FTL communication within the next 50 years?

SLAM: debunk creationism, pseudoscience, and superstitions. Discuss logic and morality.

Moderator: Alyrium Denryle

User avatar
Exonerate
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4454
Joined: 2002-10-29 07:19pm
Location: DC Metro Area

FTL communication within the next 50 years?

Post by Exonerate »

I'm wondering if this is feasible... I've been looking into using Quantum Entangelment *coughansiblecough* for this function... Would it be feasible in 50 years?

BoTM, MM, HAB, JL
User avatar
kojikun
BANNED
Posts: 9663
Joined: 2002-07-04 12:23am
Contact:

Post by kojikun »

Watching TechTV right now. Some physicists have already used quantum tunelling to send Mozarts 40th at 4c :)

btw, it was straight through a block of material the signal should not have penetrated, let alone travelled FTL through.
Sì! Abbiamo un' anima! Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot.
User avatar
Exonerate
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4454
Joined: 2002-10-29 07:19pm
Location: DC Metro Area

Post by Exonerate »

kojikun wrote:Watching TechTV right now. Some physicists have already used quantum tunelling to send Mozarts 40th at 4c :)

btw, it was straight through a block of material the signal should not have penetrated, let alone travelled FTL through.
Yes... I think I remember hearing that from somewhere.

BoTM, MM, HAB, JL
User avatar
Einhander Sn0m4n
Insane Railgunner
Posts: 18630
Joined: 2002-10-01 05:51am
Location: Louisiana... or Dagobah. You know, where Yoda lives.

Post by Einhander Sn0m4n »

Hrug?
Sounds like Scalar waves or torsion fields, some weirdness related to quantum spin and PSI powers... Totally warped but kewl if it's real...
Image Image
User avatar
jaeger115
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 1222
Joined: 2002-12-29 04:39pm
Location: In the dark corridor, behind you

Post by jaeger115 »

I know that in quantum mechanics one subatomic particle can "communicate" with another one like it at instanteous speed. Could we take advantage of that and make an "ansible device" like these in Ender's Game?
Concession accepted - COMMENCE PRIMARY IGNITION
Elite Warrior Monk of SD.net
BotM. Demolition Monkey
"I don't believe in God, any more than I believe in Mother Goose." - Clarence Darrow
HAB Special-Ops and Counter-Intelligence Agent
User avatar
kojikun
BANNED
Posts: 9663
Joined: 2002-07-04 12:23am
Contact:

Post by kojikun »

theyve tried entanglement and i think it worked but not enough to transmit Mozarts 40th :)

What a shame we wont be getting FTL internet anytime soon! XD!!!!!!!!!!1
Sì! Abbiamo un' anima! Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot.
User avatar
Exonerate
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4454
Joined: 2002-10-29 07:19pm
Location: DC Metro Area

Post by Exonerate »

jaeger115 wrote:I know that in quantum mechanics one subatomic particle can "communicate" with another one like it at instanteous speed. Could we take advantage of that and make an "ansible device" like these in Ender's Game?
Actually, thats pretty much what I was talking about. Quantum entanglement is when you have 2 particles that behave exactly identically.

BoTM, MM, HAB, JL
User avatar
ArmorPierce
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 5904
Joined: 2002-07-04 09:54pm
Location: Born and raised in Brooklyn, unfornately presently in Jersey

Post by ArmorPierce »

Yes I've heard about that. Didn't hear how long it would take to develop it if it can be used for ftl communication.
Brotherhood of the Monkey @( !.! )@
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. ~Steve Prefontaine
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
User avatar
jaeger115
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 1222
Joined: 2002-12-29 04:39pm
Location: In the dark corridor, behind you

Post by jaeger115 »

Actually, thats pretty much what I was talking about. Quantum entanglement is when you have 2 particles that behave exactly identically.
We can take advantage of that to make one particle move in a specific pattern, which stands for one letter of the alphabet. then another pattern, another letter. And so on.
Concession accepted - COMMENCE PRIMARY IGNITION
Elite Warrior Monk of SD.net
BotM. Demolition Monkey
"I don't believe in God, any more than I believe in Mother Goose." - Clarence Darrow
HAB Special-Ops and Counter-Intelligence Agent
User avatar
kojikun
BANNED
Posts: 9663
Joined: 2002-07-04 12:23am
Contact:

Post by kojikun »

btw, the method i saw was not cesium vapor as in the tests to get light to go FTL. it was what looked like a 8 inch long block of bronze meant to STOP signals.
Sì! Abbiamo un' anima! Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot.
HemlockGrey
Fucking Awesome
Posts: 13834
Joined: 2002-07-04 03:21pm

Post by HemlockGrey »

Radio free Sentinal!

