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November 5th, 2009, 09:19 AM
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Administrator
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: H-Town
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A Black Hole Engine That Could Power Spaceships
Artificially generated black holes could provide us with the power to make inter-solar travel a possibility. New research shows how strapping a black hole to your starship might just give you the juice to get to Alpha Centauri.
Louis Crane and Shawn Westmoreland of Kansas State University propose a way to use black holes as fuel that is entirely within the bounds of physics and technology as we know them, but would take phenomenal amount of engineering.
The crux of their idea involves using using a laser to form a micro black hole, which could be used as an energy source. This would be a Schwarzschild, or non-rotating, black hole which outputs Hawking Radiation, and the smaller the black hole, the more energetic.
Of course, making a black hole isn't the world's most easy undertaking. It takes a huge amount of power to build one in the first place. To make one of these mini black holes, Crane and Westmoreland propose a 370km2 solar panel, at an orbit one million km from the surface of the sun, which, if perfectly efficient, would gather enough energy per year to make one black hole. This power would be fed to a spherically converging gamma laser, with a lasing mass of around 10^9 tonnes. However, after you make a few black holes, you can use them as a power source to make more.
Want to know more?
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November 5th, 2009, 09:33 AM
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Regular User (What is Reputation?)
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 81
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I cannot wrap my head around how awesome that article was.
Interstellar space travel? A reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? AWESOME!
Balls to the naysayers -- manufacturing black holes in order to fuel travel into unspeakably dangerous and uncharted areas of physics and the universe itself sounds amazing.
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November 5th, 2009, 10:02 AM
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Follow me down, to the valley below...
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Norway.
Posts: 1,108
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The idea sounds okay, but if something malfunctions it can't be stopped. 
Okay, I changed my mind after reading the article. It's a really awesome idea! 
Last edited by T.s.e; November 5th, 2009 at 10:07 AM.
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November 5th, 2009, 10:10 AM
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The Helper Connoisseur, SC2 Galaxy Editor Newbie
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Posts: 3,981
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Either that, or we need at least 600 trillion dollars (in platinum plates).
(It means, the human race can't afford that.)
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November 5th, 2009, 01:42 PM
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Hai.
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,882
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Awesome, but dangerous.
Imagine if they were to lose control of it. Bad times.
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November 5th, 2009, 04:46 PM
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Super Moderator
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Quebec City, QC, Canada
Posts: 5,721
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Incredible!
Imagine the scenario. A horde of 370 km² Parabolic Solar Panels around the Sun, constantly shipping out portable Black Holes on nearby spaceships, which, once the Black Hole is attached, accelerate toward the Galaxy's ends!
Awesome 
And let's not forget that Black Holes explode when they reach the end of their lifespans... Oops, a 150 000 000 km radius explosion!
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November 5th, 2009, 06:09 PM
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Graphics Help Zone Moderator
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: (O'..')---O(>X.x)>...Owne
Posts: 3,468
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Do it after I'm dead please.
__________________
˙˙˙ǝɹǝɥ ɯǝlqoɹd ɐ ǝʌɐɥ ı ʞuıɥʇ ı
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November 5th, 2009, 06:26 PM
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has given up on gaming.
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Victoria, Canada
Posts: 2,778
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whitesock
Do it after I'm dead please.
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Same. Although I do think it is a cool idea .
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November 5th, 2009, 06:45 PM
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I eat the f***ing cookie before it crumbles.
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Victoria, Canada
Posts: 4,190
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Avaleirra
Same. Although I do think it is a cool idea . |
So... are they taking volunteers for the astronauts needed for this mission? It seems too dangerous to send up real ones so I figure I could volunteer. Always wanted to be a astronaut.....
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November 5th, 2009, 08:51 PM
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The Helper Connoisseur, SC2 Galaxy Editor Newbie
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Posts: 3,981
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Protoss, send out the Mothership. We need your help to aid us in creating a black hole.
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November 5th, 2009, 09:06 PM
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My world. Not yours.
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 4,000
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I once created a black hole engine. It malfunctioned. Luckily I built it under a huge cathedral, and the cathedral collapsed upon itself and destroyed the engine before serious damage could be caused. I think that's what happened.
I wonder what really happened to Tristram after I retreated.
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November 5th, 2009, 11:05 PM
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I eat the f***ing cookie before it crumbles.
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Victoria, Canada
Posts: 4,190
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Azlier
I once created a black hole engine. It malfunctioned. Luckily I built it under a huge cathedral, and the cathedral collapsed upon itself and destroyed the engine before serious damage could be caused. I think that's what happened.
I wonder what really happened to Tristram after I retreated.
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Are you sure it wasn't a sun under an old warehouse in New York and you died to save a masked crusader and his girlfriend and you had these magical leg things coming out of your back?
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November 5th, 2009, 11:31 PM
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If you mix up pi. You get PIE!! :O!
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: http://tinyurl.com/37pzjx
Posts: 2,758
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To infinity and beyond!
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November 5th, 2009, 11:33 PM
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Hai.
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 1,882
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Azlier
I once created a black hole engine. It malfunctioned. Luckily I built it under a huge cathedral, and the cathedral collapsed upon itself and destroyed the engine before serious damage could be caused. I think that's what happened.
I wonder what really happened to Tristram after I retreated.
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Azlier == Deckard Cain? WE'LL FIND OUT IN DIABLO III! :P
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November 5th, 2009, 11:36 PM
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Christmas is Over :'( - ಠ_ಠ
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Edmonton Canada
Posts: 1,825
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Sad, we need a lot more power to get an Alcubierre drive drive working.
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clicky 
