Spyman

If we are in a simulation we don't know what a "perfect" simulation is, how massive the systems hardware is, how big space it's placed in, what real time is and so on... I did not mean that the system would hade any "agents" running to prevent us from detecting the system. What I meant was that the system (both hardware & software) need to be made in such a way that detection is possible either by decision, no decision or by a flaw/bug/limit in the construction/program. If we can detect the system then the system allows us to detect it, otherwise it don't, whether it's by the "creators" purpose or not. We can discuss if we are in a simulation all we want but so far we can't "detect" the system, we don't even know how to. It also increases the potential of games simulations. I don't think so, it depends on the system. Speculations - we don't know which mental requirements is necessary and those creatures would likely evolve with such a technology to something we don't know either. Even future humans might be considered aliens to us. (Counter speculation) But these "playing" races got bored pretty fast and invented some new funnier technology and later on these "non-play" developed the simulations and since they don't play so much and develop slower they spend much much more of their resources on the simulations on a much much longer time scale. But as I said before - we don't know the goal/rules/intention of the game. If the simulation is of the universe, or at least a very large part, then our solar system is a very small "brick" in a remote place, a very detailed piece in the backround that might be "played" but will likely be left alone for a long time, maybe for the whole duration of the game. The players could play against opponents that are comparable to them in ability, but if we are the SIMs then we can't compare us to them and don't know their ability. If the simulation is "only" of Earth then it would have needed as many programmers as we have individuals ? It would take a very complicated template with lots of parameters to be able to simulate different persons. With such large computer power I think it's more likely that the programmers let the AIs evolve according to some rules in the simulation. If it's a science simulation it's probably necessary and if it's a game simulation it would be much more unpredictable and fun to play, from game to game.

If we could make it to Mars directly that would be really nice. But lacking a lot of knowledge about all the technical tasks with spacetravel and building extraterrestrial bases, I simply vote for the easiest problem, (to be on the safe side). Learn to crawl before walk and walk before running and so forth...

A CME outside of the solar system would likely effect Earth in a much lesser extent than when it happens within the solar system due to the large distances involved. A coronal mass ejection (CME) is an ejection of material from the solar corona, observed with a white-light coronagraph. The material consists of plasma consisting primarily of electrons and protons (in addition to small quantities of heavier elements such as helium, oxygen, and iron), plus the entrained coronal magnetic field. When the solar cloud reaches the Earth as an ICME (Interplanetary CME), it may disrupt the Earth's magnetosphere, compressing it on the dayside and extending the nightside tail. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the nightside, it creates trillions of watts of power which is directed back towards the Earth's upper atmosphere. This process can cause particularly strong aurora also known as the Northern Lights (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Southern Lights (in the Southern Hemisphere). CME events, along with solar flares, can disrupt radio transmissions, cause power outages (blackouts), and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission lines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection

Guess I misinterpreted your first post then... I think it's only possible if the system running the simulation allows itself to be detected. I don't agree with your assumption because: 1) It severely cut's down on possibilities and focus very tightly to only Earth and humans. The Universe is very large, so to assume that we are the only ones able to make such computer simulations and that all those simulations only simulates Earth and humans, is in my opinion misleading. 2) I have plenty of games without anything even remotely resembling humans. Not to mention all neutral games which any intelligent being could play or games which includes both humans and fantasy creatures/aliens. Any statistics on all our games to back up your reason ?

It might be possible but it might also be impossible... To check wether the simulation is different from a real "Reality" or a game "Reality" one must know the real "Reality", which we are most likely not able to know from inside. The Players doesn't have to be in the game and even if they are we could still be some small detail - they may not be Humans or even on Earth. Either way, my main point was: We have not yet determined wether we would be in a reality simulation or in a game simulation. So it can not be used as an argument to prove wether we are in a simulation or in a real word.

The Nova was probably outside of the Pillars but likely inside the Eagle Nebula, which means that the distance between Earth and nova is different than between Earth and Pillars. Secondly, and most important, the shockwave from the supernova is propagating with much lower speed than light. So the flash of the nova passed us in the past, the light from a shockwave close to the Pillars is reaching us now and the light from any leftovers will reach us later.

