The Moon Drifting Away? Well, a Little...

[Gene Steinberg]

This article speaks for itself. I suppose the moon's movement away from Earth will mean something in a few thousand years.

Moon has been drifting away from Earth for 2.4 billion years

Even our nearest satellite can't stand our gravity

www.theregister.com

 

[henris42]

True, but hopefully climate denialists won't start blaming the Moon.
During the dinosaurs era, tides were lots stronger than today...

 

[Ezechiel]

I remember a tv series where nuclear waste explodes on the moon sending it flying away (space:1999). Mind blowing that they could sell a silly over the top idea like that back in the ‘70s…. And people watched it ! … I do miss Gilligan’s island though

Space: 1999 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Isaac Asimov criticised the scientific accuracy of the series by pointing out that any explosion capable of knocking the Moon out of its orbit would actually blow it apart, and even if it did leave orbit it would take hundreds of thousands of years to reach the nearest star.

Duh

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Of course, being scientifically accurate isn't a requirement to make a TV show. It's ratings.

 

[Ezechiel]

Of course, being scientifically accurate isn't a requirement to make a TV show. It's ratings.

That's fascinating in the sense that ratings become a reflection of the values/sophistication of the society.

Take big bang theory (extreme nerdy rationality) for example, would that work in the 60's/70's... hum ... In contrast, the Star Trek series of the 60's featuring William Shatner's philosophical rantings were the definition of nerd lol.

IMHO, being scientifically accurate or presenting extrapolations with potential future application weights much more in the balance to get ratings in 2023 (probably why Star Trek is still relevant today). The internet changed everything.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Don't forget how Star Trek helped influence scientists to create cellphones, tablets, and they are exploring the possibilities of matter teleportation and, of course, warp drive.

More specifically:

The Science of Star Trek

The Science of Star Trek

www.nasa.gov

Of course, NASA is skeptical of faster-than-light travel and beaming you up, but, as I said, others are exploring them.

 

[Ezechiel]

Of course, NASA is skeptical of faster-than-light travel and beaming you up, but, as I said, others are exploring them.

We beat the speed of sound by adopting the delta shape configuration for 'air' craft. My instincts tell me we'll conquer FTL once we master fusion or some exotic source of energy allowing us to warp space instead of us having to adapt to the limitations of space in the E=MC2 equation. (Mass becomes infinite as we approach the speed of light). I like the Alcubierre drive

May not happen during our lifetime though