Topic Actions

Topic Search

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Jonathan_S, Theemile and 52 guests

Wormhole FTL communication

Join us in talking discussing all things Honor, including (but not limited to) tactics, favorite characters, and book discussions.
Wormhole FTL communication
Post by cthia   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:44 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

Holy batphone Batman!

I don't know whether RFC has already spoken on this subject or if it has been discussed, but casual research caught no joy, therefore...

I am surprised that the Honorverse hasn't found a way to use wormholes as a source for FTL transmissions. Current theory seems to target the herculean task of creating a wormhole to be the biggest hurdle, as opposed to the obstacles in realizing FTL via wormhole phenomena.

The wiki on the matter...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superlum ... munication
>excerpt<
If wormholes are possible, then ordinary subluminal methods of communication could be sent through them to achieve superluminal transmission speeds. Considering the immense energy that current theories suggest would be required to open a wormhole large enough to pass spacecraft through it may be that only atomic-scale wormholes would be practical to build, limiting their use solely to information transmission. Some theories of wormhole formation would prevent them from ever becoming "timeholes", allowing superluminal communication without the additional complication of allowing communication with the past.[citation needed]

The microscopic causality postulate of axiomatic quantum field theory implies the impossibility of superluminal communication using phenomena whose behavior can be described by orthodox quantum field theory.[2] A special case of this is the no-communication theorem, which prevents communication using the quantum entanglement of a composite system shared between two spacelike-separated observers.

Some authors have pointed out that using the no-communication theorem to deduce the impossibility of superluminal communication is circular, since the no-communication theorem assumes to start with that the system is a composite system.[3] However, these authors do not address the proofs of the impossibility of superluminal communication which depend on the microcausality postulate rather than on the no-communication theorem.

What effect would this technology have on the Honorverse? Certainly there would have to be receiving stations it seems. And the RMN would have one more vehicle in which to corner the market? Militarily, long distance messages could be sent in much shorter time than ships, and more efficiently.

The technology would also have a profound impact on banking.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by Weird Harold   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:08 pm

Weird Harold
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 4478
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:25 pm
Location: "Lost Wages", NV

cthia wrote:I don't know whether RFC has already spoken on this subject or if it has been discussed, but casual research caught no joy, therefore...


I believe there are several textev assertions that the only way to communicate through a wormhole is by traveling through the wormhole.

cthia wrote:What effect would this technology have on the Honorverse?


Your Wiki Link wrote:This page has some issues


Since the idea has been around for a bit over 2,000 years in the Honorverse, I'd assume that converting the Theory (aka unfounded speculation) into practice has proven unfeasible. The in universe textev of the FTL communications they have (finally) developed suggests that FTL communications aren't having any obvious effect on Honorverse civilization.

It might, someday, be economical to set up the "wormhole barges" someone suggested in the economics thread to relay news business and banking information through wormholes, but until the set up FTL relays over interstellar distances, and/or learn to generate wormholes on demand, communications away from wormhole termini are going to be as slow and sluggish as they are now.
.
.
.
Answers! I got lots of answers!

(Now if I could just find the right questions.)
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by cthia   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:18 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

Weird Harold wrote:
cthia wrote:I don't know whether RFC has already spoken on this subject or if it has been discussed, but casual research caught no joy, therefore...


I believe there are several textev assertions that the only way to communicate through a wormhole is by traveling through the wormhole.

cthia wrote:What effect would this technology have on the Honorverse?


Your Wiki Link wrote:This page has some issues


Since the idea has been around for a bit over 2,000 years in the Honorverse, I'd assume that converting the Theory (aka unfounded speculation) into practice has proven unfeasible. The in universe textev of the FTL communications they have (finally) developed suggests that FTL communications aren't having any obvious effect on Honorverse civilization.

It might, someday, be economical to set up the "wormhole barges" someone suggested in the economics thread to relay news business and banking information through wormholes, but until the set up FTL relays over interstellar distances, and/or learn to generate wormholes on demand, communications away from wormhole termini are going to be as slow and sluggish as they are now.

Unfeasible? I can accept unfeasible. It denotes promise. One concept -> Foraker, Hemphill. I wouldn't bet against that two-headed techno duo even being able to create an atomic wormhole capable of FTL.

Build it and they will come.
Think it and it will happen.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by Weird Harold   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:28 pm

Weird Harold
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 4478
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:25 pm
Location: "Lost Wages", NV

cthia wrote:Unfeasible? I can accept unfeasible. It denotes promise.


No, it denotes politeness -- ie not saying people will make day trips to the surface of the sun to sunbathe nude first.
.
.
.
Answers! I got lots of answers!

(Now if I could just find the right questions.)
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by cthia   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:33 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

Weird Harold wrote:
cthia wrote:Unfeasible? I can accept unfeasible. It denotes promise.


No, it denotes politeness -- ie not saying people will make day trips to the surface of the sun to sunbathe nude first.

:lol:
Thanks for the politeness. I think.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by The E   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:37 pm

The E
Admiral

Posts: 2704
Joined: Tue May 07, 2013 1:28 pm
Location: Meerbusch, Germany

Point of order: Honorverse wormholes != the wormholes posited by the standard model.
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by SWM   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:46 pm

SWM
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 5928
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 4:00 pm
Location: U.S. east coast

Cthia, I point you to the first sentence in the quote you give from the Wikipedia article (emphasis added):
If wormholes are possible, then ordinary subluminal methods of communication could be sent through them to achieve superluminal transmission speeds.

In the Honorverse, the only way to send something through a wormhole is with a hyperspace generator. In other words, the only way to communicate through a wormhole is to send a ship through. And that's how the Honorverse currently does it. Messages are sent through wormholes on ships.
--------------------------------------------
Librarian: The Original Search Engine
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by cthia   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 3:01 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

The E wrote:Point of order: Honorverse wormholes != the wormholes posited by the standard model.

Thanks for the intelligent reply E. There is that. And admittedly, I don't know how they differ.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by cthia   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 3:09 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

SWM wrote:Cthia, I point you to the first sentence in the quote you give from the Wikipedia article (emphasis added):
If wormholes are possible, then ordinary subluminal methods of communication could be sent through them to achieve superluminal transmission speeds.

In the Honorverse, the only way to send something through a wormhole is with a hyperspace generator. In other words, the only way to communicate through a wormhole is to send a ship through. And that's how the Honorverse currently does it. Messages are sent through wormholes on ships.

Indeed. But it goes on to argue the possibility. Atomic wormhole theory perhaps could shed some light on bringing FTL via normal wormholes to fruition.

There are other available sources that delve into the physics of it much more deeply. I thought I'd include the much simpler and readily accessible wiki version. Shorter, concise.

Just google, superluminal communication pdf.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
Top
Re: Wormhole FTL communication
Post by SWM   » Sun Jun 08, 2014 3:10 pm

SWM
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 5928
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 4:00 pm
Location: U.S. east coast

cthia wrote:
The E wrote:Point of order: Honorverse wormholes != the wormholes posited by the standard model.

Thanks for the intelligent reply E. There is that. And admittedly, I don't know how they differ.

The most important way in which Honorverse wormholes differ from the wormholes described in that article are that Honorverse wormholes are a hyperspace phenomenon and require hyper generators to pass through. The wormholes in the article are normal-space phenomena and anything small enough to fit can pass through.
--------------------------------------------
Librarian: The Original Search Engine
Top

Return to Honorverse