if we ever have the ability to effectively colonize planets not in our solar system we probably wont have wars. Wars are caused by pressure for resources if every group has thier own planets it kind of negates the need to fight over stuff.

You're joking, right? Please tell me your not that naive.

Lets start with the various Crusades, Jihads, purges, and other stupidity "in the name of God!" Then lets move on to the fact that its easier to take the infrastructure and wealth from someone else than to develop it yourself. Then lets move on to genuine political issues, and finally the fact that the resources available in the galaxy are finite -- eventually there will be "pressure for resources" again.

Space is really really big enormas really isnt a big enough word to describe the size of our galaxy. so while in theory you are correct that there are finite resources available it will take a very very long time to get to that point.

Now if einstein is correct then it is very unlikely we will ever populate another star system short of building a generation ship.

as to the point of conflict ever stopping no i dont belive that but it will always be done on or around planets i dont expect space warfare like in sins to ever be a reality

I think that many nations won't leave earth, Kenya for example. Others, like America and China, will strike out on their own. There may be EU-like coalitions exploring space. But I sincerly doubt hyperspace travel will unite mankind. Just look at the Palestinians picking on the Israelites. They could go anywhere, but they want that one spot.

lord draco, Although einstien was one of the smartest men ever to of lived he could not accurately predict anything about space travel as he and we do not know enouph about it, for example there are eleven dimensions, as humans we can currently comprehend 3 up, down, and side to side there are 8 more! any one of those could potentially be used for space travel. amother example is that of electrons (im quoting from memory so apologies if wrong) evry electron is part of a pair, and each electron corresponds with the other instantly even if its the other side of the galaxy, no one knows how but once we do this could also be used in space travel.

We understand at least 4 at the moment, the fourth one is Time.

Read up on the history of the New World after Columbus "discovered" it, and it will give you a rough idea of how it might be when we start colonizing other planets.

The real question should be: Will the beings living in that planet be defeated as Spain defeated the Aztecs?

While the white coats are busy trying to imagine themselves on the other side of the galaxy, those who control the resources necessary for space travel are instead making plans on how to achieve a sustainable population of a mere 500 million.

In case you didn't notice, thats several Billion below current population levels.

Think total urbanization and tyranny. This is a far more likely future than humanity escaping earth.

If you want a better outcome, talk to your creator about it.

Question: is there other life out there (specifically, intelligent tool-using life)? There isn't any data currently available, that I've heard of.



As others have pointed out, simply have those resources available elsewhere won't do a thing when we want them here.



There are loopholes in Einsteins work that would allow us to go interstellar. Only real problem is that the power levels are... more than impossible, shall we say.

That is just one point of view. Think of it this way. Nobody to date have said that interstellar travel is impossible. They have only stated ways how that is not possible. Still nobody have brought up a way to do it and then test it succesfully.

So far we know many ways of how not to do it. Let's keep searching for ways of how to do it. It is possible, we just don't know how, yet.

No Change - we'll just fight each other for the "new" resources we find ......

Politicians will still fight for influence and power, they'll just have a wider selection to dominate .....

And we will still be that way until another Race comes along, kicks our Butt, and we might then - just might - develop some common sense and stop that nonsense.

But I'm not holding my breath - a "friendly" lot us Humans ...

Regards
Zy

Sorry, I should have phrased my point more clearly. Already we know of several loopholes, except we can't exploit them because the power levels are enormous. But the fact that there are any loopholes, at the very least implies the possibility of more.

Question: is there other life out there (specifically, intelligent tool-using life)? There isn't any data currently available, that I've heard of.

Well first of all, Is the universe infinite? as far as we know yes. So in an infinite universe, there is an infinite probability that sentient life is out there some where. The problem is, due to theory of relativity. light can only travel so fast, so planets that are millions of light years away are actually millions of yearsbehind our time, so its concievable that life could have evolved, grown, and destroyed itself(like we probably will) before we have any knowlege about it.

This has been modeled out in various forms of scifi. As with every other aspect of life, available technology will determine what is possible.

If we are limited entirely to Einsteinian space, war would be all-or-nothing affairs - you can't call for reinforcements if they'd take 10 years to arrive. Nor can you move any significant population to the territory to take over, so the only real reason to engage in such a war would be to preempt a percieved threat. Look up Larry Niven's "A World Out of Time" to see what I mean.

Beyond this is something like David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" series - space travel is expensive but possible. Suddenly every nation on Earth starts a colony as an item of national pride. Since most travel is still one-way, they generally don't see any return on investment.

The far end of the spectrum is something like Star Trek or Star Wars - any schmuck can wander off planet-hopping. Interstellar trade is feasable, but then so is interstellar government.

You'll note that none of my examples end with a peaceful galaxy   

Not saying you are, but it would be very niave to think we are the only race living in this universe.