Action and reaction, thrust, acceleration, fuel resources, space radiation protection. These are some of the principles and issues that come into play when it comes to traveling off Earth. First difficulty: escape the earth’s gravity, this gravity that keeps us on the ground. Which is already not so easy. Once in space, it is a question of mastering space navigation, but if we want to go far, the main problem is that of energy resources. Indeed, transporting your own fuel considerably limits the acceleration that we can give to a machine and suddenly our range, as Roland Lehoucq explains in the article. “Small practical guide to the journey to infinity” which can be found in the quarterly “La Recherche” currently on newsstands.
The case of Leonora Christina in Tau Zero
And imagine that we manage to constantly accelerate to a 1 g – the equivalent of the acceleration of the earth’s gravity -, of course we can go far, but then comes into play Einstein’s special relativity: the duration of the transport for the traveler is then much shorter than that measured by an outside observer. In the novel Tau Zero, by American author Poul Anderson, the spaceship Leonora Christina constantly accelerates due to a failure so that it crosses the cosmos to distant galaxies “the duration of the journey measured in the terrestrial frame of reference will be so long that this galactic excursion will be akin to a journey in the distant future of the Earth. Leonora Christina they are witnessing the end of the Universe… “ explains Roland Lehoucq. This surprising dilation of durations, which defies intuition, has however been verified experimentally.
Roland Lehoucq on Twitch Thursday July 1 at 5:30 p.m.
To answer your questions, we have therefore invited the astrophysicist Roland Lehoucq who has been interested for years in the relationship between science and science fiction. His numerous works and his lectures are pearls of popularization, of the analysis of the science of Star Wars to that of superheroes, his latest collective work explores the world of Dune, the saga of Franck Herbert. On the borderline between physics and science fiction, all avatars of space travel will be on the menu of this discussion on the Twitch channel of Science and the Future. Do not miss the appointment Thursday July 1 at 5.30 p.m. live on our channel https://www.twitch.tv/sciencesetavenir/ and then offline on our site.
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