IT'S FULL OF STARS!
The End of Suburbia
"If more cars are inevitable, must there not be roads for them to run on?"
-Robert Moses

"The Wire" is the best show in the history of television. Watch it today.
User avatar
kojikun
BANNED
Posts: 9663
Joined: 2002-07-04 12:23am
Contact:

Post by kojikun »

.. que?
Sì! Abbiamo un' anima! Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot.
User avatar
GrandMasterTerwynn
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 6787
Joined: 2002-07-29 06:14pm
Location: Somewhere on Earth.

Re: FTL communication within the next 50 years?

Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

Exonerate wrote:I'm wondering if this is feasible... I've been looking into using Quantum Entangelment *coughansiblecough* for this function... Would it be feasible in 50 years?
Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah . . . . hahahahaha . . . no.

It may certainly speed up quantum computing, but any attempt to observe either particle will cause the quantum superposition to collapse. So, checking the machine for messages will destroy the superposition. For that matter, so will stray cosmic radiation entering the machine. So, quantum entanglement is not a way to cheat Einstein.
User avatar
GrandMasterTerwynn
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 6787
Joined: 2002-07-29 06:14pm
Location: Somewhere on Earth.

Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

kojikun wrote:btw, the method i saw was not cesium vapor as in the tests to get light to go FTL. it was what looked like a 8 inch long block of bronze meant to STOP signals.
All these experiments to get things to go FTL are actually tricks. I remember reading somewhere that physicists had gotten light pulses to travel faster-than-light. Unfortunately, the fact that you can observe the pulse as apparently going FTL doesn't mean that any information conveyed will travel FTL as well. Here is a link discussing what I am saying:

http://www.if.ufrgs.br/ast/ftl.htm

My point is that though we can do strange things on the quantum level that seem to go FTL, we can't use these effects to usefully convey information any faster than plain old c.
User avatar
ArmorPierce
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 5904
Joined: 2002-07-04 09:54pm
Location: Born and raised in Brooklyn, unfornately presently in Jersey

Post by ArmorPierce »

I remember reading somewhere that they were working in a way to measure the particle and then some how change it back to the original state. I don't remember where I read it from, don't remember most of what it said, so I don't hold merit to it.
Brotherhood of the Monkey @( !.! )@
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. ~Steve Prefontaine
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
User avatar
kojikun
BANNED
Posts: 9663
Joined: 2002-07-04 12:23am
Contact:

Post by kojikun »

--All these experiments to get things to go FTL are actually tricks. I remember reading somewhere that physicists had gotten light pulses to travel faster-than-light. Unfortunately, the fact that you can observe the pulse as apparently going FTL doesn't mean that any information conveyed will travel FTL as well. Here is a link discussing what I am saying:

http://www.if.ufrgs.br/ast/ftl.htm

My point is that though we can do strange things on the quantum level that seem to go FTL, we can't use these effects to usefully convey information any faster than plain old c.--

Ah. I guess Mozart's 40th doesnt count as information. :) I'll get you the names of the scientists you did the experiment.

And the link you provided is to the cesium vapor experiment not the one im talking about.
Sì! Abbiamo un' anima! Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot.
User avatar
Dennis Toy
BANNED
Posts: 2072
Joined: 2002-07-20 01:55am
Location: Deep Space Nine

Post by Dennis Toy »

I like this, i also see other applications, like a new form of computer storage and processing.
You wanna set an example Garak....Use him, Let him Die!!
User avatar
Durandal
Bile-Driven Hate Machine
Posts: 17927
Joined: 2002-07-03 06:26pm
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
Contact:

Post by Durandal »

Being that the speed of light defines the permeability of free space (meaning that the speed light travels through it is the fastest possible speed through that medium), it's highly unlikely that we'll find a way to send faster-than-light particles through free space.
Damien Sorresso

"Ever see what them computa bitchez do to numbas? It ain't natural. Numbas ain't supposed to be code, they supposed to quantify shit."
- The Onion
User avatar
Raptor 597
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3338
Joined: 2002-08-01 03:54pm
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana

