[34611]

That's assuming the current model of physics is true for all time. The current model of physics which cannot account for 95% of matter in the universe.

There was a time when the current model of physics couldn't allow for traveling to different planets.

Never say never.

[superposeur]

Most physics revolutions refine rather than replace their predecessors. So, for instance, gr gives similar predictions to to Newtonian gravity in an appropriate limit.

It is possible that relativity will be refined by further developments (quantum gravity?), but it is reasonable to expect that the refined understanding will reduce to relativity in an appropriate limit, one core feature of which is the causal structure of events in space time.

Hoping that exotic physics will allow ftl travel is like hoping that an exotic theory of gravity will give a radically different prediction for the time it takes an apple to drop from tree to ground. True that “never” is a strong word but this is just about as never as any fact we know.

I use this strong word as a corrective to the impression you get reading discussion threads, where you may suppose ftl is next up on musk’s bucket list, or just limited by sluggish tech development.

[34611]

> Most physics revolutions refine rather than replace their predecessors.

No. You are describing advancement, not revolution. Physics revolutions cause paradigm shifts. The difference between relativity ( refinement ) and quantum physics ( revolution ).

> So, for instance, gr gives similar predictions to to Newtonian gravity in an appropriate limit.

GR wasn't a revolution. It was adding onto and refining newtonian physics. As in newton gave us the laws of gravity, einstein showed us what gravity is.

> It is possible that relativity will be refined by further developments (quantum gravity?)

That's impossible because relativity cannot exist in a quantum world. Relativity/newtonian physics is deterministic, quantum physics is non-deterministic. Quantum physics gives us true randonmess whereas the relativistic world cannot.

> Hoping that exotic physics will allow ftl travel is like hoping that an exotic theory of gravity

No. I'm just pointing out that it's silly and naive to assume that physics will remain stagnant forever. Forever being the key word. Especially, as I pointed out, since modern physics cannot account for 95% of matter.

2000 years ago, someone could reasonably say man would never reach space because the current understanding of physics was so lacking. Today someone could also say man would never travel between the stars. But they would be assuming that no advancements in physics and knowledge would occur.