Star Trek Actor George Takei Comes Out

> Our galaxy is very vast, it can hold any population explosion.

Expontentially many >> astronomically many.

Given a continual expansion into space at a constant velocity, call
it c, the population at time t is limited to what can fit into a
sphere of radius ct. For simplicity, I assume that people have a
mass of 100 kg and the density of water, and thus take up a tenth of
a cubic meter each. The volume of people can't exceed the volume of
the colonization sphere. Then I look at exponential growth with a
doubling time of 30 years, and calculate how long it takes before
the volume of the population exceeds the volume of the colonization
sphere: the exponential growth can't go on that long.

It's been a while since I last plugged in the numbers, so I would
have to find the calculator. But it might be instructive to take a
guess how soon unlimited growth becomes unfeasible, and then do the
calculation yourself.

--- In spacesettlers@...m, sraj wrote:
>
> Our galaxy is very vast, it can hold any population explosion. My
guess is, once space habs around the solar system get established,
there will be the natural itch to move beyond it - a would say
within 200 years of space habs being established around the solar
system.
>
> Yes there is one problem though. Even travelling at 0.1% of the
velocity of light - 300 Km / sec - it will take more than 4000 years
to reach Alpha Centauris. (Will it be possible to reach higher
velocities?). The population in the flotila of star ships/habs
headed for Alpha Centauris will have to be kept stable.
>
> Selvaraj
>
> Lucio wrote:
>
> Although for some time (two or three centuries, I would guess)
there
> will be probably no need of population control in space, in the
long
> run that need will inevitably arise. Humanity can grow at an
> exponential rate, but on the other hand it can expand through a 3D
> space only at a much slower *cubic* rate, so in the end population
> will be forced into cubic expansion.
>
> From: Lucio de Souza Coelho
> To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 6:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] Star Trek Actor George Takei Comes
Out
>
> On 10/31/05, sraj wrote:
> >
> > For normal kind of sexuality in a space hab, space cruiser,
space outposts, you would need equal number of men and women.
>
> It depends on how you define "normal kind of sexuality". I
assume that
> you mean men and women partitioned in stable couples.
>
> > Gay rights is unfortunately a double edged sword. While one
can sympathize with the
> > idea that two persons of the same sex would like to live their
life together, we cannot
> > escape the fact that children are born and they grow up in the
same environment, and
> > they inculcate the values of that environment. And with the
kind of hardsell made
> > possible by modern communication and media 90% of humans could
be converted into
> > homosexuals.
>
> Your opinion that sexual orientation is defined by the
environment
> alone would be considered controversial at best nowadays.
Anyhow, even
> if it were an environment-defined characteristic, what exactly
is the
> intrinsic problem of a society with a homosexuality rate of 90%?
>
> > My feeling on the subject is, homosexuality should be
tolerated but kept under wrap. Part > of the problem with sexuality
on planet earth may be that it has become important for us > to
control the human population, while the natural instinct is to have
as many children as > possible. With the promise that in space habs
it will be possible to accomodate hundreds > of billions of people,
family planning will hopefully no longer be required, and we will
see > once again the family cohesiveness that used to be seen in
large families.
>
> Although for some time (two or three centuries, I would guess)
there
> will be probably no need of population control in space, in the
long
> run that need will inevitably arise. Humanity can grow at an
> exponential rate, but on the other hand it can expand through a
3D
> space only at a much slower *cubic* rate, so in the end
population