h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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Not IM. But email would be fine. You'd have an hour at times before you got a responce, but that is pretty normal with email. And there are times when you'd get a responce in ten minutes or less.

Maybe even video email if there's enough bandwidth.

An hour you think? 1AU, the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, is a little over 8 light minutes. Mars would vary from a fraction of this to just over 2AU away from the Earth. At worst that's about 35 mins for communications there and back. However, since we're not planning on slingshotting round the Sun to get to Mars, probably a matter of minutes or even seconds.

I would think the matter of getting the other computers to communicate with you would be the bigger problem. They'd probably have to be specially set up for it. I remember on a 56k things timed out all the time...

8 minutes per AU.

On the far side of the sun, 3 AUs.

3 times 8 is 24.

24 minutes each way.

That's 48 minutes total 2-way time. I should have worked it out before speaking, but then consider that most people won't respond immediately.

I guess it should be more like 2.5 accross the sun--I'm doing this in my head without any charts of figures.

So hence we have worked out for space travel - we need faster communications, faster ships

I would also add a orbital space platform for launches. The cost to launch out of the atmosphere is prohibitive - from space no need to break out of the gravity - best cost effective idea to get from Earth to Space - orbital elevator - the cost to send something up equals the gains in sending something down.

But whatever happens I just demend one thing - travel in comfort *lol*

I agree--we want space elevators. Untill then reusable SSTO and TSTO will have to do.

We'll want one on Mars as well.

And of course relay satelites in certain places would be good.

oh man, I would be happen to able to cross the Atlantic without ruining my neck...

I find front crawl or back stroke instead of breast stroke eases the stress on the neck

well, staring all day long into the computer screen does not help at all.

need to add:

Are you suggesting they should have swimming pools on planes and to the travel to Mars?

*thinks of the 9+ hour flight back to the UK that is looming in June*

*thinks of the 10+ hour flight back to Canada a week (hopefully) later*

*thinks of the beach in summer*

Oh, it's worth it.

If I could only take one book, consequently, I would take the "Gormenghast" trilogy. A mightier book to read has ne'er existed before.