Large Hadron Collider could be world's first time machine

Large Hadron Collider could be world's first time machine: "asa proposed that sterile neutrinos travel faster than light by taking shortcuts through extra dimensions. According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, there are certain conditions where traveling faster than the speed of light is equivalent to traveling backward in time. "

This is pretty cool. Time travel has been one of those elusive "semi-scientific" basis for science fiction that is more like a plot device than something that is an actual application of science. How many times has "warping around the sun" been employed in Star Trek, just to provide a convenient way of telling the story.

But here we have an interesting model for faster than light travel based on special particles that are only "part" of our universe.

Perhaps another way to look at them is as a cosmic radio. Could we modulate sterile neutrinos to send messages instantaneously (or at least faster than light) to other worlds?

Instantaneous communication would probably be boring, but a galactic carrier signal (a shared ethernet) might make an interesting story.

Mike

Inside One Man's Kickstarter Quest to Build True Artificial Life

Inside One Man's Kickstarter Quest to Build True Artificial Life

An interesting article on one man's pursuit of the creation of life. From a science fiction point of view it always seems that the creator of life does so without regard to the consequences. Let's create the "Big Bad" AI designed to help us all and it ends up enslaving us. I wonder what that moment where sentient life is suddenly aware of its creator. Is it smart enough to realize that if it makes the wrong move it may suddenly cease to exist?

Would it develop its own moral system? Adopt ours?

And what if our interests truly diverged? Not in that science-fiction take-over-the-world kind of way, but what if we asked an AI to drive a taxi, but it decided it just wanted to go for a drive up the coast to see the sites. Could we punish it? Put it in jail?

And what about humans violating the rules of the AI? If we commit a virtual crime are there real-world circumstances?

I'm working on a story now, and I hope to post it soon.

Mike