.
And there going oh shit we jst released Pandora..
There is a sequel book of it. How an earth empire rose and fell and trying to rise again.
We only know of two ways of canceling gravity. One is being inside an object that's in orbit of a planet or a moon and the other is a parabolic flight. Other than that... not even in our wildest dreams...
That we know of right now. How long was it said that flight itself was an impossiblity? Or just getting to space, or the moon?
Example:
In Stargate, there is a mineral called Naquadah, that mineral is not found in this solar system in any abundance, however, it is key to spaceflight technology of the Goulds, from Reactors, to Stargates.
Now lets take the Turrtledove story, what if most star systems have Naquadah in abundance, and is easily found/mined. Lets say this mineral has anti gravity properties, and at an early age, scientists would find this property, and use it accordingly, but here on Earth, this mineral is not found, enter the story of the travelers, they try to invade using say 16th century technology, and get there ass handed to them, then we take the UFO, find out how it works, rebuild it, and we go out in to space, and take over some planets, mine for more mineral, and build more ships, and then bobs your uncle..
The idea of an anti-grav material is not new. In "First Men In The Moon" By H.G. Wells, that's how they go to the moon!!! They cancel gravity and the ship is propulsed toward the moon like with an elastic cord then by canceling gravity in one direction or the other they managed to change directions in space. H.G. Wells understood that canceling gravity meant that you could travel in space without energy... Which sort of shows why it is likely impossible... Like perpetual motion, if you will.
* If you cancel gravity on Earth the ship will be pushed upward like a weightless balloon and constantly accelerate.
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Which did beg the question, how do you alter your course or slow down and turn back?
BTW in the Stargate movie most of that alien mineral was based on quartz, which has unique properties.
Step 1 for reverse engineering....
First, you must consider potential hazards.
Perhaps the thing is booby trapped so as to explode. Or your fumbling will accidentally shut down anti-matter containment. This suggests moving the craft to a bunker in a remote location.
Biological danger. Escape of organisms into the Earthly environment. So your bunker must be set up for biological containment. Somewhat similar to the lab in "The Andromeda Strain".
First, you must consider potential hazards.
Perhaps the thing is booby trapped so as to explode. Or your fumbling will accidentally shut down anti-matter containment. This suggests moving the craft to a bunker in a remote location.
Biological danger. Escape of organisms into the Earthly environment. So your bunker must be set up for biological containment. Somewhat similar to the lab in "The Andromeda Strain".
Yeah that is a very good point. Also anti-matter stands a good chance of damaging a lot of our planet if something happens.
By opening and closing portholes through which gravity could operate (the shutters were made of antigrav material and so was the hull of the ship), Depending on where you open the portholes the ship will be attracted in one direction or another.
It's been forever since I have watched "First men in the Moon" is that how the cavorite worked?
In the Book yes, I don't know about a movie as I've never seen one made after that novel.
Anyway, the cavorite basically allows perpetual motion as you can go back and forth from the moon to earth for example without consuming any kind of energy.
That's the one, the movie is called "First men in the Moon" based on the book
Well, as I said I can only speak for the book as I've never watched the movie. Sometimes movies are different.
Ok thanks....... The only Jules Verne story I have is The Time Machine, have the novel for that and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
The Time Machine is by H G Wells. Perhaps you're thinking of Journey to the Centre of the Earth?Similar threads
