Friday, March 17, 2006

In Which I Mull Over the Universe

Most of us are familiar with the space travel theory in which space is "folded" to bring two points, stupefyingly far apart, together, so that a ship can navigate from point a to point b in an instant.
But here's my question: Why not coil space instead?
Recently, and according to research reported by CNN, a nebula was found with astonishing order to its shape; rather than being a blob (the whole point of nebula), it took the shape of a double helix, a la DNA. The double helix shape is a naturally-occuring event in our DNA systems and in other objects, and evidently is caused in this nebula by black holes causing the magnetic field to twist.
I'm also reading about a theory in which a space ship could take off with a rotating magnetic field. VERY hypothetical at this point, but still intriguing.
It seems to me that with the need for rotation and the many and various forms of gravity involved in these processes, that treating space travel like a helix or coil is an appropriate step.
These are the things I think about on Fridays.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I had to google images of the double helix nebula, because I hadn't heard of it before (I've been out of touch with my astronomy interests lately).

But...awesome! I'm sure it's a Sign. Some incredible alien civilization has manipulated the black holes to send the universe a message that they're Out There.

The pictures of the nebula have also cheered me up somewhat. My recent life changes and logistical stress seem so insignificant.

~SECP