The Universe Revealed

What is the final frontier?

What is the final frontier?

We've heard this in Star Trek's opening credits: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

When Star Trek was first on the airwaves, the final frontier was space. Now, it's more complicated. We know that space is a big place, much larger than we ever imagined. We have only scratched the surface of exploring outer space. We just barely know what's in our immediate neighborhood, which is our solar system, and we have just recently begun to explore other solar systems using newly discovered techniques.

I would suggest that there is more to discover right here on Earth. Oceans cover seventy two percent of the planet's surface, and yet we know very little about what's down deep in them or how they actually contribute to the atmosphere and climate change. We know more about the Moon than we do the oceans. Understanding Earth's oceans will help us learn more about the oceans believed to be on several moons, namely Europa and Enceladus, and the asteroids, specifically Ceres. This will also help when we explore extra-solar planets.

As much as quantum physicists know about the particles that make up our universe, there is a lot more to discover. We have only begun to explore the quantum world with the Hadron Collider. As this wonderful scientific instrument is made more powerful, much more about quantum particles will be discovered, hard scientific evidence that will consolidate our understanding of the quantum world and the mystery of matter.

We have as yet to discover all of the species of animals and plants on the Earth. Scientists have calculated that there are 8.7 million species, but only 6.5 million have actually been discovered.  Many of the undiscovered species are on the ocean floor. The problem is that many of these species go extinct even before we discover them. As it turns out 99.9% of all species that ever existed have gone extinct. Think about that!

We have only scratched the surface of what makes gravity work, especially on the quantum level. This is what drove Einstein nuts. He couldn't figure it out. The Unification Theory that would combine the weak and strong nuclear forces, electromagnetism and gravity together would be the holy grail of physics.

The next great discoveries are waiting to be discovered, such as unlimited fusion power; faster than light space travel; quantum computing; teleportation; instant communication over vast distances; life extension; cure for cancer; end to war and diseases; reversal of climate change; end of discrimination; and peace on Earth.
These are the real final frontiers that are just waiting to be discovered.

Thanks for reading.