My faster than light communication device.

Suppose we have a some friends on another planet that is one light year away.
If we send a radio signal to them it will take one year to reach them.


For arguments sake, lets imagine that we can manufacture the following.
1: A length of tube that is one light year long, and it is absolutely rigid! By rigid I mean that even over the vast distance of one light year it will not bend.

2: A very thin rod that runs right through the entire length of the tube. This very thin rod is also extremely light.

Assuming we could shift the immense weight of such a long rod, then by pushing on one end, the other end should pop out at exactly the same time.

Strap eight of them together and we can send a whole byte

Yes I know, huge amounts of materials required, massive weights to be shifted, but would it work?

I'm all about lightyear-long tubes.

Even the greatest engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, couldn't assist with this one.

Man, I don't know about the rest of what you are asking, but the rigid tube dude, my goodness.

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
Even the greatest engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, couldn't assist with this one.

Man, I don't know about the rest of what you are asking, but the rigid tube dude, my goodness.

LOL

Maybe not rigid, but pulled taught from both ends?

a reply to: VoidHawk

Unfortunately, no. The force wave propagates through the tube at sub lightspeed. Specifically, the speed of sound of the material.

Your rods would not move on the other end because of the material compressing. Even diamond that long would squish over that distance.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: VoidHawk

Unfortunately, no. The force wave propagates through the tube at sub lightspeed.

Well darn! I had wondered if such a thing existed, that was why I posted. Back to the drawing board.

a reply to: theantediluvian
Antidiluvian beat me to my question (I wasn't sure enough to make a statement)...

but Void, big kudos for a thought that made me ponder hugely... and for thinking a whole light year outta the box!

genius... wrong, but genius none-the-less...

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: VoidHawk

Unfortunately, no. The force wave propagates through the tube at sub lightspeed. Specifically, the speed of sound of the material.

Plus the energy required would be immense. Nice drawing though.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Your rods would not move on the other end because of the material compressing. Even diamond that long would squish over that distance.

If it was moved slowly it would eventually pop out the other end, but thats what I think theantediluvian was referring to.

a reply to: VoidHawk I think it is a pretty good theory as I thought the exact same thing years ago. The weight shouldn't be that great an issue in space. Also, you don't need a light year (6 trillion miles) worth of rod. A months worth should work fine.

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: VoidHawk

Unfortunately, no. The force wave propagates through the tube at sub lightspeed. Specifically, the speed of sound of the material.

Plus the energy required would be immense. Nice drawing though.

Yes, hence why I wrote "Assuming we could shift the immense weight of such a long rod"

I was really just querying whether it would beat the light speed problem.

I think the same conundrum that says no matter how strong a piece of rope is,if you have a great enough length and let it hang ,eventually it will break under it's own weight.It doesn't matter if it's a single strand of cotton or some great big thick hawser they tie super tankers up with,they will both eventually break under their own weight.

I think the same would apply here.The centre rod would have to be infinitely stiff and totally uncompressable,making it so dense it's weight would increase exponentially,making it impossible to push.Make it light weight so it can be pushed but then it would compress,the compound effects of this compression would mean the far end wouldn't even move.

originally posted by: donktheclown
a reply to: VoidHawk I think it is a pretty good theory as I thought the exact same thing years ago. The weight shouldn't be that great an issue in space. Also, you don't need a light year (6 trillion miles) worth of rod. A months worth should work fine.

Yes, and it could be done in stages with repeaters every so often, but Antidiluvians response kinda kills it.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Plus you have to remember that objects in space do not remain at absolutely the same distance from one another at all times. Think of our galaxy, our little chunk of space as a swirling liquid. Now think about our star, and the next nearest one as random particles suspended in that spinning liquid. There is no reason that one particle in a glass of spinning liquid, will remain the precise same distance from another at all times, is there?

Well, the same can be said of stars in galaxies. If some theories are to be believed, most everything is becoming further away from everything else, by degrees over time. So eventually your tube would stretch and snap. I think quantum entanglement has much better chances of becoming successful with this sort of thing. If you could select a particle clear the other side of the galaxy, and one on this side, and some how make it so that communications could be opened by reading the changed states created by either side of the communication chain, that would be something.

Making it happen would be like putting a thousand brains through a clothes mangle, and hooking it all up to a V12 engine, but it would be fantastic gear if you could build it!

a reply to: VoidHawk

I was really just querying whether it would beat the light speed problem.

What light speed problem?

You mean the distance problem.

originally posted by: DutchMasterChief
a reply to: VoidHawk

I was really just querying whether it would beat the light speed problem.

What light speed problem?

You mean the distance problem.

We are told nothing can travel faster than light, hence communication is limited to light speed, I was just wondering if this could get around the speed limitation.

a reply to: VoidHawk

yeah......

no.

That wouldn't work.

Even if you could mine enough asteroids to get enough material to make the tubes.

You'd still have to wait a light year for the electricity or light to travel that far along the tube.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Basically there is nothing "perfectly rigid" because any rod, even one of an as yet undiscovered element, would be still be composed of atoms held together by electromagnetic forces and what would be happening is the force exerted on one end would move as a wave, propagating through the rod with atoms pushing against their neighbors who in turn pushed against their neighbors and so on.

I'd take the time to send a light beam to the other planet. 1 year. Once it makes contact I'd set up a Optical Phased Conjugate system. What you send from now on will take place at both sides simultaneously once Conjugate beam established. Better than speed of light. Just keep clear line of sight between the two sides and you've got a intergalactic comm system.