I would say that the trend of games with better and better computers is to simulate more details in the games reality better. If we would be in such a supercomputer simulation, then it would most likely contain plenty of details to simulate the reality of the game very good. The universe could very well just be a small detail, like the pattern on a wall in "Resident Evil", (someone mentioned zombies), that flashes by for a short duration of the hole game. The quest/purpose of the game could be very entertaining and popular for players even if the "lives" of the wallpaper on a wall is boring. If we are SIMs then we don't know our meaning in this simulation or the purpose of it, hence we can't know wether we are in a reality simulation or a simulation in a game. So the argument: "statistically we would be more likely to be in a game simulation than a research simulation" - Doesn't show: "that we must be in Reality and not a Simulation". Unless if you somehow can prove that we not are in a game simulation...

Why ? - How can you tell the difference ?

The collision of two neutron stars would result in a GRB and most likely create a black hole. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous events known in the universe since the Big Bang. a specific subclass of GRBs (the "short" bursts) appears to be due to another process, possibly the collision of two neutron stars orbiting in a binary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray_burst The most intense explosions in the universe come in two varieties. One type lasts several seconds, and the others are gone in less than a second. New observations show convincingly that they are created by collisions of two very dense objects, likely neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, as theory had predicted. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051005_short_bursts.html

LOL ! Look at the Date: 09-11-2006 -> It was more than 3 months ago. The wound have most likely healed by now...

I think the ultimate goal of humankind is to preserve our species and the best way to achieve race survival is to spread out beyond our solar system, to create independent colonies on planets orbiting other stars. Even if science might be done better/cheaper/safer/faster with automated robotic probes and for sure is necessary, it's still only secondary. We could stay here on Earth and continue to increase our knowledge by unmanned exploration, but if we want to reach the goal we must eventually take a first step. A base on the Moon is for me a small step in the right direction.

Yes - bad policy - I agree, but The Global Exploration Strategy could still be good...

LOL ! ~100 shocks and still haven't learned not to touch. Seriously if the current has its main pathway through the heart and both enter and exit points have low resistivity then bye bye... The floor, socks and shoes are often quite good insulators, which have probably saved your life. A low-voltage (110 to 220 V), 50 or 60-Hz AC current travelling through the chest for a fraction of a second may induce ventricular fibrillation at currents as low as 60mA. Fibrillations are usually lethal because all the heart muscle cells move independently. Above 200mA, muscle contractions are so strong that the heart muscles cannot move at all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is a cardiac condition that consists of a lack of coordination of the contraction of the muscle tissue of the large chambers of the heart that eventually leads to the heart stopping altogether. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventricular_fibrillation

Statistics ? Are you doing a survey of how many shocks your body can take ?

If you asked 100 people why we should return to the moon, you'd probably get 100 answers - or more! Over the past year, NASA posed this question not just to 100 people, but to more than 1,000 from around the world. Scientists, engineers, commercial entrepreneurs, space advocates, and the general public all provided answers to this intriguing question. Starting with just their responses, NASA worked with 13 of the world's space agencies to develop a Global Exploration Strategy. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/why_moon.html The Global Exploration Strategy developed themes and objectives, and these objectives have led directly into the Lunar Architecture. The Global Exploration Strategy saw contributions from over 1,000 people and 14 space agencies, and there are two overarching issues that we are dealing with, and that is why we are returning to the moon as well as what we hope to accomplish when we get there. As I mentioned, the Global Exploration Strategy resulted in themes, and these are crystallized into six themes, and that includes extending sustained presence, human presence on the Moon, international collaboration, the Moon's usefulness as a unique laboratory, economic advancement and technological innovation that will be important to space exploration as well as benefitting people here on Earth, preparing for future human and robotic missions to Mars and other destinations, and also pursuing a vibrant exploration program that will engage and inspire and educate the public, bringing hope to young and old alike. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/164021main_lunar_architecture.pdf

You have not described the problems detailed enough to give any advise to how to solve it. Some general advice: Mains voltages are capable of delivering fatal, (lethal), shocks ! Erroneous or bad connections can be lethal to others and/or cause the house to burn down. If you or any of your friends don't have the knowledge and experience required -> call an electrician. If the junction box is part of the light fixtures and connected by mains power plugs -> replace them.

