I continue to acquire perspective from some of the apparent wonder and silliness of life. Last night, I got a chance to link two distinctly separate entities – the National Geographic Channel and the U.S. Postal Service. Our pointy-eared friend, Spock, would ask how this is possible; especially when it appears so illogical. But here it is, folks, for your amusement and consideration.
Yesterday’s science fiction is today’s science fodder and tomorrow’s science fact. Intellectual trips around this fine universe have always captivated me. And in answer to the usual question, Spock and Data have always been my favorite “Star Trek” characters. I must admit The Doctor on “Voyager” was such a delight. But I digress….
NatGeo has been broadcasting a wonderful series, “The Known Universe.” Man, do I love to get on the space ship and ride! Last night, I watched two installments, with the second being about the nature of speed. I know the fact that light travels at 186,000 miles per second as well as I know my own birthday. This is a constant in our universe, and really defines our physical world, which is growing smaller by the nano second. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Albert Einstein, who made this and so many other immutable facts known to us through his study of physics and the fabric of the time-space continuum.
Nothing in the known universe travels faster than the speed of light. Zilch, zip, nada. I know some drivers on U.S. 285 here on terra firma who apparently didn’t get the press release. But that’s another subject.
It turns out former astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz, who retired from NASA in 2005, is working on a magneto plasma rocket. Dr. Diaz is a year younger than me and has taken more than a few turns around the cosmic block. He received his doctorate in applied plasma physics from MIT in 1977.
Strap on your anti-gravity booties, space junkies. Once completed, this rocket is predicted to cross the expanse of space from Earth to Mars in 39 days. Say it slowly: 39 days. Well, as Carl Sagan, another great in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, would have undoubtedly said, “It blows my mind.”
I am just astounded to learn about this. But I needed to know a little more. I did a little googling today and turned up some info on Mars attributed to Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay: “Distance from Earth varies from 36 million miles (nearest planet after Venus) to over 250 million miles. Proportionately, this six-fold distance variation is the greatest of any planet.”
Mind-boggling to us non-science types, but interestingly quantifiable. I must assume that the magneto plasma rocket would be launched at such a time in Mars’ elliptical orbit to set the vehicle off on the shortest possible trajectory. I let my mind ramble just a smidge and realize this doesn’t address the issue of whether the journey is one-way or round trip. But again, I digress….
Now we come to the postal part of this piece. The national trade publication I work for sends my hard copy of the paper to me via snail mail once a week. I can’t say my paper has ever arrived within a stellar time frame, but the U.S. Postal Service really hit an all-time low when it took 14 days to deliver a recent issue. As I tell my friends – and generally anyone who’ll listen – I could have walked the paper from its drop-off point in New York to my humble mailbox in the rural and forgotten territory of Central Colorado, in better time. Seems some people don’t realize we do indeed have indoor plumbing here, that we know what a latte is, and can manage to start a fire without rubbing two sticks together.
I have a friend with an old beater (the car, not egg, type) who said he could have struck out for the East Coast, broken down, gotten repaired, hit the road, broken down again, wired me for money, gotten repaired yet again, arrived at the PO in NY, turned tail, hit the road, hit the skids, broken down, paid the latest repair bill, turned on the ignition, turned the corner, and still turned into my driveway in less time.
I don’t know just how many miles – exactly or otherwise – it is from New York to my rural hometown in CO. But I guarantee you it isn’t 36 million miles. The magneto plasma rocket would be nearly halfway in its maiden voyage to the Red Planet in the same time it took for my humble paper to come to rest in my hot little hand.
This is the same quasi-governmental agency (translation: “We want to, but can’t do it on our own”) that says it needs more money come May to do the same ineffective job. Carl, Carl, is that you? (“It blows my mind.”)
So here’s what I’m thinking. NASA can launch an interstellar probe, and the USPS can’t even launch a bottle rocket. After careful thought and undue consideration, I have come up with a solution. My proposal? Eliminate the current governing structure of the Postal Service, and let’s reassign all the organization to NASA. That way, NASA can explore both outer and inner space! And maybe I'd get to see a certain publication more often than once in a blue moon.
Hey Jack: I know it's not your fault!
And I want to extend a personal and heart-felt apology to Sue, my stalwart mail carrier, who’s just a terrific person and dedicated postal employee. She takes the abuse in stride. They don’t come any better than Sue. I think she’d do that NASA jumpsuit proud.
