1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: This is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas. You know, Julie, 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: I was thinking about hobo's earlier. Of course you are, 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: and of course a great thing about hobos as we 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: you know, think of the classic you know, a great 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: Depression era wanderer with his bendel stick and his handkerchiefs 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 1: handkerchief and his weird codes and uh, you know, it's 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: like they would they would ride the rails. They would 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: get from one from point A to point B by 11 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: an accepted highway that existed between those, which was typically 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: the rails, right. So um, and and you know, for 13 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,319 Speaker 1: the hobo, he's not really having to expend. He's kind 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: of a a lazy individual, or at least he does. 15 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,279 Speaker 1: He has he has found value in other aspects of 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: life that don't revolve around vigorous labor. So he will 17 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: ride the rails and let the rails do all the 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: work for him as he plays cards, yeah or whatever. 19 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: So I was thinking, like, what if a hobo, a 20 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: galactic hobo, as it were, needed to get from here 21 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: to Proximu centuri, which is the the closest star to 22 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 1: our own. Did you realize that we are equating astronauts 23 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: with hoboes. Yes, and that's perfectly fine, Yes, yes, I 24 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: just want to state that that's that's spot on right. 25 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: I wish I had the internet here, I would do 26 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: a certainty who was the first hobo astronaut? If we've 27 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: had one, um or you know, and if we haven't, 28 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: we need to see about fulfilling that if there are 29 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: any hobos left. Right, So Proximus century, like I said, 30 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: closest star to our own, which means it's an insane 31 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: distance away. Um. To put that in a little in 32 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: a little scale, it is two hundred and seventy one 33 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: thousand astronomical units or a use away all right. Now, 34 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: don't let that number throw anybody off. Two two hundred 35 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: and seventy one tho a US. I'm there with you, okay, 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: one a U a single astronomical unit is the distance 37 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: between Earth and the Sun. Okay. So it's that distance 38 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: laid out two hundred and seventy one thousand times, all right, 39 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,679 Speaker 1: So let's put all that in in even another friend 40 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: of reforens here Okay, all right, this is a classic 41 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: analogy and I got this off of off of a 42 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: NASSA website. Uh, if the Sun were the size of 43 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: a typical half inch diameter marble, Okay, the distance from 44 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: the Sun to the Earth again an astronomical unit, would 45 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: be about four ft. The Earth would barely would be 46 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: barely thicker than a sheet of paper, and the orbit 47 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: of the Moon would be about one fourth an inch 48 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 1: in diameter. And on this scale, the closest to Star 49 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,959 Speaker 1: Proximus centuri would be about two d ten miles away. 50 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: So that's about the distance between Cleveland and Cincinnati. Yeah, 51 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: so we're we're talking a massive distance here, and there 52 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: are no trains traversing that distance. So how would one 53 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: get to that destination? Well, I mean you post a 54 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: pretty lofty question there. I mean we're talking about uh 55 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: trillion miles away, right, Okay, so it's definitely not gonna 56 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: be a day trip, right, not a day trip. Okay, 57 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: what's what's the farthest we've ever gone? Well, the voyage 58 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: probe reach the farthest distance of man made object is gone. 59 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: So we're talking a colossal journey pretty much. Um, for 60 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: all intents and purpos, it's kind of an impossible one 61 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: at this point. I mean, we could was we'll get 62 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: into we could do it, but we have to have 63 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: a phenomenal amount of will and energy. Yeah, and we'd 64 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: have to maybe not be so into the idea of 65 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: the hobo still being alive when you reach proximate centurion, 66 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: right right, Um, So it comes down to energy, right right, 67 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: And and it comes down to what's already making that trip. 68 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: And I think as the as the title of the 69 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: podcast should spoil, um light is the is the railway 70 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: that one might traverse. That's right, Yeah, there's why a 71 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: little photons. Yes, So the idea of using a solar 72 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: sale and you know, it's it's a pretty basic concept, 73 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: and it's it's exactly how you might think of it. 74 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: You know, it's like you put up a sail on 75 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: a ship and you catch the breeze and you ride 76 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: the ride the wind across the lake. Say, well, the 77 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: solar sail concept is pretty much the same thing. There's 78 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: like a breeze of light, you put up the sail, 79 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 1: the the it'll catch the breeze and push the object, 80 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: push the sail. I mean, at first glance, it really 81 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,040 Speaker 1: does seem kind of whimsical. Yeah, it seems. Yeah, it 82 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: sounds like it's a delightful you know, it sounds like 83 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: something from some sort of like French animated film, you know, 84 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: something on a fantastic planet. Indeed, you do see these 85 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: these designs show