EpicAglet's recent activity
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Comment on Could a space traveler accelerate at 1g forever? in ~space
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Comment on Could a space traveler accelerate at 1g forever? in ~space
EpicAglet Link ParentI'd agree with this. And the particles and dust would get you before the CMB does. The radiation pressure of the CMB would be tiny until you are really going fantastically fast. But the energy...I'd agree with this.
And the particles and dust would get you before the CMB does. The radiation pressure of the CMB would be tiny until you are really going fantastically fast.
But the energy involved with anything slamming into the front of your spaceship would be absurd. Though I'd worry about damage and heating before drag.
So you'd need some magical way to get rid of this along with the infinite massless fuel that somehow still works.
Though it's worth noting if you solve propulsion these issues won't start hurting you until you already hit ridiculous speeds.
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Comment on Could a space traveler accelerate at 1g forever? in ~space
EpicAglet (edited )LinkIn principle you could. At least from a fundamental point of view. For an outside observer it would look like you are asymptotically approaching c, but you never reach it. It would feel like earth...In principle you could. At least from a fundamental point of view.
For an outside observer it would look like you are asymptotically approaching c, but you never reach it. It would feel like earth gravity.
The caveat is that the energy required to keep this going grows without bounds, meaning unless your fuel source is truly infinite and massless this is not possible with regular linear acceleration from engine power.
You could instead consider rotation. In this case, you only need fuel to start spinning the spaceship. From the perspective of the people onboard, this will feel like you are experiencing a force (meaning acceleration) outward. This would be the centrifugal force. If the goal would be to engineer artificial gravity, this may be your best bet.
If the goal is just to get from A to B there's nothing really stopping you other than fuel. But you'd need to keep in mind that real fuel has mass. So the more fuel you carry the heavier your spaceship becomes and the harder it is to achieve 1g.
This in turn means two things:
- Your infinite fuel source needs to have no mass. Otherwise infinite fuel means it is infinitely hard to accelerate.
- The more fuel you burn off the lighter your ship becomes, so the faster you can accelerate. This may not matter for an infinite fuel source but if by infinite you mean just very large this matters a lot. It means that you need to reduce the thrust over time in order to maintain constant acceleration. This means you will arrive at your destination slower than if you always go full thrust. Though of course beyond a certain point your passengers might not survive the acceleration anymore and you may want to be a bit careful with the throttle.
- If the fuel would not have mass, you would not be able to use it to accelerate either. So points 1 and 2 are unavoidable. Carrying the infinite fuel aboard the spaceship itself is therefore in and of itself problematic.
If instead you wish to avoid the problem of carrying infinite mass, you could for instance considering not carrying fuel at all and go sailing instead. Solar sails powered by the sun probably won't get you very far since the radiation pressure is tiny, but with a laser you may get further. Though the laser power required for anything with a significant mass is brutal. And then the redshift starts hurting you as you speed up, so you need increasingly more power to maintain the same acceleration. And that's ignoring the fact that it becomes increasingly hard to focus the laser as the distance increases.
On top of that, doing this indefinitely is not possible due to the Rindler horizon. Basically, since you are accelerating in the opposite direction and light needs time to travel, you need to send the power increasingly earlier. At some point you hit a horizon here. This means you have a finite time to send all the laser power needed to accelerate forever. So that's another way in which the laser would need to be infinitely powerful if using sails.
Ignoring that, waste heat would be another consideration. The amount of energy required quickly becomes ridiculous and all that heat needs to go somewhere. Cooling is not easy in space since in vacuum you cannot rely on convection or conduction, so you are basically stuck with only radiative cooling. This probably becomes one of the main challenges at some point.
This is also a problem again when carrying the fuel on board unless you can make the efficiency of the propulsion perfect.
So carrying the fuel with you would make it impossible to accelerate, and beaming it towards you requires infinitely powerful lasers. Neither is possible. At this point we are already talking warp drive/wormhole/teleportation level of science fiction when it comes to propulsion.
