How will we travel to another star?

Proxima Centauri, our closest star, is more than 4 light years away. Reaching it under 10,000 years will be challenging; reaching it with living humans will be even harder.

NASA
  • Eventually, humanity will want to travel to a new solar system to propagate the human race, explore, and maybe find signs of alien life.
  • But our closest neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is so far away that current methods could take tens of thousands of years.
  • How will we surmount this incredible distance and the other challenges associated with interstellar travel?
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​In 1983, Isaac Asimov predicted the world of 2019. Here's what he got right (and wrong).

Some of them were surprisingly astute.

Image source: SketchPort
  • In 1983, the Toronto Star asked science fiction writer Isaac Asimov to predict what the world would be like in 2019.
  • His predictions about computerization were mostly accurate, though some of his forecasts about education and space utilization were overly optimistic.
  • Asimov's predictions highlight just how difficult it is to predict the future of technology.
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7 of the most interesting fictional drugs

From the cosmic blast into another being's mind, to rolling bliss or obedient mind-slavery, fictional drugs have it all.

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  • Fictional drugs are a major part of the lore and foundation for many science fiction stories.
  • The unique effects they have on their characters is an interesting new way to explore important issues.
  • Many of these fictional drugs are synonymous with the stories that have been told.
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A $100-million startup shares incredible plan to propel spacecraft with giant lasers

Breakthrough Starshot is moving ahead with an audacious vision for space exploration.

  • The Breakthrough Starshot initiative was co-founded by Stephen Hawking.
  • The project raised $100 million and is moving ahead with extensive research.
  • The goal of Starshot is to send tiny "StarChip" spacecraft to explore neighboring star systems.
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Matrioshka Brain: How advanced civilizations could reshape reality

Future or extraterrestrial civilizations could create megastructures the size of a solar system.

  • Advanced civilizations are likely to create megastructures to harness the energy of the stars.
  • These megastructures could be nested, creating "Matrioshka Brains" – the Universe's most powerful supercomputers.
  • Matrioshka Brains could be used to simulate reality and remake the Universe.
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