up like unrealistically in things from time 86 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: to time, like I think there's one in tron I 87 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: think that second um Star Wars prequel has some sort 88 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: of a solar sail thing, and uh so, so it's 89 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,160 Speaker 1: easy to sort of dismiss it is just as being 90 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: like sailing ships and outer space is kind of a deal. 91 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: But but the idea has been around for a while. Um. 92 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: The astronomer Johannes Kepler, who we recently talked about in 93 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 1: another podcast Um he actually can't is perhaps the earliest 94 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: to come up with the concept back in the sixteen century, 95 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: and he noticed that comet tails always point away from 96 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: the sun, implying the sunlight itself is pushing them around 97 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: like cosmic wind socks, right right, So he thought that 98 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: you could just simply, you know, get like a ship 99 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: with the sail, and you know, it was properly put together, 100 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: you could sail around out there, which which again, that's 101 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: kind of that sounds kind of fantastic. It was really 102 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: on the right track. So his hunch was right. Yeah, 103 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: I do have to point out that they as he 104 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: also thought that comments were formed of fatty globules and ether, 105 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: which for two, you can't get everything right. Okay, you're 106 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: really asking a lot of limitations back man too. Um, 107 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: but but but just start to run down exactly how 108 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: this is working. All right, Scientists now know, um, with 109 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: the you know, the advent of all the things we've 110 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: learned since the sixteenth century, that sunlight is a little 111 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: more than a stream of photons, tiny particles of light, 112 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: and they don't possess mass, but they do boast linear momentum, right, 113 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: and then the smallest quantum of light, right, And when 114 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: they bounce off of a reflective sour face, they push 115 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: against that surface. There's actually a push. So just you know, 116 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: you know, just look at anything like I'm looking right 117 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: now at a at a lamp and a canister of 118 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: tissue paper, you know, and and it granted that the 119 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: tissue paper is not crawling across the desk pushed by 120 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,679 Speaker 1: the light, but there, but even though it's not visible 121 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: of the naked eye, there is um. There is a 122 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: certain amount of momentum to that light. Yeah, and if 123 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: that tissue were a tissue box, I should say we're 124 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: super light and it was reflective, and when we'd see 125 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: more momentum right right, and if it were an outer 126 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: and uh, you know, free of the confines of Earth's gravity, 127 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: then we start, you know, opening up the rules a 128 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: little bit. So um. After Kepler had was long dead, 129 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: eight seventy three had James Clark Maxwell, and he first 130 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: demonstrated that sunlight exerts that a small amount of pressure 131 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,720 Speaker 1: on photons. In nineteen sixty, we launched a little something 132 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: called Echo one, uh and observed the sun pushing it around. 133 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: Echo one and Leaveacko too. We're both pretty awesome because 134 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,039 Speaker 1: they were basically super balloons. They were they rose up 135 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: to an altitude of a of a thousand miles and uh, 136 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: you know, we're actually space balloons in a very real 137 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: sense of the word. And they look kind of like 138 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: giant giant they're huge spheres. They kind of like giant 139 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: Christmas tree ornaments, just a very thin, you know, layer, 140 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: reflective surface with the gas. Yeah, I can't help but 141 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: think up hot air balloons without the bucket. Yeah, So 142 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: so in this case they observed the sun actually pushing 143 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: on it. So the basics behind that then is that 144 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: you've got a reflective surface. You've got light, right, and 145 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: like you said, you're you're we're not just reflected highly 146 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: reflect like a sheet of metal or a plastic coated 147 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: with metal and uh, and then it's reflecting the light. Okay. 148 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: And so the sales that we have right now, they're 149 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: thin sheets of metal like you said, and they've got 150 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: the plastic substrate in between, and then the reflective film 151 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: faces the sun. Right, Is that right? And it seems 152 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: again it seems really whimsical to think that this might 153 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: be something that could empower us to alpha century. Yeah, 154 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: it sounds far fetched, but but actually the more you 155 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: look at it, the more realistic it is. We've actually 156 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: um I was taught, actually talked about this subject with 157 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: the Dr Gregory L. Matt Loff, who is you can 158 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: look him up online. He's a pretty brilliant dude and 159 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: just can talk about sales, solar sales at the drop 160 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: of a hat. Just tell you all about him. So 161 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: the things that I get right in this podcast to 162 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: attribute to him, and the any errors I make are 163 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,959 Speaker 1: purely my own doing. Um. But Marion or ten is 164 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 1: an example of a probe that we sent out that 165 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: it was not in its in and of itself a 166 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: solar sale, but it had solar cells on it. It 167 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: had it was gaining some energy from the Sun because 168 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: it was on a on a mission around Mercury right 169 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: where there's lots of solar energy due the proximity of 170 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: Mercury to the Sun. So they were running low on 171 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: the on gas to power it's you know, corrective boosters. 