Whilst pondering ‘The Wonders of Space’, I began to consider the feasibility of Space Travel so beloved by Science Fiction writers:

• For a Spacecraft of only 10 kg in weight to achieve one tenth of the speed of light, it would require the energy generated by 20 hydroelectric turbines over a period of 3.7 days.
• For a ship weighing several tonnes, the energy required would greatly exceed the world’s daily electricity consumption. N.B. This to achieve one tenth of the speed of light.
• If this spacecraft should encounter a speck of dust at this speed, the impact would be very close to an equivalent explosion of ten tonnes of TNT on the hull. N.B Space contains many specks of-mostly silica-dust.

It makes this monkey wonder about travelling among the stars at high “warp factors”, as depicted in the Star Trek movies. “Beam me up, Scotty” is more fiction than science. (Sorry, all you ‘Trekkies’!)

Great Science Fiction utilizes scientific facts in its creation of a futuristic world. Budding Sci-Fi writers should explore sites such as:

https://creation.com/g-forces-space-travel-problem

Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

The Spaced-Out Chimpanzee

P.S. The best science fiction can become fact. Think of George Orwell’s 1984!