Dinnertable Physics, Episode 2

[ultranos]

(going to try to type this up before the Mountain Dew wears off. I've been awake 36 hours.)

So, once again, friends and I were at a restaurant: (paraphrased conversation)

"So, the Stargate, it disassembles you and reassembles you on the other side."
"So are we saying it acts more like a teleporter or is it actually a wormhole."
"Well, remember E=mc^2."
"Yes. That's a heck of a lot of energy. Also, c is constant."
"Right, but wormhole."
"Okay. But it disassembles you and sends you as energy? Or are does it also send your atoms?"
"E=mc^2..."
"Okay, okay. Still. Lot of energy. Or does it simply reassemble you on the other side using the fundamental particles to create the appropriate atoms. Because it can't be down to atoms only if you bring, for example, an element that doesn't exist on one end through."
"Also, remember that you can pass matter through to a 'gate in a vacuum."
"Oh right. So it's impossible to recreate a ship for example on the other side if the other 'gate is floating in space. So it's probably sending fundamental particles."
"Yes."
"That's kind of impressive. Especially if its loss-less."
"Hey, can you create matter just out of energy?"
"The answer is: the plot."
"Okay, with boundary conditions of "the plot", can you create matter out of just energy?"
*digression on nuclear reactors*
"Yeah, you can create matter out of energy all the time. You're just also creating antimatter at the same time."

And then we digressed to ships powered by antimatter engines to small black holes and the LHC at CERN (I believe the idea for a tabletop "The Pirates of Dark Matter" came up again) and how the world might end this summer or at least we should all be ready with crowbars in case there's a dimensional breach and the headcrabs come through.

Comments

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

...and how the world might end this summer or at least we should all be ready with crowbars in case there's a dimensional brief and the headcrabs come through.

Um, is this why my local Walmart is handing out "Are YOU Ready?" pamphlets with lists of stuff you should have on hand?

And... *headcrabs*?? WTF? Should I stock up on lice-killing shampoo?

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

I...have no idea.

The "headcrabs" thing is a Half-Life reference (a video game franchise by Valve Software). The basic idea is that there is this defense company known as Black Mesa who was doing some experiment. It went wrong and this dimensional rift opened to another world and all these horrible things came crawling through and took over the world. One of these things is called a headcrab, which is a insect-like creature that latches onto your head and eats your brain. Or something.

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

oh. part of me thought the headcrabs were the name for the aliens in the episode 'Foothold'.

or just something you created. which would be good.

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

Very neat conversation. What's really scary, though, is that, for as much energy as the disassembling and reassembling requires, it takes even more energy to hold the ends of the wormhole open.

sorry...been reading a bunch of Dr. Kaku's work lately.

I still love your conversation, though.

ps: headcrabs?

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we figured if the people who created it could actually make a stable wormhole, the loss-less disassembly and reassembly is actually probably trivial.

The best part about these conversations is that they take place in crowded restaurants.

Re: Headcrabs. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headcrab) It's a Half-Life reference.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Wait, weren't we debating this earlier this month? :)

I think it totally depends on plot on whether the 'gates transport matter or energy or strangelets or little pink bunnies.

(but don't worry, soon we'll create a little black hole and Switzerland will disappear and the rest of the world will follow soon after. And then you can sleep)

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Yes, in fact, we were. Which is why I felt the need to paraphrase the thing here. :)

Well, that's why we defined the boundary conditions as "the plot". :)

(Hee, the little black holes! We were discussing the possibility of if countless other civilizations got to this point where they all made large particle accellerators and each and every one got sucked into black holes of their own creation. And then we broke our brains with the idea that maybe every black hole in existence wasn't actually natural.

So anyway, the black hole forms and the only way to escape is in our totally awesome spaceship. Which then led to the comment about "The Pirates of Dark Matter". Which is a direct allusion to the awesome, short-lived cartoon "The Pirates of Dark Watter".

"All around the universe, civilizations are being swallowed up by dark matter..." Because, well, space pirates.)

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

definately original.

I think the closest version I've ever heard to that...is that red dwarf stars are actually dyson spheres built by & for retired civilizations.

...but this explanation of yours, actually explains the Great Silence a lot better. and is (literally and figuratively) neater.

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Hee! I was just reading an article linked on Boing Boing about a lawsuit to delay the LHC because of the fear it will destroy the Earth (and then spent two hours wandering wikipedia reading up on particle colliders...)

I believe the idea for a tabletop "The Pirates of Dark Matter" came up again

*snorfle*

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

I was just reading an article linked on Boing Boing about a lawsuit to delay the LHC because of the fear it will destroy the Earth

Sometimes, the crazies are really special. Personally, I'm pretty excited about the LHC. (And if it does destroy the Earth, then, well, at least I don't have to worry about school anymore.)

Oh man, "The Pirates of Dark Matter". I'm seriously considering writing the game. I'm debating on if I should use GURPS or a strange combination of D20 Modern and DnD (because, really, I need the Swashbuckler class, but need rules for technology). This would be in addition to the steampunk Lovecraftian horror game (d20 Modern rules) that I'm apparently writing.