freeman
How can one fly into space?
Well, one way might be to ride a series of atomic explosions all the way to Mars ...
I think this documentary about Project Orion tells us something about the cold war 1950s, but also about physicists and the fine line between genius and mad scientist ...
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I'd read George Dyson's book on the Orion project, but had never watched the test video before. Thanks for the link.
I'm not sure how many mad scientists there are, but even people as smart as Freeman Dyson aren't very good at predicting how new discoveries, technologies, or actions will impact the future of human beings. The results of evolutionary psychology acting on populations seem to me to be predictable only after the fact.
Btw, I noticed a new autobiography of Freeman Dyson at the bookstore the other day and bought it. It contains a lot of his personal letters, so I think it should be pretty interesting.
Btw I think something like Orion could make sense for unmanned interstellar missions.
>> could make sense for unmanned interstellar missions.
Yes, but I'm not sure their goal of reaching a star within 50 years of launch is achievable with his method. They'd need to average about a twelfth of the speed of light to reach Proxima Centauri. I guess it would depend on how many bombs the spacecraft could carry, how much jerk it could withstand, and how well they could focus the energy from the bombs.
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