Of course you also have the issues pointed out by /u/fraughtGYRE. So you'd have to solve that somehow. This would also come with the issue of heat again.
Then there's the issue of navigation. Unless you can perfectly aim your ship ahead of time, eventually you will need to correct you course. Eventually all the light gets squeezed into a tight cone in front of your spaceship and gets increasingly blue shifted. Somehow, your systems will have to be able to deal with that. And you can't just navigate from earth either, since then you'd end up running into the Rindler horizon again. Though perhaps you can do it from your destination.
And then on top of all of that, you'd probably want to slow down at some point as well if you actually aim to arrive somewhere. This means slowing down again.
TLDR fundamentally there is nothing stopping you. But in reality you will run into all sorts of issues that you'd need to solve beyond infinite fuel. Even with hypothetical scifi technology forever is one heck of a long time.
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Comment on Disney’s boy trouble: studio seeks original IP to win back Gen-Z men amid Marvel, Lucasfilm struggles in ~movies
EpicAglet Link ParentReminds me of the Netflix adaptation of the Witcher. Rumours are the people behind the show actively hate the source material. IMO this already showed in the first season but it got progressively...The latter of those has been a frequent recurring problem. You have showrunners, movie directors, etc who enter the IP like a bull in a china shop, breaking things left and right to try to mold the IP to their image. Of course that’s going to anger people, and if the changes aren’t well executed (usually they aren’t) it’s not going to pull in very many new fans either.
Reminds me of the Netflix adaptation of the Witcher. Rumours are the people behind the show actively hate the source material. IMO this already showed in the first season but it got progressively worse
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Comment on What's a question you could ask to determine if someone is an expert in your line of work? in ~talk
EpicAglet Link ParentI like to see it as a cookie recipe. If you strictly follow the recipe, you'll make a good cookie. And it is probably a good idea to follow it a few times to understand how to make a good cookie....I like to see it as a cookie recipe. If you strictly follow the recipe, you'll make a good cookie. And it is probably a good idea to follow it a few times to understand how to make a good cookie.
But ultimately, if you want to make something unique you'd need to deviate from the recipe. That said, I'm a sucker for a good chocolate chip cookie. So you'll need to be really good if you want to beat the basic recipe.
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Comment on Question - how would you best explain how an LLM functions to someone who has never taken a statistics class? in ~tech
EpicAglet Link ParentI don't love this part. Perhaps it gets a bit philosophical, but I'd argue this is fundamentally not all that different from us. "Thinking" and "knowing things" are not that well defined and don't...An LLM isn't like a person.
An LLM doesn’t actually know things the way people do. It doesn’t have feelings, beliefs, or personal experiences. It can sound like it’s thinking, but it’s really just following patterns it learned from all that text.I don't love this part. Perhaps it gets a bit philosophical, but I'd argue this is fundamentally not all that different from us.
"Thinking" and "knowing things" are not that well defined and don't really mean much and I'd expect that the line will get blurrier as the technology progresses.
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Comment on I wrote my first Chrome extension to simplify Wikipedia articles in ~comp
EpicAglet Link ParentI just tried pressing random and then asking ChatGPT about the topic. It got 6 out of 6. Maybe you tried on an older version when LLMs weren't this good yet? I imagine if the topic is obscure...I just tried pressing random and then asking ChatGPT about the topic. It got 6 out of 6.
Maybe you tried on an older version when LLMs weren't this good yet?
I imagine if the topic is obscure enough maybe LLMs don't know about it. But for those articles I'm also more sceptical of the accuracy of the Wikipedia page, since I imagine those are subject to less scrutiny.
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Comment on I wrote my first Chrome extension to simplify Wikipedia articles in ~comp
EpicAglet Link ParentYou'd be surprised how much extremely specific knowledge LLMs have access to. I think it would be hard finding a Wikipedia page that contains information ChatGPT can't discuss.You'd be surprised how much extremely specific knowledge LLMs have access to. I think it would be hard finding a Wikipedia page that contains information ChatGPT can't discuss.
