Sci-Fi Idea

[Darth Ruinus]

Not exactly. If you allow for FTL, then "portable" wormholes should be too implausible. And the hole does not have to be that big, just large enough to pump a stream of something with a high specific heat through.

And, as Ford Prefect points out, the problem is then hiding the wormhole.

You "solved" the problem by making a more complex and ridiculous problem.

[Machine Ghost]

And, as Ford Prefect points out, the problem is then hiding the wormhole.

You "solved" the problem by making a more complex and ridiculous problem.

Some how I think that if you can produce and contain a hole in the time-space continuum, hiding it should be within your grasp.

[Beowulf]

Cryo-arithmetic engines appear to be loosely based on something that isn't physically impossible, called reversible computers, which take much less power to run than a normal computer (potentially dissipating zero power). The problem is that it's a fairly new field, and thus has little maturity.

[Machine Ghost]

I don't know anything about working with wormholes, but just because you can make and contain something doesn't mean hiding it is easy.

I don't know anything about wormhole. And people don't even know if they exist/or are possible.

As for the farm animal metaphor. You could put them in a building with a very good A/C system and no one would know. That is within your reach.

If I have to guess, I would say wormhole-stealth would be used rarely, and not even be considered by civilians, so the power usage, and cost would probably be astronomical.

[Junghalli]

How obvious would a wormhole be anyway? What sort of radiation etc. would it emit?

[Machine Ghost]

How obvious would a wormhole be anyway? What sort of radiation etc. would it emit?

That we don't know.

From what I understand, physicists seem to believe they are plausible, but astronomers havenn't found any yet. So if they do exist they are pretty sneaky already, or look like something else.

But then man-made wormholes might be a different story. Who knows.

[Darth Wong]

As for space stealth: it is possible (but only through quantum levels of technology).

By "quantum", you apparently mean "magic".

Not exactly. If you allow for FTL, then "portable" wormholes should be too implausible.

Why? Because you say so? Explain your reasoning.

And the hole does not have to be that big, just large enough to pump a stream of something with a high specific heat through.

While radiating no extra emissions of its own, and requiring no equipment which radiates extra emissions of its own, etc?

But if we are only going to use stuff that we know exists, then it is true that stealth is impossible.

Nice black/white fallacy. Either we stick completely to known physics, or ANYTHING GOES and we still call it "plausible". If you're going to go with the "anything goes" approach, why not simply invent an entropy annihilator device, or assume that their technology is so advanced that it produces no waste heat?

Your reasoning seems to be "once you have FTL, then anything is possible, so everything is plausible."

[Machine Ghost]

While radiating no extra emissions of its own, and requiring no equipment which radiates extra emissions of its own, etc?

I think you missed the part where I said the ship would be wrapped in a sheet of something than can prevent heat, radiation, or other emissions from leaving. The wormhole keeps the waste heat from burning your ship from the inside out.

But if we are only going to use stuff that we know exists, then it is true that stealth is impossible.

Nice black/white fallacy. Either we stick completely to known physics, or ANYTHING GOES and we still call it "plausible". If you're going to go with the "anything goes" approach, why not simply invent an entropy annihilator device, or assume that their technology is so advanced that it produces no waste heat?

Not known physics, known technology. Known physics says space-time is bent by gravity, so why not bent until it touches another piece of space time. Known technology says, to get rid of heat then you have to either radiate it or eject heated material out the normal way.

Your reasoning seems to be "once you have FTL, then anything is possible, so everything is plausible."

Actually my reasoning was: If your going to stretch your imagination enough to allow for jumping to hyperspace, or folding space-time, or traveling faster than light; then creating a wormhole can not be too far out.

[Machine Ghost]

Now before this wormhole debate goes further.

Let me just say that I said the wormhole-stealth idea just to illustrate that it might be possible, just not with foreseeable technology. I doubt any of us are astrophysicists, and if we were it would all still be very far out theory.

[Darth Wong]

While radiating no extra emissions of its own, and requiring no equipment which radiates extra emissions of its own, etc?

