How humanity can reach the stars | Philip Lubin

Translator: Nathaniel Luis Reyhan Soesilo Reviewer: Lanny Yunita

We're here at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Kita di University of California, Santa Barbara

to discuss a dream of humanity:

untuk berdiskusi tentang sebuah mimpi kemanusiaan.

the ability to exit our solar system

Kemampuan untuk keluar dari tata surya kita dan masuk tata surya lain

and enter another solar system.

And the solution is literally before your eyes.

dan solusinya benar-benar ada di depan mata Anda.

So I have two things on me that you have -- I have a watch,

Saya memiliki dua benda yang juga Anda miliki -- jam dan senter,

and I have a flashlight,

which, if it's not on you, it's on your phone.

yang mungkin Anda bawa atau ada di ponsel Anda.

So the watch keeps time,

Jam mengukur waktu dan senter menerangi sekitar saya.

and my flashlight just illuminates my environment.

So like art, to me, science is illuminating.

Jadi, seperti seni, bagi saya, sains itu menerangi.

I want to see reality in a different way.

Saya ingin melihat realita dengan cara berbeda.

When I turn on the flashlight,

Saat saya menyalakan senternya,

suddenly the dark becomes bright, and I suddenly see.

seketika yang gelap menjadi terang, dan saya bisa melihat.

The flashlight and its light,

Senter dan cahayanya,

which you can see coming out --

yang terlihat sedang memancar -- tidak hanya menyinari tangan saya,

the light on my hand is not only illuminating my hand,

it's actually pushing on my hand.

tapi juga mendorong tangan saya.

Light carries energy and momentum.

Cahaya membawa energi dan momentum.

So the answer is not to make a spacecraft out of a flashlight,

Jawabannya bukan membuat pesawat antariksa dari senter

by having the exhaust come out this way

dengan asap yang keluar ke arah sini dan pesawatnya ke sana --

and the spacecraft goes that way --

that's what we do today with chemistry.

itulah yang kita lakukan dengan kimia saat ini.

The answer is this:

Jawabannya adalah ini:

Take the flashlight and put it somewhere on the Earth,

Letakkan senter di mana pun di bumi, orbit, atau bulan,

in orbit or on the Moon,

and then shine it on a reflector,

lalu sinarkan ke pemantul.

which propels the reflector to speeds which can approach the speed of light.

Pemantul akan melaju dengan mendekati kecepatan cahaya.

Well, how do you make a flashlight that's big enough?

Bagaimana membuat senter sebesar itu?

Senter ini tidak bisa, tangan saya tak bergerak sama sekali.

This isn't going to do it,

my hand doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Ini karena gayanya sangat rendah.

And that's because the force is very, very low.

Maka, cara menyelesaikannya adalah

So the way that you can solve this problem

dengan memakai banyak senter yang sebenarnya adalah laser,

is taking many, many flashlights, which are actually lasers,

and synchronizing them in time,

dan menyinkronisasikannya di waktu bersamaan

and when you gang them all together into a gigantic array,

dan ketika kesemuanya disatukan menjadi sebuah susunan raksasa,

which we call a phased array,

yang kita sebut susunan berfase, barulah sistem yang cukup kuat terbentuk.

you then have a sufficiently powerful system,

which, if you make it roughly the size of a city,

Jika ukurannya sebesar satu kota, dapat mendorong pesawat antariksa

it can push a spacecraft, which is roughly the size of your hand,

sebesar tangan Anda dengan 25 persen kecepatan cahaya.

to speeds which are roughly 25 percent the speed of light.

That would enable us to get to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri,

Ini bisa membawa kita ke bintang terdekat, Proxima Centauri,

yang berjarak empat tahun cahaya dalam kurang dari 20 tahun.

which is a little over four light years away,

in less than 20 years.

Initial probes would be roughly the size of your hand,

Pesawat awal mula ini ukurannya sebesar tangan Anda,

and the size of the reflector that you're going to use

dan pemantulnya sebesar manusia, tak lebih dari saya, hanya beberapa meter.

is going to be roughly human size,

so not a whole lot larger than myself,

but a few meters in size.

It only uses the reflection of light from this very large laser array

Ini hanya memakai pantulan cahaya dari laser raksasa untuk mendorong kapalnya.

to propel the spacecraft.

So let's talk about this.

Jadi, mari kita bicarakan.

This is a lot like sailing on the ocean.

Ini mirip seperti berlayar di laut.

When you sail on the ocean, you're pushed by the wind.

Ketika berlayar, Anda didorong oleh angin.

And the wind then drives the sail forward through the water.

Anginnya kemudian mendorong layar maju di atas air.

In our case, we're creating an artificial wind in space

Kali ini, angin luar angkasa buatan kita adalah laser,

from this laser array,

except the wind is actually the photons from the laser itself,

namun anginnya adalah foton-foton dari laser tersebut.

the light from the laser becomes the wind

Cahaya dari laser menjadi angin untuk kita berlayar.

upon which we sail.