172 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: So they were able to use it's a solar cells 173 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,599 Speaker 1: as a as an impromptu solar sale to maneuver it 174 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: a little, and they had some success with that. And 175 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: uh and so since that point we've had a number 176 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: of other experiments. The US especially had a habit of 177 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:23,839 Speaker 1: like putting a lot of work and thought into them 178 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,559 Speaker 1: and then not doing anything with it right, usually because 179 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: the funding dried up. Yeah, exactly, Like in the seventies. 180 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: Dr Lewis Friedman wanted to send a pro about to 181 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: Hayley's comment, and they were going to use the solar 182 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: sales for the rendezvous, but that was scrapped. The Russian 183 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: Space Agency had the whole uh spinning space mirror program, Uh, 184 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: the zan Maya one and two and UH and possibly three. 185 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,119 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if three actually came to fruition. But 186 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: but the whole idea was they were going to reflect 187 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: sunlight uh back to the Earth so that they could 188 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,559 Speaker 1: give sunlight to some of the you know, the far 189 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: northern regions that we're pretty short on it during the 190 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: winter and uh. And in at any rate, that was 191 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: able to successfully demonstrate some of those uh, those properties 192 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: of the solar sale even though those those projects were 193 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: far from you know, tremendously successful and um but though 194 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,679 Speaker 1: just as a side note, they were apparently designed to 195 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: the point where they could provide luminosity between five and 196 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: ten times a full moon. So well, you know, um 197 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: uh India's INSAT two A and three A communications satellites 198 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: in two thousand three. Uh, they were there was like 199 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: a four panel solar array on one side, and they 200 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: were able to use some aspects of solar sale technology 201 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: to maneuver it. And of course then the Japanese finally 202 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: beat us to the punch by getting you know, it's 203 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: like we're just as the years get up, right, we 204 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,839 Speaker 1: sort of see this as a trend that. Yeah, they 205 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: were left a little bit in the the dusts they were 206 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 1: able to launch this wonderful little device called Karros and 207 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: uh it's I I say little, but it had. It's 208 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:02,959 Speaker 1: basically a square some twenty meters in a diagonal line, 209 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: and it's as thin as like point zero zero seventy 210 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: five millimeters and it's made from a poly need resident. Right, 211 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: it's called the space yacht. Right, just to give you 212 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: an idea of how big it is. Yeah, and uh yeah, 213 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: the headlines really loved using that space shot, thank too. 214 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: But it's pretty cool because it would it would it 215 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: was like it would be it was like this the 216 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: central hub that would rotate and then the sales would 217 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: would would spread out on all sides around it, and 218 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: it was it was. They used a rocket to get 219 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: it up there right right, okay, and then it unfurled okay, 220 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,679 Speaker 1: and uh yeah, and it's it's it's been pretty successful 221 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: so far, um there, and we're still keeping eyes on 222 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: it to see how it's gonna how it's gonna do 223 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: in the near future. But the spacecraft itself was launched 224 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: May two, ten, uh, and with the whole idea that's 225 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: going to spend a six month trip traveling to Venus 226 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: and then it was gonna been a three year journey 227 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,439 Speaker 1: to the far side of the Sun. So it's the 228 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: world's first solar powered aircraft employing both the photon propulsion 229 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: and then film solar power generation. So it's it's it's 230 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: getting some energy from the sun for it's uh for 231 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: it's uh, it's for some sun for some of its thrust. 232 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: But then it's also using solar sales, okay, and they're 233 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: able to manipulate that yeah, yeah, yeah. But the really 234 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: cool thing is, you know, no fuel, it's all based 235 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: on on the Sun, some of its solar sales, some 236 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: of its solar cells, uh, to to power these these 237 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: little thrusters. And uh. Then there's of course NASA's Nano 238 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: Sale D which is currently as of this recording, NASA 239 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: has lost contact with it. Um. It was you know, 240 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: recently launched just in the past month, and it is 241 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: it's what's called a nano satellite or a cube SAT, 242 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: and it's merely designed. It's it's one of several different 243 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: experiments where launched and it's up there just to test 244 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 1: the potential for solar sales in atmospheric breaking. And that's 245 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: when you have an interplanetary vehicle and you send it, 246 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: say to Mars, and you want it to slow down 247 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: when it gets to