PLEASE READ: Mankind will need to venture far beyond Earth to ensure the long-term survival of our species, Professor Stephen Hawking said today. The Cambridge University cosmologist said that spacecraft propelled by the kind of technology popularised in Star Trek would be needed to colonise hospitable planets orbiting alien stars. He also disclosed his own ambition to go into space, saying: "Maybe Richard Branson will help me." The Virgin tycoon hopes to use the privately-built SpaceShipOne for tourists from 2008. Prof Hawking was speaking before the presentation of Britain's highest scientific award, the Royal Society's Copley Medal, previously granted to Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. He told Radio 4's Today programme that scientists had "some way to go" to reach his prediction in his best-selling A Brief History of Time that mankind would one day "know the mind of God" by understanding the set of laws which govern the universe. This set of laws, which will probably rely on theory that requires more than three dimensions of space and one of time, could be uncovered within 20 years. Next year, the giant LHC atom smasher will begin operating in the CERN laboratory in Geneva to provide new information for the quest by simulating conditions not seen since the birth of the universe as well as making antimatter. Prof Hawking said that this knowledge might be vital to the human race's continued existence. "The survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet," he said. "Disasters such as an asteroid collision could wipe us all out. Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. There isn't anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star. "If we used chemical fuel rockets like the Apollo mission to the moon, the journey would take 50,000 years. This is obviously far too long to be practical, so science fiction has developed the idea of warp drive, which takes you instantly to your destination. Unfortunately, this would violate the scientific law which says that nothing can travel faster than light. "However, we can still stay within the law by using matter/antimatter annihilation and reach speeds just below the speed of light. With that, it would be possible to reach the next star in about six years, though it wouldn't seem so long for those on board." Star Trek has used matter/antimatter annihilation as an explanation for the warp drive. In reality, he said, scientists believe that the flash of radiation produced when matter and antimatter are brought together and destroy one another could drive craft near the speed of light. Prof Hawking said he wanted to take part in a more conventional form of space travel. "I am not afraid of death but I'm in no hurry to die. My next goal is to go into space," said the professor, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at 21 and given a few years to live. He told The Daily Telegraph that he has also offered to donate his DNA to a project to scan the human genetic code for clues to the cause of the disease. Prof Hawking said the disease was as common as multiple sclerosis but received less public attention. "I am one of a few long-term survivors, so I have a duty to call attention to this terrible disease."your view http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1535661/We-must-leave-Earth,-says-Hawking.html Yes, it does sound crazy. But I am one who would not want to challenge this man intellectually.
Well, It's obvious that If we're planning to survive a few more thousand years at least, We'll need to move to another planet.. just think about it. Oil will dissapear in around 200 years, the poles are gradually melting and unless we do something about it, we'll be flooded in what.. maybe 150 years? Sure, these things are 'fixable' (Maybe a giant fridge built in both poles to keep them cold lol) but EVENTUALLY natural resources on earth will be depleted and humanity, at least as we know it, would cease to be unless we move somewhere else. And as Hawking said, matter-antimatter transportation is far from becoming reality, mainly because of the difficulty in obtaining and specially containing antimatter, but it IS certainly a possibility that would make star travel an absolute posibility.
this global warming **** makes me mad. the pools always melts and when they do, welcome to iceage, things repeat itself.
That's on a more long term scale though tomatsalad. Yes in the long run there is very little we can do to mess up the world, the question becomes how are we going to deal with what we cause in the short term. Don't get me wrong I don't think global warming is nearly the issue it is made out to be, especially in regards to it being caused by man. (I won't go into the reason for this hear because its not the right thread for that) That doesn't change the fact that as the icebergsmelt the water levels will rise, there will be problems for us. However there are more pressing reasons for leaving the planet and colonize another planet, such as a comet or asteroid strike, nuclear war, or even an alien attack , . Yes its far fetched, but if they showed up tomorrow we would be screwed. lol
Water levels will rise. Bull****. And I can prove it. Go get a glass of ice water, fill it straight to the rim, then let the ice melt. When it happens, the water level will be below the rim, because water expands when it freezes, when it melts, it takes up less space. If the ice caps melt, the water level will decrease. And we need to leave the planet to survive. You need Stephen Hawking to tell you that? I could have told you that.
The flooding would be caused by thermal expansion of water (eg increasing water that's at 10 degrees to 15 degrees Celsius.
@ darkone. You're forgetting that most of the ice at the caps is supported by a landmass. It's not just floating like you're demonstrating it to be. When it melts it'll add to the total mass of the water in the oceans, meaning the water level will rise. That, and thermal expansion.
I'm sure you could have, but most people will believe Stephen Hawking over the guy who said melting ice caps will lower the sea level.
