Could Star Wars be real?

[BBriggs]

Could it exist? No. Lightsabers? The Force? There's a reason Star Wars is listed as Sci-fi FANTASY.

 

What I mean by "Could it exist?" is that could they develop the ability to travel around the galaxy? Is there two sides at war? Do they have multiple planets capable of supporting life?

Edited January 6, 2012 by BBriggs

[FalcoLombardi]

**I removed my reply in order to not offend you. It took me awhile to realize you are viewing this from a religious standpoint. I am sorry, thank you for your input.**

 

I don't offend easily. People need to quit being scared to say things so they don't offfend someone. Speak your mind, I don't care

[Skatehead]

To be honest, I could see a lot of stuff in the Star Wars universe happening SOMEWHERE in the universe. Light speed space travel? Yeah, I can see it happening. Lightsabers? Seems possible. A diverse range of intellectual life? Maybe low chances of it, but it can happen.

 

Thing is, all this depends on chance and whatever your beliefs may be. Any person could see the same situation differently.

[Avantolip]

While it's completely plausible that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe there are a few things I'd like to point out to you.

While it's possible that intelligent life exists, it is naive to think that this extra-terrestrial civilisation would resemble humans in any way, shape or form.....

 

I disagree on that, while on first glance you would think ET civilization would not resemble humans because of many possible differences in evolutionary path if you think about it again you see that it might actually be inevitable!

 

I will try to explain why, but it would take to long to get into all the details so...

 

Consider animals and plants on our planet why do we all look so similar (a point of view), why most of us have 2 eyes, two legs, 2 arms? (that is of course not true some animals have wings and others 20 legs...etc, what I am trying to show is ...) it is because of physics of this universe. It is the same reason why same planets far away aren’t square or rectangular but spherical ...the universe operates on the set of laws and those determine the shape of objects.

 

It is therefore conceivable that we also are the result of being shaped by those laws. It than fallows that life in universe while it may differed as much as it differs on planet Earth it is also similar in this matter.

 

Because of the uncomprehandable largeness of space I would say that infect there is little doubt that life and intelligent life does exists and infect there is enormous amount of it in the universe. I would say also that how the intelligent life looks like would largely depend on the age of the planet and its composition.

 

Also about vastness of space, it is necessary to look it also from time and chance perspective etc, etc.

 

Any way for the end I would say that the probability that ET look somewhat like us is quite big because we are not unique.... universe goes by what is easiest to make and biological life that is composed of mostly water and carbon is easy even though our scientist speculate some other chemical compounds could also form life.....

 

Any way this is my opinion on the matter as simplified as possible and well I couldn’t explain my opinion better also because of language barrier.

[TJixlee]

All of these games/movies could exist. We do not know about alternate universes or other galaxies... There could a alternate universe where the Gears story played out..or MW series or star wars..we may never know

 

^^yup

[CorazonSantiago]

I disagree on that, while on first glance you would think ET civilization would not resemble humans because of many possible differences in evolutionary path if you think about it again you see that it might actually be inevitable!

I will try to explain why, but it would take to long to get into all the details so...

 

Consider animals and plants on our planet why do we all look so similar (a point of view), why most of us have 2 eyes, two legs, 2 arms? (that is of course not true some animals have wings and others 20 legs...etc, what I am trying to show is ...) it is because of physics of this universe. It is the same reason why same planets far away aren’t square or rectangular but spherical ...the universe operates on the set of laws and those determine the shape of objects.

 

It is therefore conceivable that we also are the result of being shaped by those laws. It than fallows that life in universe while it may differed as much as it differs on planet Earth it is also similar in this matter.

 

In addition to that, there are more Points. There are reasons humanity developed into the form it is of today.

 

As an example:

We need our Hand to utilize tools, so we have 2 hands with opposable thumbs to use.

 

Futhermore, apart from the environment there are, as said, the laws of physics that !!!ALL!!! life has to obey.

 

Any way for the end I would say that the probability that ET look somewhat like us is quite big because we are not unique.... universe goes by what is easiest to make and biological life that is composed of mostly water and carbon is easy even though our scientist speculate some other chemical compounds could also form life.....

 

It is possible to think of a lifeform that consists of silicon instead of carbon but the organism would be way slower due to the different chemical attributes and (according to some scientists) possibly to slow to reproduce within a lifespan of such a silicon-based lifeform.

 

Because of the uncomprehandable largeness of space I would say that infect there is little doubt that life and intelligent life does exists and infect there is enormous amount of it in the universe. I would say also that how the intelligent life looks like would largely depend on the age of the planet and its composition.