Mars. Right. It was also ejected 248 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: from another satellite, right, which is kind of a cool 249 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: way to get multiple satellites up there or betting at 250 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: the same Timeeah, it's like, let's get a satellite up 251 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: there loaded with some nano satellites, each one like testing 252 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: some particular technology. So in this case, this one tested 253 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: tested solar sales. But you know, so keep your fingers 254 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: crossed right now, it's not looking too hot for it. 255 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: But you know, I don't know, maybe it's just part 256 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: of the curse with with US solar sale technology, the 257 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:27,200 Speaker 1: curse nano sale d Okay, So it's worth wondering just 258 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: how fast are these things going? Because again I'm looking 259 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: at the cleanex box. It's not moving, so it's you know, 260 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: just looking at that. Uh, It's it's hard. It's not 261 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: it's not moving to me, but it's hard to look 262 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: at that and then imagine oh the sun pushing uh, 263 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: you know, these satellites or even a spaceship with a 264 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: hobo inside it, Like, you know, how is that gonna 265 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 1: reach any amount of speed, but you'd actually be surprised, 266 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: all right, um, if you if you were to reduce 267 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: them the mass of of one of these devices significantly, 268 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: you could see it eventually traveling at about like fifty 269 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: six miles per second, which it's just crazy. Yeah, Like 270 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,959 Speaker 1: that's basically like two hundred thousand miles per hour UM. 271 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: That's ten times faster than the Space Shuttle's orbital speed 272 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: of five five miles per second. And uh and it 273 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: would be like traveling from New York to Los Angeles 274 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: in less than a minute UM. If NASA order to 275 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: launch an interstellar probe powered by solar sales, it would 276 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: take only eight years for it to catch Voyager one spacecraft, 277 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: which is which has been traveling for twenty years and 278 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: is the most distant spacecraft from Earth, like we mentioned earlier. 279 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: So the speed can really pick up UM and and 280 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: the key with it with any kind of interstellar voyage 281 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: because again, as you want to start as close to 282 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: the Sun as possible, it's kind of like imagine that 283 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: you have a fan in a room, like an electric 284 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: fan and a paper airplane, and you want to use 285 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: the power of that fan to sail that paper airplane 286 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: across this big room. You want to start it as 287 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: close to that fan as possible to give them the 288 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: biggest to meet push, Yeah, to give them as momentum. 289 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,840 Speaker 1: And so is the idea too that the greater the distance, 290 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: the greater the velocity, it's gonna go a lot faster. Yeah. 291 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: And and and you want to have as lighter materials 292 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: as possible, you know, as reflective as possible. So um, 293 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: you know, it's talking to Matt Loft and he said, yeah, 294 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: if you had using you know, sort of current technology, 295 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: you would you get this thing close to the sun 296 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 1: as possible, probably within the orbit of mercury, and uh, 297 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: get it in position, and then you unfurl those sales, 298 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: right it starts and then all that reflection starts taking place, 299 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 1: and uh you could you could probably reach two hundred 300 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: astronomical units in something like fifteen years, ten or fifteen years. 301 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: That that kind of uh, that kind of field. So 302 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: if you were putting a hobo on that, I don't 303 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: know how forget about how much a hobo ways, let's 304 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: just you know, for just to just just jazz it up, 305 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: we'll say hobo is aboard. Even if it's like a 306 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: nano hobo. Yeah, and uh you're going to launch in 307 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: the future, y. Yeah, that's it's coming. They're gonna be 308 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: made out of nanotubes. Um, you were going to launch 309 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: him from mercury uh towards proximate centuri Uh, you would 310 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: probably we'd probably take seven thousand years for him to 311 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: reach it. Yeah. So so again that sounds really really slow. 312 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: It is a colossal distance. I mean at that point 313 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: you need a generationship, right so that the hobo could 314 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: make other little hoboes that or your hobo has to 315 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: be purely mechanical or even a program like. One of 316 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: the really cool things about nanotechnology is when you start 317 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: looking at the possibilities of deep space probes, they don't 318 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: have to be as big as a room, right is 319 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: the technology improves, we can seevably make smaller and smaller 320 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: uh probes capable of of you know, of going out 321 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: there and relaying a message or or even you know, 322 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: carrying a sensory equipment. Right again, how carbon nanotubes are 323 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: changing our life exactly? And in fact, that was one 324 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: thing Matt Low touched touched on too. It's like it's 325 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: with this improves and we're able to make say a 326 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: fifty nanometer uh, you know, thick sale if you built 327 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: it in space, you know, and you could probably make 328 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: an interstellar void and as little as two thousand years 