Broadcast 1201 (Special Edition)

Guests: Dr. Eric Davis, Marc Millis. Topics: Propulsion science, propulsion physics, interstellar travel, antigravity, negative matter. Dr. Eric Davis and Marc Millis were our guests today to discuss their edited book, "Frontiers of Propulsion Science" published by AIAA. You can order this book through the One Giant Leap Foundation’s Amazon affiliate site, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1563479567?tag=onegialeafou-20&camp=14573&crea… , and some of the proceeds will benefit The Space Show. As you will hear throughout our discussion, this is the ultimate research and reference book to have for advanced and out-of-the-box space propulsion science. While there were the usual three segments for the program, this write-up is not as divided out segment by segment as is usually the case because many topics were covered throughout the entire show. That said, we started our program discussing theory and experiments and we learned that many of the frontier propulsion ideas have been part of experiments, even if the experiment did not work. We talked about out-of-the-box science ideas and mainstream science acceptances, plus the need for rigor on the part of the PI or scientist. This term is somewhat equivalent to the term “due diligence” I frequently use in program discussions. As we moved into the next segment, a listener inquired about out-of-the-box ideas and theories for lowering the cost of space access to LEO. Here, Lightcraft were mentioned as was the space elevator and beamed energy propulsion. You will want to hear the full discussion on these potential technologies. A listener also asked about a screening process for crackpot or fringe science ideas, that is how do you tell if something is worth pursuing or reading about or not? In the last chapter of the book, Marc mentions three filters for this purpose, the John Baez Crackpot Index, Carl Sagan's Baloney Detector, and the Dr. Irving Langmuir talk on Pathological Science. In the context of discussing antigravity, warp drive, wormholes, and more, both Eric and Marc discussed advanced physics topics which are all outlined in detail and summarized in their book. In fact, if you have ever wondered how much energy it would take in energy to open up a one meter wormhole, this is the show to listen to and the book to buy and read as this and many other important questions were addressed and answered. By the way, to open up that one meter wormhole, the energy equivalent to three-fourths the mass of Jupiter would be needed! At various times during our discussion, we talked about some of the science fiction ideas in Star Trek, such as the transporter, and this led to a discussion on transportation physics related to quantum teleportation, non-locality, and a little quantum entanglement. As the show moved on, zero point energy was discussed, starting with its history and then the real science of it and the New Age hype. Science fiction did enter our discussion and it was said that it was an excellent early stage brainstorming initial step. As you will hear me say over and over again, this is a must own and a must read book. It is also a very valuable research and reference book for anyone wanting to know propulsion and physics facts regarding space travel and related issues. One of the features of the book that makes it so valuable is that at the end of each chapter, there was a conclusion that summarized the chapter contents in easy to understand terms. The chapter summary/conclusions were very helpful and clearly added to the value of the book and the ability to understand what was written, especially if you do not have a physics or advanced scientific background. If you want to know about antigravity, antimatter, out of the box ideas and theories, start with this show and read this book. If you want more information, Marc Millis created the Tau Zero Foundation and you can read their interstellar news blog at www.centauri-dreams.org/ . For information on the Tau Zero Foundation, please visit www.tauzero.aero/ . If you have a comment or question for either Marc Millis or Dr. Eric Davis, please send it to me and I will forward it to them.