 

A slight disagree here. A Planet that "breeds" intelligent lifeforms would be pretty similar to earth:

Size: If it is too large, it's gravity is too high - Ok... then life must become stronger - Then it needs more energy, that it has to consume somehow. So time grows short. Time that it needs to develope technology.

Temperature: For carbon-based life (supposed before) the planet needs water, so it can't be below zero degree C, and not higher than 100 °C. So the planet has to be in the habitable zone.

 

As for Zabrak, Nikto and so on... How the DNA developes can take many ways... so diversity is allowed.

 

All in all i like the saying:

"The Alien is just a human"

[Mordeak]

Hmmm, exactly like star wars ( with the knowledge we posses atm ) would be most unlikely.

 

Faster then light travel

 

In theory, traveling faster then light without breaking Einsteins Theory of special relativity is possible. It would mean we would need the technology to create vast amounts of energy to achieve this. ( see Alcubierre drive and Krasnikov tube )

 

Lightsabers

 

Very unlikely.

 

If it is a laser ... you can't see a laser unless there is something ( like smoke or dust ) to reflect the light and make it visible. Containing light is practically impossible seeing that the force required to even bend light is the gravity of a star or planet.

 

If it is plasma ... to shape plasma into a tube like shape, you need a magnetic force to keep it like that ( have fun prying bits of droid of your saber when you hack one to pieces ) and the temperature needed to cut through anything would basically melt the hilt let alone burn your hand to a crisp.

 

Blasters

 

Ask any soldier what they want from a rifle or gun and they will tell you that they want stopping power. This is achieved by propelling a mass ( the bullet ) with enough energy ( the gunpowder ) towards the enemy so that the enemy gets knocked back.

 

Neither a laser nor a plasma bolt has this, seeing that a laser is light and has basically no mass and plasma is ionized gas and so doesn't have the mass necessary to get enough kinetic force to have any stopping power. The most you would give your enemy is a nasty burn.

 

Most likely, an advanced enough race would be using something similar to a railgun. A gun that shoots a bullet using magnetism. A gun like this would be able to give more kinetic energy to a projectile then we can achieve now with gunpowder with no kickback.

 

Extraterrestrial intelligent lifeforms

 

Do they exist? Seeing how big the universe is: most likely.

 

Did they have to evolve before us? No, they can even be younger then humanity.

 

Lets have a look at life on our planet first:

 

Multicellular life : about 600 million years ago

Plants, fungi and insects : about 500 million years ago

Amphibians: about 360 million years ago

humans: about 200 000 years ago ( in our current form )

recorded civilisations: about 5000 years ago

our current scientific understanding of the world and the universe: started about 400 years ago and really started to pick up speed around 150-200 years ago.

 

In the time span of 60 years, we went from flying a couple of feet of the ground to landing on the moon, went from machines the size of a hanger to a device in the palm in your hand that can make millions of calculations per second.

 

Take in account how long we have been around and what we achieved, a species on another world can be younger then us and still be millenia ahead of us.

 

 

 

A civilization that has some elements like in star wars ( political structure, space travel, ... ) could exist somewhere in our universe but things like lightsabers, blasters or even the force? Neh

[Vaestmannaeyjar]

On the geological scale since the estimated date of the big bang, an entire galaxywide civilisation of starwars technical ability had the time to develop, disappear, and have all traces of it utterly wiped by the sands of time.

 

We need our Hand to utilize tools, so we have 2 hands with opposable thumbs to use.

 

Doesn't necessarily work that way. At some point we discovered our appendages could be used to manipulate tools (ie, crush nuts with rocks, to start with), and those that did it prospered while others died out. We don't have hands because we need them for tools, we use tools because our appendages can do so and evolution favored those who used the tools better, leading in limb development as those of nimble limbs reproduced and could feed their children better while the others were not as successful, didn't find mates and didn"t reproduce. (on a geological level, this can take up to ten thousand years)

Edited January 6, 2012 by Vaestmannaeyjar

[GaoWei]

the light-saber was developed from a laser cutter used in construction, and refined into a handheld device, turns out it's a great weapon.

 

everything from SW is plausible, except for the force.

 

i have a literal and analytical mind, i love starwars, but i hate jedi and the force .

 

http://gizmodo.com/5866354/scientists-about-to-find-the-force

 

Not quite 100% like the movies, but the concept is similar.

 

Now how to control it?

[paleion]

It's currently believed the universe is infinite.

 

By definition, in an infinity universe, all possibilities exist.