329 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,240 Speaker 1: and go uh in in so the lie or you 330 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: go uh and you could go even faster. One one 331 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 1: possibility to would beat it. You have that you have 332 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: like holes in your sale if it perforated, because you're 333 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: still you know, cover a huge space, still reflective, but 334 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: taking up less mass. So it's just a game of 335 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: like cutting down how much space they take? How how 336 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: small can you get in order as you can Yeah, 337 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: and just you know huge sales as well, right, well, yes, 338 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: I guess smaller meaning point Yeah. And so Matt, I've 339 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: also said that, you know, as we get into these 340 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: carbon nanotubes and and and graphines and and all these 341 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: type of futuristic um materials, he thinks we'll do a 342 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: lot better than than two thousand years. He you know, 343 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: he thinks we may even get you know, below a 344 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: thousand years. Uh. And he says he has his doubts 345 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: when we get into talking about like a couple of 346 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: hundred years. So it would still take our current technology. No, No, 347 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 1: this would be with with with forthcoming nanotechnology, we would 348 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: he and this is just talking about you know, getting 349 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,160 Speaker 1: into the orbit of mercury and sling shotting at out 350 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: on that beam of light. I mean, but we're using 351 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: some current technology to sort of Yeah, current technology, you're 352 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: looking at a seven thousand trip, but with conceivable more 353 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: or less near future technology, you could get it down 354 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: to a thousand years maybe a number of central Okay, 355 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: So some of the technology we have right now, it's 356 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: just a matter of decreasing in the size that we 357 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 1: needed to be. Yeah. Okay, so let's go back to 358 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,640 Speaker 1: the get that right in my head. Yeah, So let's 359 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 1: get back to that that paper airplane in the room 360 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,199 Speaker 1: with the electric fan. Let's say you're shooting it off 361 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: and it's not making it all the way. What's one 362 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: thing you can do to increase the chances of delivering 363 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: that paper airplane to the far side of the room. 364 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: I can harness it with nuclear arm heads no, no, no, no. 365 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: But but what you can do is say you've got 366 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: a different fan, a more powerful fan. Right. So we 367 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: can't really replace the sun right right, Um, I mean 368 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: not with any kind of conceivable technology. If we could 369 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: reach the point where we could replace the sun. We 370 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't be trying to figure out how to travel to 371 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,679 Speaker 1: the far side of the galaxy because you're probably doing 372 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: it every day. So but one thing we can do 373 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: is we can concentrate those particles by use of a 374 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,920 Speaker 1: laser or a particle accelerator, because these are basically just 375 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: concentrated um photons, right, Okay, so we know the photons 376 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 1: have momentum. So if we did have giant lasers, then 377 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 1: you would have so much more energy to concentrate that. 378 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: What you're saying, you could have a solar pumped laser, 379 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: which is basically a laser that's feeding off solar energy 380 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: that's absorbed. Okay, So the idea here is you would 381 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: point you if you've got one of these just crazy 382 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 1: advanced lasers, you could point it in the direction that 383 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: you want to solar sail you know, kind of like 384 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: laying a train track, uh, point in the direction of 385 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: say proximate centuri and then you just you know, you 386 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: coast that solar sail craft into the stream and then whammo, 387 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: it just takes off. It's like like grabbing hold of 388 00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: you know, being on a skateboard and grabbing hold of 389 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: a passing vehicle. Suddenly you're you're office. Do you have 390 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: a couple of things at work. You've got the added 391 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: acceleration of the beam, right, and then you've get the 392 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 1: fact that the greater the distance to travel, the faster 393 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 1: you're going. So two of those those forces working on it. Yeah, 394 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: provided you built a large enough laser, a large enough sail, 395 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: and a light enough spacecraft and you know, had light 396 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: enough Hobo in it, um, you could conceivably, according to 397 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: Mount laft Uh, according to his estimations, um, with this 398 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,919 Speaker 1: higher velocity, you could conceivably deliver that ship to another 399 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 1: to the nearest start to proximate injury within a human lifetime. 400 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: Well okay, so that's how we get to see it 401 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: in this lifetime, well not this lifetime, but within the 402 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:53,159 Speaker 1: space our forbearers will. This presentation is brought to you 403 00:20:53,280 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: by Intel sponsors of tomorrow. So yes, future generators and 404 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,479 Speaker 1: of Hobo could conceivably do this. Right. Now, you get 405 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 1: into questions of like energy costs for that laser right 406 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: because um, I think some of the estimates are looking 407 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: at like all the power generated on the Earth would 408 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: have to go into that laser. Um and then some right, yeah, 409 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: and then some yeah, there you go. That's that's a 410 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: bit of a logistics problem, not to mention your pointing 411 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 1: a laser at like a distant point in the galaxy. 