THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
July 31, 2016
www.theparacast.com
Life in Space and Warp Drive Explored on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the new Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features and Classic Episodes. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris are visited by Marc Dantonio, the chief photo and video analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). In this episode, Marc wears his astronomer hat as he talks at length about the ongoing discovery of exoplanets, which orbit other star systems. As we continue to uncover evidence that some of these planets may be Earth-like, does that increase the possibility that life exists there? Would it be life as we know it? Can such discoveries lead us to finding proof that intelligent races are visiting Earth? Marc also explores the potential that humans may some day perfect some sort of warp drive, for faster-than-light travel across space. And what about across dimensions, through wormholes? Does that lead us to the potential for a stargate? You'll also hear Marc describe his own paranormal encounters, and his views on UFO photos and videos.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on July 31: [PG-13]: Gene and Chris delve into the presence of trickster influences in our culture. Chris suggests the next six months will be critical in our planetary development. When we have major developments, it creates the climate for the trickster and paranormal events to proliferate. He cites examples in recent history where there have been upheavals that may have precipitated the explosion of such events. Consider the period after World War II, when the modern UFO era began, or the latter stages of the Vietnam war. A less politically correct example: After Ronald Reagan was elected president. The Rendlesham and Cash-Landrum UFO incidents occurred weeks after the 1980 elections. Chris repeats the old Chinese curse, “May he live in interesting times.”
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
About Visits from Our Galactic Neighbors
By Gene Steinberg
If you’re at all interested in the possibility of life in outer space, you probably haven’t failed to catch the ongoing reports about exoplanets. That’s how scientists refer to worlds orbiting other star systems. Thousands have been discovered, and a smaller number, with rocky surfaces, are potentially Earth-like. That means they might have atmospheres that would allow life as we know it to flourish.
If life is plentiful in our galactic neighborhood, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of logic to suggest that some of that life is highly advanced, and may have perfected space travel. If they have developed a faster-than-light engine — perhaps a warp drive system — or have built city-sized mother ships for travel that will span a number of lifetimes, maybe they are visiting nearby star systems.
Perhaps here? Indeed all these discoveries of exoplanets certainly enhance the possibility that an advanced alien race not only exists, but would find Earth worth a visit. That’s purely speculative, however. There may be no connection whatever, and I’m not exactly a fan of the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs as most of you know.
But the possibility has become more credible in recent years.
In saying that, one location that has been mentioned as a possible source of UFOs is the Zeta Reticuli binary star system. It does lie within what one might refer to as our galactic neighborhood, if a little over 39 years distant can be considered one’s neighborhood.
One key reason is that infamous star map that emerged from the investigation into the Barney and Betty Hill abduction case. If accurately transcribed by Marjorie Fish, it appeared to depict that source.
“Aha!” said many UFO believers. “We now know where ET comes from.” Indeed, it has become a part of the UFO lore, and it probably explains why some people claim to be in contact with beings from Zeta Reticuli. Indeed, I regularly receive invitations from one such individual on Facebook. No, I’ve never bothered to check it out.
Unfortunately, unless those beings actually exist within stars, that’s a huge stretch.
You see, as of the time I am writing this column, no exoplanet has been discovered to be orbiting either star. The closest thing is a dust or debris ring that appears to orbit one of the stars, referred to as Zeta2. It’s not the final word, of course. It may well be there are one or more planets there, only we haven't found evidence for the existence of such worlds. So you understand why I regard claims about star beings who can channel across a distance of over 39 light years to be outrageous.
So maybe they are dust beings who communicate via subspace radio.
Subspace radio? Now it’s not that any evidence for subspace radio exists. But it was a plot device used on the Star Trek TV shows and movies to allow for instant radio transmissions across the stars, evidently using technology related to warp drive. Otherwise, the crew of the Enterprise would be waiting months or years to receive video chats via the 23rd century version of Skype.
When it comes to predicting future science, however, “Star Trek” didn’t do such a bad job. So the real-life embodiment of the communicator was realized to some degree in the 1996 Motorola StarTAC, the first commercially available clamshell mobile phone. Sure, it used cellular towers rather than satellites or spacecraft with which to manage transmissions, but there is little doubt what influenced its design. Just imagine if Motorola licensed the Star Trek name.
Star Trek fans might suggest that Apple’s iPad tablet was influenced by similar devices in use by the Enterprise crew in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” a series that aired from 1987 to 1994. But a similar device was also depicted in 1968, in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
But what about warp drive? That’s yet another plot device that allowed the Enterprise to travel light years in hours or days. It gave the screenwriters far more flexibility to allow the crew to visit different star systems in a very short period of time. But there have been sci-fi stories about space voyages that take decades or centuries to complete.