Post by Raptor 597 »

Interesting note VDSL can be travelled at speed C. Bean had the story a few months ago. The University of Tennesse made this discovery and 5 years from now or later ADSL will be 5 times slower then VDSL.
Formerly the artist known as Captain Lennox

"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." - Sir Isaac Newton
User avatar
Shinova
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10193
Joined: 2002-10-03 08:53pm
Location: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Post by Shinova »

Feasible FTL communications won't be around until at least, I'd say 400 years. 600 is a more sensible figure.
User avatar
Cthulhu-chan
Padawan Learner
Posts: 297
Joined: 2002-09-18 09:55pm

Post by Cthulhu-chan »

Given the rate that technology has improved itself over the last hundred years, that seems rather pessimistic.
"Heaven is an American salary, a Chinese cook, an English house, and a Japanese wife. Hell is defined as having a Chinese salary, an English cook, a Japanese apartment, and an American wife." -- James H. Kabbler III.
User avatar
Warspite
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1970
Joined: 2002-11-10 11:28am
Location: Somewhere under a rock

Post by Warspite »

Well, GrandMasterTerwynn Already did most of the explaining, I would like to add this point:

Heisenberg's Principle is what allows quantum tunneling/entaglement/whatever.
Until we read the properties of a particle, we don't know anything about it, and so, the particle can have any state/property we want, even a simultaneous property as another particle. It's those changes that are related to quantum (insert name here), we change the properties of a particle, and another will change those same properties, irrespective of it's position in space-time. BUT, we need to know what those changes are, that is, an investigator A sending a message to an investigator B, has to send also the properties parameters, in order for the investigator B to read the properties on it's particle, and that can only be done on good old methods.
It's an interesting property, and maybe it can have useful aplications, but given our current tech level, it's not possible to send FTL messages through quantum tunneling/entaglement/whatever.
Not that any advanced civilization couldn't have solved the problem...
[img=left]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/ ... iggado.jpg[/img] "You know, it's odd; practically everything that's happened on any of the inhabited planets has happened on Terra before the first spaceship." -- Space Viking
User avatar
Pu-239
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4727
Joined: 2002-10-21 08:44am
Location: Fake Virginia

Post by Pu-239 »

There would be no point to FTL comm anyways, except for communication to the moon/mars/etc to eliminate latency for remote controlled applications, since FTL travel is impossible. Signals travel to wire or fiber optic pretty fast already. The problem is how many times you can modulate a signal per second (baud), and the encoding used. I thinks the fastest baud rate is 2400 and anything faster is just the result of a different modulation scheme. (BTW I'm talking about analog modems) Even with fiber optic/radio/etc information travels nowhere near light speed. Latency will still be reduced slightly. If quantum entanglement allows instantaneous switching that would improve things dramatically though, I don't know. However currently quantum entanglement can only transfer useless random messages (perhaps usable in some form of encryption I read somewhere though) . Anyways even if it was possible, you probably couldn't pay for it. I mean if you can't afford an OC-3, what makes you think you can afford a "ftl" internet connection.

ah.....the path to happiness is revision of dreams and not fulfillment... -SWPIGWANG
Sufficient Googling is indistinguishable from knowledge -somebody
Anything worth the cost of a missile, which can be located on the battlefield, will be shot at with missiles. If the US military is involved, then things, which are not worth the cost if a missile will also be shot at with missiles. -Sea Skimmer


George Bush makes freedom sound like a giant robot that breaks down a lot. -Darth Raptor
User avatar
Exonerate
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4454
Joined: 2002-10-29 07:19pm
Location: DC Metro Area

Post by Exonerate »

For my group, we need to communicate from the asteroid belt to Earth. I doubt if you'd like a latency of 1200000.

BoTM, MM, HAB, JL
User avatar
jaeger115
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 1222
Joined: 2002-12-29 04:39pm
Location: In the dark corridor, behind you

Post by jaeger115 »

Why don't we make a small wormhole and send messages through? I know, I know, wormholes require extremely advanced tech, but it's plausible.
Concession accepted - COMMENCE PRIMARY IGNITION
Elite Warrior Monk of SD.net
BotM. Demolition Monkey
"I don't believe in God, any more than I believe in Mother Goose." - Clarence Darrow
HAB Special-Ops and Counter-Intelligence Agent
Post Reply