412 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: Like you've got to sort of think, is that what 413 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 1: if there's somebody over there and they're like, whoa, they're 414 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: firing a laser at it, and then there are they 415 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: going to overreact and fire laser back at us? Yeah? 416 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: You know, we we think we're just laying some train track, 417 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: but we're actually firing the first shot in the Earth's 418 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: first and last galactic war. That would kind of suck. Now, 419 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,440 Speaker 1: another cool idea is to send off a slow moving 420 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: vessel and uh and have and and use lasers as 421 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:58,399 Speaker 1: a form of transport between us and that vessel. Okay, 422 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: explain more. Okay, So again it's like like you send 423 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: off a slow moving maybe unmanned vessel, all right, just 424 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,399 Speaker 1: powered by more conventional um you know systems kind of 425 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: these generationships you here, you know, talk to talk about 426 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: in sci fi and cosmology, where it's traveling such a 427 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: vast distance that you would have generations live and diet 428 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: aboard it. Well, instead of that, you just you sort 429 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: of keep it tethered by this this laser or you 430 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: maybe you don't have the laser fired up at all times, 431 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: but whenever you need to, you know where it is, 432 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: you know where you are. You were able to fire 433 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: up the laser and use solar sale technology to travel 434 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 1: between the two. Yeah, So that's another possible use for 435 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: for some of this uh and uh. But going back 436 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: to just sort of non laser solar sale technology, there 437 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: are a number of cool possibilities here involving, say, using 438 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: the solar sale to send cargo ahead of say a 439 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 1: trip to Mars. Um. There have been some some cool 440 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: studies into how we could use it to um to 441 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 1: mitigate a near Earth object that's getting a little too 442 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: close to our planet. Okay, so if there is an 443 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: asteroid coming at us, Yeah, then we could like some 444 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: some plans involved like actually putting a solar sail on 445 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: it and then it catches the light and it steers 446 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: it away and nudges it out of the way and uh. 447 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: And then there's somewhere it's like it's like there's like 448 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: a satellite beaming, putting a beam of light on the 449 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: the asteroid and pushing it with light. And then there 450 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,360 Speaker 1: are there are also plans where you just like splash 451 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: it with white paint and then yeah, and it and 452 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: itself reflects and then right. So and I thought that 453 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: was interesting because I was reading it a little bit 454 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 1: about it and said something about how it would be 455 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: really hard to sort of tether an asteroid because it's rotating, 456 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: it's maybe tumbling, so you really have to get a 457 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: system of gimbals to anchor it, you know, you know, 458 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: get your solar sail anchored to the surface of it. 459 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: But we have, we have successfully landed vessels you know before, 460 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: so it's not you know, completely crazy, but but it's 461 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,199 Speaker 1: still it's better than the nuclear option, right of shooting 462 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: down an asteroid and turning it into a giant shotgun 463 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: blast still headed for the Earth. Um and then another 464 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: really cool thing like we talked about with with acros. 465 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: You know, it has it doesn't need fuel, it has 466 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: it's all sunlight. So this is a tremendous opportunity for 467 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: for instance, that there's some some plans to you know, 468 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: put out some sort of approbe to keep an eye 469 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: on solar flare so we'll have advanced warning dangerous radiation 470 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: levels headed to the Earth. You put us you put it, 471 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: you know, more of a traditional satellite out there in 472 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: a high solar area. Um, you're gonna need fuel so 473 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: that it can correct itself with with with its with 474 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 1: its thrusters to maintain its position. But if you could, 475 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 1: if you could have all of that solar base, then 476 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:38,879 Speaker 1: there's you know, there's no need to worry about how 477 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: much food fuel it has. Uh, it's just you know, 478 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: for for all intents and purposes, it's self sufficient. Okay, 479 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: So I mean it sounds to me like it's just 480 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: a in the very short term, there's an easy way 481 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: to collect more data. Yeah, um, and in a more 482 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 1: efficient way. Yeah, it's uh, it's it's basically just really 483 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: it's the thing that really amazes me about it is 484 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: that it's just kind of like a really common sense idea. 485 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,359 Speaker 1: Now it's not, it's it's it's common sense of the 486 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: idea is needless to say, as you know, we need 487 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: to work out the engineering to to make it to work, 488 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: to really perfect it, um, you know, and we need 489 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: to not lose contact with the satellites they are testing it. 490 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: But but it's