Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g-what we're comfortable with on good old terra firma-to the midpoint of our voyage, and decelerate continuously at 1 g until we arrive at our destination. It would take a day to get to Mars, a week and a half to Pluto, a year to the Oort Cloud, and a few years to the nearest stars.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote describes the possibilities of space travel using continuous acceleration and deceleration to reach distant destinations relatively quickly.
In this quote, Carl Sagan imagines a future in which humanity can travel through space at a constant acceleration of 1 g, the gravitational pull experienced on Earth. By maintaining such acceleration, he argues that journeying to other celestial bodies within our solar system and even to the nearest stars would become feasible within a timeframe that is much shorter than what is currently possible, highlighting the immense potential of advanced space travel technology.
Themes
Space TravelAccelerationMartian JourneyExplorationTechnology
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the future of space exploration, one could use this quote to illustrate the human drive to explore beyond Earth.
More from Carl Sagan
All quotes →In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
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How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
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The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
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There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
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The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
Carl SaganRead
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