 

Therefore, it is entirely plausable and possible that the SW universe exists.

 

In fact, this principle actuallys says, YES, this universe DOES exist.

[DarylMusashi]

^^yup

 

Well, if alternate realities exist then there must be an infinite number of them. Not only that, but there are infinite copies of those universes. There are infinite copies of this one. There are infinite numbers of variations on this universe that differ by a mere quantum event (and infinite copies of those). Somewhere in that mix of infinity upon infinity are universes where every fiction takes place. Anything you can imagine happens somewhere in an alternate universe. The Hindu Philosophy discusses concepts like these. It begins to open up philosophical questions such as whether or not imagination truly exists or is it simply a function of the mind to be able to look upon alternate realities for these ideas.

[DarylMusashi]

You should not trust the source. Michio Kaku is not a reliable source. He's a slightly smarter but completely nuttier Carl Sagan. He also believes perpetual motion does not break the laws of physics. i.e. conservation of energy.

 

He has his PhD, he's been a professor, and a successful novelist. However, he's not a true research physicist, or even a very good theoretical physicist as noted if you read the thesis on string theory, Kikkawa came up with the bulk of the theory and Kaku only helped with the mathematical construct.

 

The Star Wars universe ignores so much of physical law, that it's not possible unless we figure out how to completely bypass the universal laws of physics and restrictions on matter.

 

Also, I don't want to imply I'm smarter than Kaku, or that he's not successful. He's just off his rocker and ignores things he should know better than to ignore so he can make science more palpable for laymen.

 

First, you get arrogant and condescend to everyone else to shut up their theorizing in layman terms. Then your arrogance grows to the point where you dismiss a major figure like that. Just who the hell are you that we should take your arrogant opinion over a guy like Kaku?

 

Your cred is blown. You even attempt a caveat at the end of your rant. Take your arrogance off to another forum please.

[Okato]

Blasters

 

Ask any soldier what they want from a rifle or gun and they will tell you that they want stopping power. This is achieved by propelling a mass ( the bullet ) with enough energy ( the gunpowder ) towards the enemy so that the enemy gets knocked back.

 

Neither a laser nor a plasma bolt has this, seeing that a laser is light and has basically no mass and plasma is ionized gas and so doesn't have the mass necessary to get enough kinetic force to have any stopping power. The most you would give your enemy is a nasty burn.

 

 

Bullets do not cause a person to be 'knocked back' (been watching too many Cowboy films?). The term 'stopping power' refers to the weapons ability to incapacitate a target quickly.

 

A plasma burst would cut through your body like a hot knife through butter (I like to think Predator gives a nice example of this when Blaine gets hit with the plasma cannon). If that's not stopping power, then I don't know what is

[Rohanshot]

There is an infinite to an infinite power of alternate universes where every possibility is possible. Whenever an event occurs where there are multiple possibilities, universes are created for each possibility! For example, there is a universe where I chose not to type this. There is a universe where I chose to read a different forum. There is a universe where I am ruler of the planet (sad but true:() Basically any possibility of anything exists! I am sure somewhere in there is the Galaxy far far away.

 

The scary thing is there is not just infinity, there is infinity of infinity! There is infinity squared! There are an infinite ways I could have typed this post, infinite computers I could have, infinite people I could be, and infinte possibilities for each. And each one happens in another universe! And those are a speck of sand in a galaxy! The idea itself is actually scary!

Edited January 7, 2012 by Rohanshot

[memoriesofprey]

Middle-earth is more believable than Star Wars. It didn't have a lot of world-breaking plotholes, and it was firmly the creation of one organized author.

 

Star Wars is a group effort, and those tend to draw inspiration from every other thing- making the world a little ridiculous.

 

Just sayin'

[BoardGamer]

Middle-earth is more believable than Star Wars. It didn't have a lot of world-breaking plotholes, and it was firmly the creation of one organized author.

 

Star Wars is a group effort, and those tend to draw inspiration from every other thing- making the world a little ridiculous.

 

Just sayin'

 

In my opinion, just because the story of Middle-Earth is more believable, it does not necessarily make it more likely to have occurred than Star Wars. In my opinion, anything that we imagine has an equal chance of existing based on the current theories about multiple parallel universes.

 

As far as Star Wars happening in this universe, IMHO this is highly unlikely since most scientists agree that if there is ET life out there, they have had the same amount to time to develop as us. Also, if Star Wars existed such a long time ago, we would be able to see evidence of that with our deep space telescopes(If luckily pointed in the right direction), since in essence we are looking into the past when we observe anything outside of our galaxy.