but still you talk to talk to 491 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: guys like Matt Loff and and other experts in there, 492 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: they're really you know, they really believe in this technology, 493 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: and they really see it as as playing is playing 494 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 1: a role in our cosmic future. So yeah, and I 495 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: think a lot of people will say, well, that's crazy too. 496 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: You know, why would you spend the energy and the 497 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: money to create this technology to go to alpha century 498 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: our proximate century, whichever you prefer. But I mean, if 499 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: you think about it, that that purportedly would have planets 500 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: of a century that would be earthlike, at least that's 501 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,639 Speaker 1: what we think. And so if we ever had the 502 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: at least other systems, I'm not so sure. I'm not 503 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: sure what the outlook is on. I think that the 504 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: suspicion is that they might sort of like rocky um 505 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: planets like Earth. And so the suspicion is, Okay, let's 506 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: let's go out there and have this opportunity to observe 507 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: planets if we could, and the suns if we could, 508 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 1: and and take that data back home and and even 509 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: use it to get a better understanding of our own planet, 510 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: which I think that sometimes people think there's too much 511 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: of a disconnect between space and Earth, and the fact 512 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: of the matter is that that's if you never try 513 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 1: to find out anything about space, it would be like 514 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: never leaving your house, your entire life being born inside 515 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: this one house and dying inside this one house. And 516 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,120 Speaker 1: you would never have a full understanding of your life 517 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: if you didn't have other things to compare it to 518 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 1: and to get a perspective on. So that's why I'm 519 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: I think it's so fascinating that this technology exists right 520 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,680 Speaker 1: now and how far it can get us in the future. Yeah, 521 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,639 Speaker 1: and just in terms of practicality to um when it 522 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: comes to deflecting potentially dangerous potentially like extinction level near 523 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 1: Earth asteroids, like we've never we've never done that before, 524 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,360 Speaker 1: we've never had to do it. But should we ever 525 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,640 Speaker 1: do that, that will be the one time in human 526 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: history that humans have ever done anything to save the 527 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: planet in a very literal sense, Like you watch you 528 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: watch big dumb summer action films. It's like people save 529 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: the world every week. You know, every comic book hero 530 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 1: that's ever existed to save the world at least once, 531 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: But in reality, we've never done that. This is the 532 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: one realistic chance we ever have at saving the planet. 533 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,719 Speaker 1: I mean, aside from the things that we know can 534 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: do to keep ourselves from destroying it. That's right, And 535 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 1: we can't rely on Bruce Willis to to save No, 536 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,959 Speaker 1: he's he's got gigs that you're doing it bars, I mean, 537 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: you just can't expect to get him at the job 538 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: of a hat. So, hey, we have some listener mail. 539 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: Let's bring it, let's do it. Have one here. Both 540 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 1: of these relate to our recent podcast about music Rebuilding 541 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: the Mind. We talked about the connection between music and 542 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: our brains and what's going on when we listen to 543 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: music or or you know, partake of any kind of 544 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: musical exercise. We've received a lot back from people on that, 545 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: especially when it comes to earworms. So Justin writes us, 546 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,439 Speaker 1: and he says, hey, guys, I just discovered your podcast 547 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: a couple of days ago, and your literal blow the 548 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: Mind episode about people's heads blowing up. It was fantastic. 549 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: Since then, I've listened to almost a dozen more, and 550 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: I just listened to listen to your podcast on music 551 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 1: in the mind. As far as non lyrical earworms, none 552 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,320 Speaker 1: of mine focus on what is being said. However, what 553 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: is strange is the tone of the vocals is what 554 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: gets stuck in my head. Um example, rushes closer to 555 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: the heart. Yeah, yeah, how's it go? Um, I can't 556 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 1: say like the word, but I can't do the time. 557 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,280 Speaker 1: That wasn't you know what I'm saying. So there we 558 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: just got him again if we were listening there, Justin 559 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 1: Um he says, so when he says, when the song 560 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: floats back, it is never the actual content, but instead 561 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: the sounds of the vocal exactly like you couldn't remember 562 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: the words of him and you could remember the the 563 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: And this is no slight to rush. But I kind 564 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: of feel like I could use that example for every 565 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,600 Speaker 1: single one of their songs. That's that one little melody there. Uh. 566 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: And then Justin also added p s. I did a 567 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: neat undergrad collateral study UM on the the predicators of 568 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: crime and found that a that states a state's power 569 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: energy usage and uh and how each state voted Republican 570 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: or Democrat were correlated to crime, amongst other things. So 571 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 1: he recommends were looking at that for a possible future episode. 