Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration

Interstellar probe
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Doug currently lives in Maryville, TN with his wife Ruby. Joseph E. Meany, Ph. While at UA, his research focused on the development and manufacture of conductive carbon-based molecules in electrical circuits, a quickly developing field within nanotechnology.

In addition to academic publications, he has written articles for Baen Books with particular focus for nanotechnological applications in space. Joe also travels to conferences and conventions as The Crimson Alkemist to inform and excite people about the promises and potential behind the latest discoveries in chemistry and material science. Paul Gilster: Publications Paul Gilster is a full-time writer who focuses on space technology and its implications.

He tracks ongoing developments in interstellar research from propulsion to exoplanet studies on his Centauri Dreams Web site www. Like a master kite flyer, Gilster slowly lets out the line and allows the magnificent dreams of interstellar flight to soar - describing the relevant technologies we already possess - then he reels readers back in by pointing out the lack of funding and distance these theories still need to go before becoming reality.

Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration downloads

The technologies include sails that capture light instead of wind; a combination of fusion and antimatter reactions; and artificially intelligent computer systems that evolve over time. Metaphors and examples based on common experience put the science in perspective.

This work is not only a clear, well-thought-out explanation of theoretical science and engineering but also food for the soul of anyone who has ever thought that space is a great adventure waiting to happen. He takes the reader on a tour of plans being developed quietly at NASA and other space agencies for sending an unmanned probe to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star.

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  • Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration by Paul Gilster?
  • Centauri Dreams: Imagining and Planning Interstellar Exploration.

Extensive notes capably steer readers into the technical literature. Call this book science-fiction-for-real. Author Gilster examines the possibilities with a sure-handed humor liberally illustrated with interviews with real-life experts and examples from the great science-fiction stories of Anderson, Sterling, and Clarke. He takes the reader on a tour of plans being developed quietly at NASA and other space agencies This analysis is tastefully interspersed with numerous references to science-fiction ideas and writers, reflecting Gilster's wide ranging knowledge of real science and his passion for science fiction literature.

This book is very well researched, and was for me an enjoyable read, one that I'm sure will be well enjoyed by science-fiction aficionados and hard-nosed realists alike!

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By and large the author does a good job describing complicated concepts Some of this effort begins with small systems that we'll use near the Earth and later hope to extend to deep space missions. Get A Copy. Hardcover , pages. Published October 8th by Copernicus Books Springer. More Details Original Title. Other Editions 2.

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Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Centauri Dreams , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Rating details. Sort order. Feb 20, Jacob rated it really liked it Shelves: science-and-nature , Space is big.

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No, really, space is effing big. Get it? Got it? Properly awed, mind boggled, all that stuff? That should tell you what NASA has to deal with.

The Big Picture

Whatever ways are found, we must remember that it is not so much speed, but acceleration that might be the problem. Even before you consider interstellar flight,you need a deflecter shield for protection. I can dream about interstellar missions and think about the science and different propulsion technologies. Call this book science-fiction-for-real. Although research into this subject had been going on for years, it was the successful landing of Mars Pathfinder and its successful but limited robotic mission in July of that sparked NASA to pursue bigger goals. There really aren't enough of these thoughts floating about at the moment.

We still measure travel distances in terms of astronomical units AU, the average Earth-sun distance, roughly 93 million miles ; thinking in terms of light-years will be even trickier. Enter Paul Gilster. Gilster, who also publishes the fascinating Centauri Dreams blog, wants to know what needs to be done, now, that will help us launch efficient and independent robotic probes and, later, manned ships sometime within the next few decades that can conceivably travel to the Alpha Centauri system or beyond within a few centuries--but hopefully less time than that.

Just how promising is what Gilster set out to find in this book, traveling across the country to various think tanks, laboratories, and NASA-funded research centers that are all working on the latest technologies and some theoretical ones that could someday do the job. Obviously we have to think long-term, as even some of the methods we explore today could be rendered obsolete in ten or twenty years, while the technology we need to explore most think nanotechnology is still in very early stages. But I still recommend keeping a towel around, just in case. View all 3 comments.

Robots on the Rise

Aug 31, Prabhat Gusain rated it it was amazing. Of antimatter drives, fusion runways, ramjets, solar sails, wormholes, dyson probes and other wild possibilities of interstellar travel to plan a journey to our nearest neighbor star.

Book Review: Centauri Dreams

Alpha Centauri is the next giant leap for humanity after Mars and we must plan well in advance. The big question, however, is to build and operate an interstellar exploration with a travel time of less than the creator's lifetime. What if the spaceship could build and evolve itself in space?