You might find useful tips & tricks here: http://skytonight.com/

People on the ground are safe but astronauts, satellites, power grids and other technological gadgets are in trouble. A space storm's impact is measured in nano-Teslas (nT), a moderate storm can be around -100 nT; extreme and damaging storms have been logged at around -300 nT. The 1989 coronal mass ejection that knocked out power to all of Quebec, Canada measured -589 nT. The 1859 perfect storm was estimated to have been -1,760 nT, the telegraph wires suddenly shorted out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires. The Great Storm http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_031027.html Astronauts Sleep in Safety from Solar Flare http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/061213_sts116_solarflare.html Space Station Glitch Possibly Caused by Solar Flare http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/061215_sts115_issflare.html

The molecular clouds have different size, temperature, pressure and internal movement. Gravity tries to pull the cloud together but is countered by it's pressure. Either the temperature becomes cold enough for gravity to overcome the pressure or a disturbance of the cloud may upset its state of equilibrium. Examples of disturbances are shock waves from supernovas, spiral density waves within galaxies and the close approach or collision of another cloud. The gravitational collapse is not uniformly -> turbulent velocities generates filaments and clumps in the cloud over a wide range of sizes and densities. Several protostars might be created or ejected, depending on the size of the original cloud. Computer animation of molecular cloud collapse: http://www.ukaff.ac.uk/starcluster/

I would like I smiley which slaps one hand in the forehead... (Doesn't have to be animated.) Also the Post Icons "for your message" would be nice to have included among the smilies. If thats not to much to ask ?

AAARGH !!! <slaps hand in forehead> But at least I am slowly catching on... My missing 'link': The Cosmological Constant. You actually nailed it down good Severian - Thank you !

I did not intend to advocate a 'duel' between them... - I was only curious how they relate to each other. But I have to admit that at first I though they couldn't coexist at all, so I was a 'little' surprised. (to find out that QG even could lend support to CNS.) For which I am very grateful, Thank you !

Formation General relativity (as well as most other metric theories of gravity) not only says that black holes can exist, but in fact predicts that they will be formed in nature whenever a sufficient amount of mass gets packed in a given region of space, through a process called gravitational collapse; as the mass inside the given region of space increases, its gravity becomes stronger and (in the language of relativity) increasingly deforms the space around it, ultimately until nothing (not even light) can escape the gravity; at this point an event horizon is formed, and matter and energy must inevitably collapse to a density beyond the limits of known physics. For example, if the Sun was compressed to a radius of roughly three kilometers (about 1/232,000 its present size), the resulting gravitational field would create an event horizon around it, and thus a black hole. A quantitative analysis of this idea led to the prediction that a stellar remnant above about three to five times the mass of the Sun would be unable to support itself as a neutron star via degeneracy pressure, and would inevitably collapse into a black hole. Stellar remnants with this mass are expected to be produced immediately at the end of the lives of stars that are more than 25 to 50 times the mass of the Sun, or by accretion of matter onto an existing neutron star. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole Collapse In larger stars, fusion continues until the iron core has grown so large (more than 1.4 solar masses) that it can no longer support its own mass. This core will suddenly collapse as its electrons are driven into its protons, forming neutrons and neutrinos in a burst of inverse beta decay, or electron capture. The shockwave formed by this sudden collapse causes the rest of the star to explode in a supernova. Supernovae are so bright that they may briefly outshine the star's entire home galaxy. When they occur within the Milky Way, supernovae have historically been observed by naked-eye observers as "new stars" where none existed before. Most of the matter in the star is blown away by the supernovae explosion (forming nebulae such as the Crab Nebula) and what remains will be a neutron star (which sometimes manifests itself as a pulsar or X-ray burster) or, in the case of the largest stars (large enough to leave a stellar remnant greater than roughly 4 solar masses), a black hole. In a neutron star the matter is in a state known as neutron-degenerate matter, with a more exotic form of degenerate matter, QCD matter, possibly present in the core. Within a black hole the matter is in a state that is not currently understood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star

YES ! Am I correct if I interpret your answer as: The force is stronger in the ship with greater acceleration ? (Measured in their own respective frames.)

Both our dogs are able to open the front door by themselves, simply by pressing down the doorhandle with their front paws. It's annoying since they are not polite enough to close the door behind them. And when a stranger uses the doorbell it's a race to the door, if one of the dogs beats me, I might end up finding the stranger running along the street and my dog barking at the edge of our property. Very embarrassing ! Well, we also have one cat, he used to have 'flap' pet door but when he started to drag home snakes as gifts, (still alive), my wife removed his license to freely go in/out. The pet door was permanently removed ! Nowadays he climbs up to the kitchen window and 'knocks' on it with his left paw, if he is not carrying any prey then he is allowed to come in. So now we have the problem with a screaming cat, sometimes about 3 in the morning, when he feels for going out and hunt.