THE DAWN OF A QUANTUM LEAP: NUCLEAR FUSION

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The term ‘sustainability’ is now no longer a word which finds its seat only in meetings of international summits like COP-26 and Earth summit. It is now an issue so popularized that our actions are subconsciously nursing the wounds of environment. Consequently, one of the biggest agenda of think-tanks world-over, is to find alternatives to fossil fuels, especially in the sector of electricity generation. It has become a common realization that conventional sources of energy like coal, being depleted at an alarming rate, would not sustain the needs of the swiftly growing population in coming generations. Nonconventional sources of energy are in vogue these days. But none comes as a God’s gift. While dams bring innumerable social problems at our palms, wind energy too does not offer a perfect solution. With these uncertainties, wouldn’t it look like a candle in darkness if a source of energy that produces 4 million times as much heat energy as Coal could be used in near future? The power...
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Human Habitat after Earth

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Human race, the Homo sapiens, is the most superior species in the plethora of biodiversity. Its intelligence, wisdom, emotional development, structural and functional complexity, genomic design etc. are only some of the feature for this categorization. The genius of Humans has led to countless, stunning marvel that are continuously transforming the earth to a better future. But, to every silver lining, there is a cloud. These capabilities are used by the sapiens for greed, malice, jealousy, vengeance, vindication, superiority complex and many others, becoming heinous to the mother earth. Space colonization might seem as a good shot for a fictional movie like Interstellar. But our circumstances force us to do so, and we will eventually accomplish the goal.

The day the telephone was invented, reports bagged the headlines of newspapers. People were amazed and stunned by this chunk of atoms. “A machine that talks”, was the first reaction of the people. But at this point of time, a phone is seen as such a rudimentary concept due to adaptation to advances. Similarly, space colonization is our fantasy today, tomorrow it will be a dream, then a project, and at last, it will happen.

Why Earth 2.0?

With the help of technological advances in STEM, what have we done? Natural disasters increase exponentially, physical, chemical, and biological warfare are the trends, mass is getting converted to energy, deforestation, polarization, salinization, ozone depletion, pathogenic invasions: These are the advancements in a nutshell. But the mother earth is now at stake. In one way or the other, she is losing her beauty. Under such circumstances, it is vital to leave earth as soon as possible, and start preserving it, before we, particles, destroy the big planet. And as said, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, the idea of leaving earth is just an impossible idea. But one day, it will become doable.

What will be our second home?

Fictional writers like Isaac Asimov have provided us with an insight of living in space, and leading normal lives. We will not be in crisis in our second home. Instead, it will become just as normal as it is now: sitting at my house and typing an essay for science competition.

The universe throws at us many alternatives, which are called the twins of earth. A brief list is as follows:

Gliese 667Cc = It is an exoplanet just 22 light years away from our earth. Due to its position with respect to the sun, it is classified as a ‘habitable zone’ by the National aeronautics and space admiration (NASA).

Kepler 452b = It is coined with the term ‘Earth2.0’. Being 1500 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, it continues to be the most similar planet to our mother earth due to the discovery of traces of water/ice, atmosphere, temperature etc. It will be the future home according to some physicists.

Other exoplanets in the habitable zone, which may be viable options too, include Kepler 22b, Kepler 69c, Kepler 62f, Kepler 186f etc.

Personal opinion

Now, estranged from these unfamiliar names, I do hold a personal opinion. 1 light year is 9.46E+12 km. Following this metric conversion, all the planets talked about earlier are at least 20 light years away. These huge numbers can only be jotted down in a notepad, and not travelled. For instance, imagine if we are travelling with the speed of light. Albert Einstein concluded in one of his theories that in order to travel at the speed of light, one needs infinite fuel. Given the account of this impossible condition, think of Gliese 667c again. It is 22 light years away. It suggests that I, 13 years old, with infinite fuel and the speed of light, will reach the planet when I am 35 years old. Also, earth has an expanding population exceeding 8 billion. Now, observing the planet and the population, it is absolutely impossible.

Solution

I think that since none of the planets on our solar system tend to support life, I think the feasible solution is the building of a billion space stations, powered by solar energy. Following this concept, the following problems are overcome:

  • 1.       Fuel
  • 2.       Time
  • 3.       Population

Thus, according to me, colonizing the space outside the thermosphere of earth is the most viable option.

Conclusion

All in all, given the devastating deeds of us, we will need a second home at the earliest. Exoplanets do not prove to a doable option, but space stations or colonies might be the future. In conclusion, the following lines are apt:

“Earth is a fragile basket for us, but surely not the only basket for us.”

 

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