Timeline for On a generation ship, how to handle the dead?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2015 at 10:44 | history | undeleted | ArtOfCode | ||
| Mar 11, 2015 at 21:33 | history | deleted | ArtOfCode | via Vote | |
| Mar 11, 2015 at 19:55 | comment | added | Stephen Eilert | This is not an answer. The question already specifies that one cannot afford to lose the materials the bodies are composed of. Also, "universe pollution" is really not an issue. We aren't exactly worried about adding ashes to the interstellar (near)vacuum. | |
| Mar 9, 2015 at 1:23 | comment | added | user3082 | @Brythan "You could then drop the ashes out into space" | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 23:23 | comment | added | yo' | @Brythan however, you have much more efficient ways how to extract the precious materials than cremation. Without any intention to sound cynic, one of the most efficient ways is to turn everything into liquid food. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 17:01 | comment | added | Jorge Aldo | Stick the dead into a torpedo and launch it towards the nearest sun. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 16:55 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | @ArtOfCode The "generation ship" is an extreme version of shipbuilding where longevity of a biosphere is held above all other requirements, because it is trying to reach far off locations. Accordingly, it cannot afford to waste any carbon atoms as part of a death ritual. It must recycle them. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 15:03 | comment | added | Tony Ennis | For the reasons specified above. You can't lob your resources out the airlock without depleting the ship and dooming the mission. Consider a 10,000 year trip. Now, say there's a standard door. How many hinges will be worn out during the trip? Now magnify that need for resource by every part of the ship. There is absolutely no room for waste. Just as there wouldn't be traditional door hinges (and maybe no doors at all), there wouldn't be traditional funerals. They would be a horrific waste. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 14:38 | comment | added | ArtOfCode | @TonyEnnis Why? | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 14:30 | comment | added | Tony Ennis | I don't think this is a good answer. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 13:54 | comment | added | Peteris | If your goal is to bring X people to the end, then on a generation ship taking just 10 generations your method #2 would bring up a cargo of X people and 10X corpses, and method #3 would be required to load 11X of biomass and throw most of it out. For a 100 generation ship the inefficiency is even more immense - only 1% of your cargo capacity would be useful. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 12:25 | comment | added | ArtOfCode | @user3082 How so? | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 12:16 | comment | added | user3082 | All of these are going to result in loss of your biosphere. For a generation ship, you want to minimize your losses. | |
| Mar 8, 2015 at 10:44 | history | answered | ArtOfCode | CC BY-SA 3.0 |