Of course, the producers of the various Stargate shows had another compelling option, so long as one of those devices, which enable near-instant transportation across galaxies, is installed at both locations. Otherwise they used spaceships that could manage something similar to warp drive.
The Star Trek canon suggests that the “space warp” is first discovered by a maverick Earth scientist, Zefram Cochrane, and used to power a spaceship in 2063. It’s the centerpiece of a 1996 movie, “Star Trek: First Contact,” which takes the next generation crew back in time to prevent the evil cyborg race, The Borg, from taking control of the Federation. Directed by “Number One” himself, Jonathan Frakes, it’s actually one of the most entertaining movies in the series.
But is there any possibility at all that a real warp drive might be feasible? The Star Trek version envisions a sort of matter/antimatter reactor that creates a warp bubble through which a spacecraft can exceed the speed of light. And don’t forget the need for dilithium crystals to power the warp coils.
That takes us to one Miguel Alcubierre, a Mexican theoretical physicist, who proposed a warp drive method in 1994. The Alcubierre drive would create a wave that would allow the space ahead of a spaceship to contract, and the space behind it to expand. Thus equipped, the ship would use the warp bubble to allow it to ride this wave, but it wouldn’t actually be moving, technically.
However you describe it, the theory, which Alcubierre admitted was inspired by Star Trek, provides a theoretical possibility for how warp drive might actually work. But the early concept required an inconceivable amount of energy to function, and thus the theory appeared at first to be highly impractical, and probably impossible, to realize as a working technology. A refinement of the original theory, from Harold Sonny White, supposedly changed the warp bubble to a warp ring to reduce the amount of energy required to power the engine from planet-sized to something far more practical.
It may still take decades or centuries for humans to perfect such a technology, or at least refine it to workable form. But imagine a civilization a few hundred or a few thousand years ahead of us, and the possibility that they might quickly travel across stars and galaxies doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
So maybe there are dilithium crystals — or the functional equivalent — to be found after all.
It’s a never-ending source of amazement how a 1960’s sci-fi series has inspired scientists around the world to find ways to turn a number of those amazing concepts into reality. And, yes, a means of quantum transportation, based on the Star Trek transporter, is being worked on. Are you ready to beam up yet?
Copyright 1999-2016 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
July 31, 2016
www.theparacast.com
Life in Space and Warp Drive Explored on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, and chat rooms when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the new Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features and Classic Episodes. Check out our new “Lifetime” membership! For more information about our premium package, please visit: Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris are visited by Marc Dantonio, the chief photo and video analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). In this episode, Marc wears his astronomer hat as he talks at length about the ongoing discovery of exoplanets, which orbit other star systems. As we continue to uncover evidence that some of these planets may be Earth-like, does that increase the possibility that life exists there? Would it be life as we know it? Can such discoveries lead us to finding proof that intelligent races are visiting Earth? Marc also explores the potential that humans may some day perfect some sort of warp drive, for faster-than-light travel across space. And what about across dimensions, through wormholes? Does that lead us to the potential for a stargate? You'll also hear Marc describe his own paranormal encounters, and his views on UFO photos and videos.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers on July 31: [PG-13]: Gene and Chris delve into the presence of trickster influences in our culture. Chris suggests the next six months will be critical in our planetary development. When we have major developments, it creates the climate for the trickster and paranormal events to proliferate. He cites examples in recent history where there have been upheavals that may have precipitated the explosion of such events. Consider the period after World War II, when the modern UFO era began, or the latter stages of the Vietnam war. A less politically correct example: After Ronald Reagan was elected president. The Rendlesham and Cash-Landrum UFO incidents occurred weeks after the 1980 elections. Chris repeats the old Chinese curse, “May he live in interesting times.”
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
About Visits from Our Galactic Neighbors
By Gene Steinberg
If you’re at all interested in the possibility of life in outer space, you probably haven’t failed to catch the ongoing reports about exoplanets. That’s how scientists refer to worlds orbiting other star systems. Thousands have been discovered, and a smaller number, with rocky surfaces, are potentially Earth-like. That means they might have atmospheres that would allow life as we know it to flourish.
If life is plentiful in our galactic neighborhood, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of logic to suggest that some of that life is highly advanced, and may have perfected space travel. If they have developed a faster-than-light engine — perhaps a warp drive system — or have built city-sized mother ships for travel that will span a number of lifetimes, maybe they are visiting nearby star systems.
Perhaps here? Indeed all these discoveries of exoplanets certainly enhance the possibility that an advanced alien race not only exists, but would find Earth worth a visit. That’s purely speculative, however. There may be no connection whatever, and I’m not exactly a fan of the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs as most of you know.
