dustofdeath
dustofdeath t1_iu37mfb wrote
Reply to comment by Redbelly98 in How long do you predict it will take before a probe reaches a habitable exoplanetand actually sends back footage of alien life? by sky_shrimp
Accelerating is easier - solar sails or lasers for example. But slowing down is a problem.
dustofdeath t1_iu1pz3o wrote
Reply to comment by gwardotnet in How long do you predict it will take before a probe reaches a habitable exoplanetand actually sends back footage of alien life? by sky_shrimp
Proxima is 4.6 light years. Voyager is currently around 0.005% of that speed.
Or 92000 years to travel.
dustofdeath t1_iu1oy0y wrote
Reply to How long do you predict it will take before a probe reaches a habitable exoplanetand actually sends back footage of alien life? by sky_shrimp
We may archive 1% (voyager is at 0.005%) of light speed for probes in the near future.
Proxima is 4.6 light years.
460 years at that speed.
But you also need time to speed up and slow down. So ~900 years + extra to transmit data.
Even if we could achieve 90% of light speed in minutes, we would spend a eternity slowing down.
dustofdeath t1_ise4anx wrote
Someone with a brain in marketing who actually follows media saw the kind of damage this was doing and would have led to lawsuits after launch (misleading product name, different hardware).
A new name is fine, regardless of price/perf. Market will decide if it will be a flop or not. But at least it's clear what you are buying.
dustofdeath t1_ir0kjzb wrote
Reply to comment by lightknight7777 in Solar power world record broken with ‘miracle material’ by NickDanger3di
"Miracle" material discovered in 1800s and has been in labs for pv cell research for two decades.
dustofdeath t1_ir0kdvi wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in Solar power world record broken with ‘miracle material’ by NickDanger3di
Graphene is used in non-hyped low-tech industries already.
dustofdeath t1_ir0jqad wrote
Reply to comment by lilbilmt in Solar power world record broken with ‘miracle material’ by NickDanger3di
Perovskite panel has a much smaller lifespan and is quite fragile currently.
That's the main scale-up issue.
dustofdeath t1_iu57qau wrote
Reply to comment by Redbelly98 in How long do you predict it will take before a probe reaches a habitable exoplanetand actually sends back footage of alien life? by sky_shrimp
You only need to accelerate once, you won't really slow down after that.