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Comment on The EU wants to decrypt your private data by 2030 in ~tech
EpicAglet Link ParentThen again, I wonder if breaking encryption is really necessary to catch the "dumb" onesThen again, I wonder if breaking encryption is really necessary to catch the "dumb" ones
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Comment on I wrote my first Chrome extension to simplify Wikipedia articles in ~comp
EpicAglet (edited )Link ParentI wonder how it compares to the LLM just explaining the topic from scratch though. Without the Wikipedia page.I wonder how it compares to the LLM just explaining the topic from scratch though. Without the Wikipedia page.
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Comment on The EU wants to decrypt your private data by 2030 in ~tech
EpicAglet LinkWhat makes this extra ridiculous is that there's no real way to enforce it. So what you'll end up with is criminals having access to secure encryption and law abiding citizens not. Not to mention...What makes this extra ridiculous is that there's no real way to enforce it. So what you'll end up with is criminals having access to secure encryption and law abiding citizens not. Not to mention that people will inevitably uncover and exploit any backdoor they put in place, leading to worse cybercrime.
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Comment on What is a quote that you really like that is from a problematic person? in ~talk
EpicAglet Link ParentI like the quiz, but the scoring is a bit silly. They say 4-7 out of 10 is "you know your stuff". But that is about what you expect for a random guess.I like the quiz, but the scoring is a bit silly.
They say 4-7 out of 10 is "you know your stuff". But that is about what you expect for a random guess.
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Comment on What is a non-problematic word that you avoid using? in ~talk
EpicAglet Link ParentTo me it always sounds like someone using a term from economic theory to sound more intelligent, whether true or not, in a context where it is not needed. When I was I high school I worked in a...To me it always sounds like someone using a term from economic theory to sound more intelligent, whether true or not, in a context where it is not needed.
When I was I high school I worked in a grocery store and the manager would refer to the customers as consumers. That may be why as he was the kind of person to do exactly that.
In the context of economics and consumption of goods I don't mind the term. But probably because then you're taking a more abstract and detached view of the flow of goods, and "consumer" is a nicely generic term.
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Comment on Google's new AI video tool floods internet with real-looking clips in ~tech
EpicAglet Link ParentI noticed that the voices still sound off. But the video itself is hard to tell apart from real footage depending on the scene (well, unless it has subtitles). Then again, I remember only a few...I noticed that the voices still sound off. But the video itself is hard to tell apart from real footage depending on the scene (well, unless it has subtitles).
Then again, I remember only a few years ago language models didn't seem like they would produce text as well as they do now either. So I wouldn't be surprised if soon it will be indistinguishable from real footage.
I can't help but wonder how well it deals with a larger narrative though, and how feasible it is to make it do so. It is rather challenging for AI to remember details of previous prompts. So you might just end up with video in which the main character randomly looks like a different person depending on the scene. So you'd not be able to replace a film crew entirely unless you resolve that.
For videogames I think these days we make them inside the game engine. It used to be that games would use pre-rendered video for cutscenes but it was always weird and immersion breaking if the art style suddenly changes when going to a cutscene. It looks more natural now. Going back to pre-rendered video would seem like a step backwards, whether AI is involved or not.
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Comment on Which unanswered questions do you want to see an answer for in your lifetime? in ~science
EpicAglet Link ParentI think it's still a big open question whether we can ever find a loophole that'll allow for FTL travel. It is entirely possible that this fundamentally cannot be done as far as we know. That...I think it's still a big open question whether we can ever find a loophole that'll allow for FTL travel. It is entirely possible that this fundamentally cannot be done as far as we know.
That would already severely cut down on the amount of sci-fi scenarios that could become reality since the places you can reach within a human lifespan becomes limited and it's possible none of those places are settleable.
One question you can then ask is how far we can extend the human lifespan. Perhaps through something resembling the cryogenic chamber trope or by making our physical bodies artificial. Or you could think of multi-generational colony ships.
