Clarketech: Anti-Gravity

Perhaps one of the most common technologies seen in science fiction is anti-gravity and gravity manipulation. Today we'll examine if there's an scientific pathways in physics to permit such technology, and what sort of amazing options it might offer if developed in the future.

Listen or Download the audio of this episode from Soundcloud: Episode's Audio-only version:

Credits:
Clarketech: Anti-Gravity
Episode 180a, Season 5 E15a

Written by:
Isaac Arthur

Editors:
Evan Schultheis
Konstantin Sokerin
Mark Warburton
Stuart Graham

Cover Art:

Graphics by:
Jarred Eagley

Produced & Narrated by:
Isaac Arthur

Music Manager:

Music:

[techniquerules]

*Issacs Arthur videos:* clarketech, computer planets, entropy fields, dyson worlds at the end of time.
*Most million dollar sci-fi movies:* some lasers and a spaceship

[NickPoeschek]

Arthursday on a Sunday is the most mind bending Clarketech of all!

[NPrinceling]

This topic is so weighty that it's bent space and time, and managed to come out half a week before it came out

[theCodyReeder]

I almost had a heart attack thinking it was Thursday already.

[lastofrwby]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one

[whyjay]

Gravity manipulation might also be useful for building things; Shaping object by stretching them or having them flow in complex directions that would not otherwise happen, compressing them to cause change at either the molecular level or deeper, or even manipulating individual particles to get around the fat fingers barrier to nanotech, picotech and femtotech.

[DrewLSsix]

Gravity Wave lazer, GWAZER! I think you should copyright that, and use it to stick it to the occasional person who still criticizes your speech impediment! “ no! I’m actually pronouncing it perfectly thank you very much!”

[Frosty]

The script for this episode was really tight and information dense. It even had the usual quota of puns. The writing for this series is so good! And that's a true Clarketech!


Now I'm getting hyped about analysis of mechs from Into the Breach to Gundam Wing . . .

[diyeana]

This is a heavy subject.

I'll show myself out.

[Nethan]

Gravity drive is one of the first crazy contraptions players in Space Engineers learn about.

[RevolverRez]

So apparently I've stumbled on some kind of Clarketech that allows me to jump forward to Thursday. Neat!

[ReleeSquirrel]

When I think of Clarketech, I always think of the Rock that Keeps Tigers Away from the Simpsons. The idea of technology so small and ubiquitous that it seems like inert matter, like a rock or hunk of metal, but it's actually made up of layers of tiny machines actually doing something, like keeping tigers away, or processing some environmental chemicals or something else like an LCD Screen.

[georgebulbakwa]

Not gonna lie, I keep thinking "Is it Thursday today?" whenever a bonus episode comes out. Thanks for the treat

[ameliuslantea]

Technically you don't need "real" Anti-Gravity, just something that gives you the same effect.

It's like the Warp-Drive, which is effectively FTL without being real FTL because you don't have velocity/speed in a Warp-Drive, you bend spacetime around your ship, like surfing on a wave instead of actively pushing towards something 🚀

Another example would be FTL-Communication: If someone would use micro-wormholes they could do it without being faster than Llight-they just go around that problem by avoiding the problem altogether 👆

It just depends on the perspective but generally, there is almost always a kind of loophole around something, either known or yet-to-be-discovered 😁

ps: Isaac, what about the concept of "Anti-Time"? An Episode about that plus Pantropy would be very interesting! 👍

[vincentcleaver]

'It really draws us down...'

I wonder if Isaac is doing all of this just to change the way we speak. His own word choice is kind of idiomatic

[stormbringermornblade]

Controlling Gravity or Anti-Gravity via energy usage like electricity would absolutely put us in Clarke-tech :)

[alexandremenard]

As I'm a french speaker, your "speech impediment" just looks like an awesome accent, to be fair.

[GoranXII]

In the web-comic "Schlock Mercenary" they have weapons known as 'gravy guns' that use gravity. The 'gravy' moniker is apparently not a shortened form of 'gravity', but related to puking, something that afflicts those nearby a strike, especially after meals.

[keys]

Could the force of gravity flip at some point? I always wondered if thats what could maybe be what dark really energy is... Having a gravitational object in one area displace space in such a way as to compress it, and in another relatively empty area have it expand by the same amount. Imagine dropping a munch of weights all around on an infinitely big membrane on top of some non compressible fluid, so when you place weights, certain parts go down, but other parts of the membrane bulge out instead to compensate... heavy close things would just gravitate towards each other, but all far things should shoot apart in opposite directions because of this displacement (antigravity/dark energy). Maybe that’s why super voids kinda look like giant bubbles... 0.0

If this made sense to anyone and you know anything about this, Please comment.

[AlucardNoir]

9:46 Isaac, Isaac, no you couldn't do that. Paramount and CBS own the rights to the Deflector shield, you'd be sued into bankruptcy before your ship even saw the planning phase.