[divinedoom]

In my opinion, just because the story of Middle-Earth is more believable, it does not necessarily make it more likely to have occurred than Star Wars. In my opinion, anything that we imagine has an equal chance of existing based on the current theories about multiple parallel universes.

 

As far as Star Wars happening in this universe, IMHO this is highly unlikely since most scientists agree that if there is ET life out there, they have had the same amount to time to develop as us. Also, if Star Wars existed such a long time ago, we would be able to see evidence of that with our deep space telescopes(If luckily pointed in the right direction), since in essence we are looking into the past when we observe anything outside of our galaxy.

 

this is kinda wrong because our solar system was formed much later than other parts of the galaxy

[memoriesofprey]

In my opinion, just because the story of Middle-Earth is more believable, it does not necessarily make it more likely to have occurred than Star Wars. In my opinion, anything that we imagine has an equal chance of existing based on the current theories about multiple parallel universes.

 

As far as Star Wars happening in this universe, IMHO this is highly unlikely since most scientists agree that if there is ET life out there, they have had the same amount to time to develop as us. Also, if Star Wars existed such a long time ago, we would be able to see evidence of that with our deep space telescopes(If luckily pointed in the right direction), since in essence we are looking into the past when we observe anything outside of our galaxy.

 

Some circles might suggest that belief creates. If so, the fact that there are more fans of Star Wars means it would be more likely than Middle-Earth.

Edited January 7, 2012 by memoriesofprey

[Barrechor]

FTL travel is not possible

 

According to modern science.

 

They used to think the Earth was flat once too....

[ParisHL]

I want it to be true just so I can marry a Twi'lek girl

[BBriggs]

I want it to be true just so I can marry a Twi'lek girl

 

You like those big tentacles?

Edited January 7, 2012 by BBriggs

[CTFoxhound]

there's stuff in this universe that us humans will never ever even think of and things in this universe that go way beyond the hope of even understanding for our species. I'm more than certain there are things going on as we speak in other solar systems and other galaxies that closely resemble stuff that has gone on in star wars

 

with the sheer size of the universe it's almost mathematically impossible for us to be the only ones, the human imagination is pretty remarkable though and if you can think of something it probably does exist somewhere in this universe. i have no doubt there are civilizations that travel to other planets and have contact with each other in the form of trade or even wars. sadly though I don't ever see our human race being one of those. especially in this life time or even generations from now unless some sort of break thru in universe understanding happens, because as of right now I honestly see our human race destroying itself within the next 1000-2000 years if things keep going the way they are if we even carry on for that long... I was being very gracious with those numbers

Edited January 9, 2012 by CTFoxhound

[BBriggs]

there's stuff in this universe that us humans will never ever even think of and things in this universe that go way beyond the hope of even understanding for our species. I'm more than certain there are things going on as we speak in other solar systems and other galaxies that closely resemble stuff that has gone on in star wars

 

with the sheer size of the universe it's almost mathematically impossible for us to be the only ones, the human imagination is pretty remarkable though and if you can think of something it probably does exist somewhere in this universe. i have no doubt there are civilizations that travel to other planets and have contact with each other in the form of trade or even wars. sadly though I don't ever see our human race being one of those. especially in this life time or even generations from now unless some sort of break thru in universe understanding happens, because as of right now I honestly see our human race destroying itself within the next 1000-2000 years if things keep going the way they are if we even carry on for that long... I was being very gracious with those numbers

 

I agree with you. And I do believe you were being VERY gracious with those numbers. I don't see us surviving another, maybe, 500 years? I'm calling nuclear war to end most of human civilization, and eventually it will just die out.

Edited January 9, 2012 by BBriggs

[majinzane]

He's a nice guy i've met him before at a lecture in NYC and he has done some good work in the field of physics however he kind of sold out a long time ago. He now pretty much makes a living doing this kind of stuff taking sci fi stuff and trying to make it real. It's more of an attempt to try and make science and more notable physics more interesting to kids so they might peruse a career in such a field.

 

But creating a light saber or a shield that uses "energy" to act as a solid and deflect things is impossible.

 

The thing to remember is that Lucas has absolutely 0 knowledge in science and that's ok when he wrote Star Wars we has just making an incredibly cool movie and he more then succeeded.

 

it's so cool that people will do anything to believe that it is real or at least possible.

 

 

I'm not a physicist and this might be impossible with current technology but what about a particle field emitter that would use a "web" of electrons to repulse energy or matter. Not necessarily an energy shield but a shield none the less.

[majinzane]

might not*