Either way, one can then question whether this is a true interstellar civilization. It reminds me more of how historically mankind spread around the globe. The people living some of on the Pacific islands for instance were able to make it there, but were then cut off from the rest of the world.
It seems to me that some kind of information transfer that is not constraint by the speed of light is necessary for something to really be considered a interstellar civilization. And our current understanding of relativity predicts that this is fundamentally not possible.
So from my point of view is that it hinges on either finding something that changes our understanding of relativity - which may very well happen at some point - or we find some way around this. But it is also entirely possible that this fundamentally just cannot be done due to hard physical limits.
The idea that perhaps there are limits to what can be accomplished with technology that extends beyond the limits set by human ingenuity seems odd, since thus far we've mostly lived in a world where anything seemed possible. But there is no guarantee that this will remain so forever.
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Comment on Everyone is cheating their way through college in ~tech
EpicAglet Link ParentHow is that normally? For me, in Europe, that is essentially how every class I have ever taken has worked all the way to my PhD, I think?How is that normally? For me, in Europe, that is essentially how every class I have ever taken has worked all the way to my PhD, I think?
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Comment on Europa Universalis V officially announced (no release date yet) in ~games
EpicAglet Link ParentI second this. As polarizing as the dlc policy is, the upside is that because of an additional decade of post-release development, you get a game that is so ridiculously fleshed-out that no other...I second this.
As polarizing as the dlc policy is, the upside is that because of an additional decade of post-release development, you get a game that is so ridiculously fleshed-out that no other game is like it. The downside of it is indeed that it's hard to get into and that even after release it'll take years for EU5 to catch up to it's predecessor if it ever does.
So either get into EU4 now, slowly build your dlc collection and enjoy one of the best strategy games ever made, or wait until EU5 and avoid being disappointed by its initial lack of content.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
EpicAglet Link ParentI'd say it depends on the reason for moving it. You may get away with renaming some other peak to FujiI'd say it depends on the reason for moving it. You may get away with renaming some other peak to Fuji
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
EpicAglet LinkSeems a bit weird to suddenly pivot to a rant about TrumpSeems a bit weird to suddenly pivot to a rant about Trump
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Comment on I don’t want video games to challenge me in ~games
EpicAglet Link ParentYou can get that reductive about almost anything. Life itself is just contracting muscles to advance the plot. I guess it all comes down to the subjective nature of all this. It's perfectly okay...You can get that reductive about almost anything. Life itself is just contracting muscles to advance the plot.
I guess it all comes down to the subjective nature of all this. It's perfectly okay to require some degree of challenge and therefore not enjoy games that don't give you that. Ultimately, any game is just pressing buttons. So I can see how if the experience doesn't draw you in, you might be left being reminded of that reality.
It's a very cool idea.
Though in the real world I can't imagine it helping. Admittedly I don't know the book.
But if you collect the hydrogen you still get momentum transfer from the hydrogen to the spaceship, only now you need it to stop moving in the spaceship's reference frame. This would make the problem only worse than if you'd just let it slam into the front. It would still be bombarding your spaceship, wrecking and cooking it as well as slowing it down. You end up paying the insanely large kinetic energy cost of the particles, to only gain a bit of energy from the fusion. Not worth it.
My guess is that if you make the spaceship even remotely "aerodynamic", you gain more than trying to use it as fuel.
Unless you can somehow make the particles keep its kinetic energy. But that would involve redirecting it from the front to the back in a way that is energetically efficient. So you'd need to teleport it into the engine without touching it or something like that. But that is possible, then you've already solved the problem. If you then still have the ambition to use it as fuel, you somehow have to make fusion happen between particles that are moving basically at light speed in the same direction. If that is not hard enough in and of itself, the time you have to make it happen will be a tiny fraction of a second because light speed.
This is so deep into the science fiction, I doubt such a technology could ever exist. No matter how long a civilization lasts. Or at least that is so far into the future that they may have some completely different way of solving this, beyond anything we'd think of today.