I think you missed the part where I said the ship would be wrapped in a sheet of something than can prevent heat, radiation, or other emissions from leaving. The wormhole keeps the waste heat from burning your ship from the inside out.

No, I didn't miss that part. I did miss the part where you explained why it was plausible that this magic insulation would have unlimited capabilities, though. Or did you think that the rules governing the nature of insulation would somehow go out the window too?

And if you can create perfect insulators and arbitrary wormholes into which you can dump waste heat, why don't you just keep your ship in this magic undetectable wormhole?

Not known physics, known technology. Known physics says space-time is bent by gravity, so why not bent until it touches another piece of space time.

Because the ability to arbitrarily manipulate positive and negative energy densities in order to create the necessary conditions is so spectacular that it implies the ability to direct your own waste heat in similar fashion, thus making this whole exercise unnecessary? Why not just use your magic "arbitrary energy manipulator" device to focus all of your waste heat into a collimated beam behind your ship?

Actually my reasoning was: If your going to stretch your imagination enough to allow for jumping to hyperspace, or folding space-time, or traveling faster than light; then creating a wormhole can not be too far out.

And once you assume that, a magic undetectable wormhole is plausible too! And once you assume that, a magic infinite-insulation blanket is plausible too! Hooray!

I think I need to write a sci-fi story where they have these infinite insulation blankets of yours. The bastards wouldn't even need stealth; they could shrug off nuclear blasts by simply throwing up the magic blanket.

[Machine Ghost]

No, I didn't miss that part. I did miss the part where you explained why it was plausible that this magic insulation would have unlimited capabilities, though. Or did you think that the rules governing the nature of insulation would somehow go out the window too?

Well it could have multiple layers, one for heat, one for radiation, one for EM, etc.

As for insulation, let me use a real world example. My laptop, it produces heat, and is wrapped in plastic. But as long is its fan is running I won't feel the heat as long as I don't put my hand in front of the fan.

Before you say something about my laptop not being a spaceship, or my laptop not having fusion, fission, or antimatter powerplants, let me say this: The outside of the ship has the insulation the absorb heat not redirected by the layer or pipes that contains hydrogen, which is routed through the wormhole.

And if you can create perfect insulators and arbitrary wormholes into which you can dump waste heat, why don't you just keep your ship in this magic undetectable wormhole?

I don't know, maybe the wormholes can only be made the size of a baseball, or maybe everything that does it gets broke into its atomic components. It seemed easier to pump a gas through the wormhole than a ship full of people.

I think I need to write a sci-fi story where they have these infinite insulation blankets of yours. The bastards wouldn't even need stealth; they could shrug off nuclear blasts by simply throwing up the magic blanket.

Go for it. Might even be interesting, people trying to deal with the implications of new technology.

[Junghalli]

If you had a universe where Machine Ghost's idea was feasible it would have interesting applications besides getting rid of waste heat. You could hook the wormhole up to the ship's engines and pump fuel through, thereby allowing much larger payloads because the ship doesn't have to carry its own fuel. You could supply power too, saving more weight by having the power plant outside the ship. If you had a universe where this was the only available form of FTL you could still use it to dramatically improve the performance of your STL ships.

[Darth Wong]

If you had a universe where Machine Ghost's idea was feasible it would have interesting applications besides getting rid of waste heat. You could hook the wormhole up to the ship's engines and pump fuel through, thereby allowing much larger payloads because the ship doesn't have to carry its own fuel. You could supply power too, saving more weight by having the power plant outside the ship. If you had a universe where this was the only available form of FTL you could still use it to dramatically improve the performance of your STL ships.

If you had a universe where this was practical, these two inventions (the magic indestructible blanket and the magic undetectable portable wormhole) would completely dominate the design of your ships, the tactics of your battles, etc. Instead of becoming a solution to a problem, they completely dominate the nature of your sci-fi universe.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I love how the Laws of Thermodynamics are perceived to cause inconveniences. So just run roughshod over any other principles and handwave anything you want, and then its no problem! A "fix" for a scientific problem should not cause bigger and more important consequences than the original premise! It like doing dental surgery with a jackhammer.