But the possibility has become more credible in recent years.
In saying that, one location that has been mentioned as a possible source of UFOs is the Zeta Reticuli binary star system. It does lie within what one might refer to as our galactic neighborhood, if a little over 39 years distant can be considered one’s neighborhood.
One key reason is that infamous star map that emerged from the investigation into the Barney and Betty Hill abduction case. If accurately transcribed by Marjorie Fish, it appeared to depict that source.
“Aha!” said many UFO believers. “We now know where ET comes from.” Indeed, it has become a part of the UFO lore, and it probably explains why some people claim to be in contact with beings from Zeta Reticuli. Indeed, I regularly receive invitations from one such individual on Facebook. No, I’ve never bothered to check it out.
Unfortunately, unless those beings actually exist within stars, that’s a huge stretch.
You see, as of the time I am writing this column, no exoplanet has been discovered to be orbiting either star. The closest thing is a dust or debris ring that appears to orbit one of the stars, referred to as Zeta2. It’s not the final word, of course. It may well be there are one or more planets there, only we haven't found evidence for the existence of such worlds. So you understand why I regard claims about star beings who can channel across a distance of over 39 light years to be outrageous.
So maybe they are dust beings who communicate via subspace radio.
Subspace radio? Now it’s not that any evidence for subspace radio exists. But it was a plot device used on the Star Trek TV shows and movies to allow for instant radio transmissions across the stars, evidently using technology related to warp drive. Otherwise, the crew of the Enterprise would be waiting months or years to receive video chats via the 23rd century version of Skype.
When it comes to predicting future science, however, “Star Trek” didn’t do such a bad job. So the real-life embodiment of the communicator was realized to some degree in the 1996 Motorola StarTAC, the first commercially available clamshell mobile phone. Sure, it used cellular towers rather than satellites or spacecraft with which to manage transmissions, but there is little doubt what influenced its design. Just imagine if Motorola licensed the Star Trek name.
Star Trek fans might suggest that Apple’s iPad tablet was influenced by similar devices in use by the Enterprise crew in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” a series that aired from 1987 to 1994. But a similar device was also depicted in 1968, in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
But what about warp drive? That’s yet another plot device that allowed the Enterprise to travel light years in hours or days. It gave the screenwriters far more flexibility to allow the crew to visit different star systems in a very short period of time. But there have been sci-fi stories about space voyages that take decades or centuries to complete.
Of course, the producers of the various Stargate shows had another compelling option, so long as one of those devices, which enable near-instant transportation across galaxies, is installed at both locations. Otherwise they used spaceships that could manage something similar to warp drive.
The Star Trek canon suggests that the “space warp” is first discovered by a maverick Earth scientist, Zefram Cochrane, and used to power a spaceship in 2063. It’s the centerpiece of a 1996 movie, “Star Trek: First Contact,” which takes the next generation crew back in time to prevent the evil cyborg race, The Borg, from taking control of the Federation. Directed by “Number One” himself, Jonathan Frakes, it’s actually one of the most entertaining movies in the series.
But is there any possibility at all that a real warp drive might be feasible? The Star Trek version envisions a sort of matter/antimatter reactor that creates a warp bubble through which a spacecraft can exceed the speed of light. And don’t forget the need for dilithium crystals to power the warp coils.
That takes us to one Miguel Alcubierre, a Mexican theoretical physicist, who proposed a warp drive method in 1994. The Alcubierre drive would create a wave that would allow the space ahead of a spaceship to contract, and the space behind it to expand. Thus equipped, the ship would use the warp bubble to allow it to ride this wave, but it wouldn’t actually be moving, technically.
However you describe it, the theory, which Alcubierre admitted was inspired by Star Trek, provides a theoretical possibility for how warp drive might actually work. But the early concept required an inconceivable amount of energy to function, and thus the theory appeared at first to be highly impractical, and probably impossible, to realize as a working technology. A refinement of the original theory, from Harold Sonny White, supposedly changed the warp bubble to a warp ring to reduce the amount of energy required to power the engine from planet-sized to something far more practical.
It may still take decades or centuries for humans to perfect such a technology, or at least refine it to workable form. But imagine a civilization a few hundred or a few thousand years ahead of us, and the possibility that they might quickly travel across stars and galaxies doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
So maybe there are dilithium crystals — or the functional equivalent — to be found after all.
It’s a never-ending source of amazement how a 1960’s sci-fi series has inspired scientists around the world to find ways to turn a number of those amazing concepts into reality. And, yes, a means of quantum transportation, based on the Star Trek transporter, is being worked on. Are you ready to beam up yet?
Copyright 1999-2016 The Paracast LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!