How to be immortals and where to find aliens

[sayak83]

It is a standard result of General Relativity that time slows down near a black hole. Thus one can perch a spacecraft near a black hole and voila, a century of time for the spacecraft will be equivalent to millions of years outside. Also matter continues to fall at energetic rates at the center of massive black holes at the Galactic center. Thus a fleet of spacecraft can over indefinitely near the event horizon siphoning energy from the infallible matter to power their space stations there. It would be logical for any sufficiently advanced civilization to keep such a fleet containing thousands of individuals near a black hole to protect the species from extinction from unforeseen events over millions of years in the outside. Small groups would repeatedly make forays in the outer regions to reseed or explore nearby areas etc. So if intelligent aliens are there, they should have made such outposts near energetic black holes. That's where one should look.

 

[Araceli Cianna]

Or they just learned to stop aging so they live forever Human trials already being conducted in this with age reversal and pretty good results. You can go back twenty years after a six month course of injections.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It is a standard result of General Relativity that time slows down near a black hole. Thus one can perch a spacecraft near a black hole and voila, a century of time for the spacecraft will be equivalent to millions of years outside.

Except a spacecraft isn't a single point. What seems like a century at the centre of the spacecraft might be like, say, only 10 years at the edge closer to the black hole and like a thousand years at the far edge.

As you get closer to the centre of the black hole, this gradient gets steeper and steeper.

 

[Nietzsche]

Except a spacecraft isn't a single point. What seems like a century at the centre of the spacecraft might be like, say, only 10 years at the edge closer to the black hole and like a thousand years at the far edge.

As you get closer to the centre of the black hole, this gradient gets steeper and steeper.

A more layman's explanation;

The time dilation effects are so extreme that someone just a few feet closer or farther from the black hole will experience a radically different passage of time compared to the other person.

 

[Polymath257]

It is a standard result of General Relativity that time slows down near a black hole. Thus one can perch a spacecraft near a black hole and voila, a century of time for the spacecraft will be equivalent to millions of years outside. Also matter continues to fall at energetic rates at the center of massive black holes at the Galactic center. Thus a fleet of spacecraft can over indefinitely near the event horizon siphoning energy from the infallible matter to power their space stations there. It would be logical for any sufficiently advanced civilization to keep such a fleet containing thousands of individuals near a black hole to protect the species from extinction from unforeseen events over millions of years in the outside. Small groups would repeatedly make forays in the outer regions to reseed or explore nearby areas etc. So if intelligent aliens are there, they should have made such outposts near energetic black holes. That's where one should look.

Hovering is not a possibility. You would need a tremendous expenditure of energy to stay in place above a black hole. An orbit would be much better, but there are still issues with tidal effects. Plus, don't forget that those on these ships will be cut off from the rest of their species for the duration.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

A more layman's explanation;

The time dilation effects are so extreme that someone just a few feet closer or farther from the black hole will experience a radically different passage of time compared to the other person.

Right. Or even radically different passage of time within the person's body.

 

[Polymath257]

Except a spacecraft isn't a single point. What seems like a century at the centre of the spacecraft might be like, say, only 10 years at the edge closer to the black hole and like a thousand years at the far edge.

As you get closer to the centre of the black hole, this gradient gets steeper and steeper.

While true, this effect is much less for the supermassive black holes. It is the smaller ones that will tear you apart before the event horizon.

 

[Nietzsche]

Right. Or even radically different passage of time within the person's body.

I did not even consider that, but yeah, damn, that'd be...different.