572 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: That sounds pretty cool. Uh. And I have another email 573 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: here and this is pretty cool too. This is from 574 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:34,959 Speaker 1: this dumb By the end of Gabriel and Gabriel got 575 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: a big kick out of the term auditory cheesecake, and 576 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: I thought it's uh, sounds delicious. But he also pointed 577 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,480 Speaker 1: out quote, by the way, if there's an earworm that's 578 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:50,560 Speaker 1: bugging you, there's a little site called www dot unhear 579 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: it that's you in H G A R I T 580 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: dot com that will replace a song that's that's been 581 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: peanut buttered on your brain by peanut buttering another song 582 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: onto ukranium. Give that a try next time. Poker Face, 583 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 1: where's its ugly head? Um? And uh and I actually 584 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: check this out and it seems to work. It's kind 585 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: of dangerous. It's kind like playing Russian roulette with sometimes 586 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: bad songs like I just you know. You can click 587 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 1: through it and each time it'll bring up a SoundCloud 588 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: file with a particular song. Uh and uh and I 589 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: actually I did not have an earworm earlier today when 590 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 1: I checked it out, but it did get some sort 591 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: of like I don't even know what it was, but 592 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: some sort of a little electronic tune was momentarily caught 593 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: in my head. But you could conceivably replace poker Face 594 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 1: with whoop there it is. Yeah, I don't know that's 595 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: that's a dicey prospect because right now I have got 596 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: my seasonal earworm going on, which is simply having a 597 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: wonderful Christmas time, thanks a lot, Paul McCartney. Um, so yeah, 598 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:49,520 Speaker 1: I'd have to kind of go there and see if 599 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: if it was. If I can't imagine a worse warm 600 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: ear worm, though, then pal McCartney's simply having a wonderful 601 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: Christmas time. So I guess the bets are pretty good 602 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: in favor. Thank you of Whoop there it is. It 603 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,719 Speaker 1: does remind me and and I'm not trying to make 604 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: light of mental illness here that I once went to 605 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: a local grocery store and it was at night, and 606 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: it was one of these grocery stores that's it's a big, 607 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: big grocery store, and it's kind of like everybody goes there. 608 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: It's like you'll see hipster's there, you'll see um, but 609 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 1: you also see people that are down on their luck. 610 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: And this one particular gentleman, who was I think a 611 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: little down on his luck, seemed to only be able 612 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: to speak the words whoop there It is like he 613 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,479 Speaker 1: was just constantly saying, whoop there it is. And then 614 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 1: when when people would like, a guy came up to 615 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: you know, ask him something, you know, before we entered 616 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: the store, he was like responding, like in a conversational tone, 617 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: but the only words coming out were whooped, there it is. Okay. 618 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 1: I thought at first that you meant that he was 619 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: sort of like capping his thoughts with groop there. No, no, 620 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: like that was the only the only words he was saying. 621 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: Like he was just kind of walking on, whoop there 622 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:47,760 Speaker 1: it is. Whoop there it is. And then like somebody 623 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: talked to him and he's like, whoop there it is. 624 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: Whoop there it is, Like that was that was the 625 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 1: only way he could different inflections, Yeah, different inflections, So 626 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: it was it was really fascinating and there I it's 627 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: like it was, is this like the terminal? This is 628 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,440 Speaker 1: what happens if you cannot get into your worm out 629 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: of your head? Yeah? Probably not, it was. There probably 630 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: a lot a lot of other stuff going on there, 631 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: but it was so weird that this was the one 632 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: song that ended up being his you know, all that 633 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,040 Speaker 1: he was. It's too bad you couldn't have introduced him 634 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,440 Speaker 1: to the other Yeah, you found about that website? Yeah, 635 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: a lot of hassle. And speaking of websites, you can 636 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: check us out on two particular websites, uh, that being 637 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter. We're blow the mind on both of those. 638 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:34,520 Speaker 1: Oh and also we do have an excellent article on 639 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: the main side about solar sales, how solar sales work. 640 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 1: So I just dropped drop that into the search bar 641 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,760 Speaker 1: and you find a really you know, it's it's really 642 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,719 Speaker 1: good oversight of just how it just worked. So if 643 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: anything that I told you kind of throw you and 644 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 1: go there, and you should clear any questions up. Yeah, 645 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 1: and if you have any questions or comments at hobos 646 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: and solar sales, drop us a line at below the 647 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:02,200 Speaker 1: mind at how stuff works dot com. For more on 648 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works 649 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: dot com. To learn more about the podcast, click on 650 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: the podcast icon in the upper right corner of our homepage. 651 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,920 Speaker 1: The How Stuff Works iPhone app has a ride. Download 652 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: it today on iTunes.