It is a very directed light --

Ini cahaya yang sangat terarah -- sering disebut energi terarah.

it's often called directed energy.

So why is this possible today,

Mengapa saat ini mungkin?

why can we talk about going to the stars today,

Mengapa kini kita bisa merencanakan perjalanan ke bintang,

when 60 years ago,

ketika program luar angkasa dimulai 60 tahun silam di Earnest,

when the space program began in earnest,

people would have said, "That's not possible"?

orang selalu bilang "Itu tidak mungkin"?

Well, the reason it's possible today has a lot to do with the consumer,

Alasannya karena konsumen; Anda menonton saya lewat internet yang cepat

and the very fact that you're watching me.

You're watching me over a high-speed internet,

which is dominated by the photonics of sending data over fiber optics.

yang didominasi oleh pengiriman data fotonik lewat 'fiber optic'.

Photonics essentially allow the internet to exist

Ilmu fotonik menjadikan internet seperti sekarang adanya.

in the way it does today.

The ability to send vast amounts of data very quickly

Kemampuan untuk mengirim banyak data dengan cepat adalah

is the same technology that we're going to use

teknologi yang sama untuk mengirim pesawat antariksa ke bintang dengan cepat.

to send spacecraft very quickly to the stars.

You effectively have an infinite supply of propellent,

Ada zat pendorong tak terbatas yang bisa

you can turn it on and off as needed.

dinyalakan dan dimatikan seperlunya.

You do not leave the laser array that produces the light on

Lasernya tidak dinyalakan sepanjang perjalanan.

for the entire journey.

For small spacecraft, it's only on for a few minutes,

Untuk kapal kecil, laser hanya dinyalakan beberapa menit,

and then it's like shooting a gun.

lalu seperti menembakkan senjata api.

You have a projectile which just moves ballistically.

Ada proyektil yang bergerak secara balistik.

Even if we, as humans, are not on the spacecraft,

Bahkan jika manusia tidak ada di kapal, kita bisa mengirim kapalnya.

at least we have the ability to send out such spacecraft.

You want to remotely view,

Anda ingin melihat, menggambarkan, dan merasakan objek dari jauh.

or have remote imaging and remote sensing,

of an object.

So when we go to Jupiter, for example,

Contohnya ketika kita melewati Jupiter, kita memotret Jupiter,

with a flyby mission,

we are taking pictures of Jupiter,

we're measuring the magnetic field,

mengukur medan magnet, kepadatan partikel -- berpetualang dari jauh.

the particle density,

and we're basically exploring remotely.

The same way that you are looking at me.

Seperti Anda melihat saya.

And all of the current missions that are beyond the Moon

Semua misi yang melampaui bulan saat ini adalah misi jarak jauh.

are remote-sensing missions.

What would we hope to find if we visited an exoplanet?

Apa yang dapat kita temukan saat mengunjungi eksoplanet?

Perhaps there's life on an exoplanet,

Mungkin ada kehidupan di sana.

and we would be able to see evidence of life,

Kita bisa lihat bukti kehidupan lewat pertanda atmosfer

either through atmospheric biosignatures

atau lewat bukti foto dramatis kehidupan di permukaan.

or through, you know, a dramatic picture,

we would be able to see something actually on the surface.

We don't know if there's life elsewhere in the universe.

Kami tidak tahu apakah ada kehidupan lain di alam semesta.

Perhaps on the missions that we send out, we will find evidence for life,

Mungkin di misi yang kami kirim, bukti kehidupan dapat ditemukan,

perhaps we will not.

atau mungkin, tidak.

And while economics may seem like an inappropriate thing

Ekonomi mungkin tidak patut dibahas dalam perjalanan antar bintang,

to bring into a talk on interstellar capability,

it is in fact one of the driving issues in achieving interstellar capability.

namun ekonomi menjadi isu besar bagi pencapaiannya.

You have to get things to the point where they're economically affordable

Mungkin tujuan itu baru terlaksana saat harga barang menjadi terjangkau.

to do what we want to do.

So currently,

Saat ini, di lab kami ada sistem yang mampu menyinkronkan dalam skala besar

we have systems in the lab

which have achieved the ability to synchronize over very large scales,

out to about 10 kilometers or roughly six miles.

sampai 10 kilometer atau sekitar enam mil.

We've been able to achieve synchronization of laser systems,

Kami mampu mencapai sinkronisasi sistem laser yang bekerja dengan cantik.

and it's worked beautifully.

We've known how to build lasers for many decades,

Kami telah tahu cara membuat laser selama beberapa dekade,

but it's only now that the technology has gotten inexpensive enough,

namun sekarang telah menjadi cukup murah dan matang

and become mature enough

that we can imagine having huge arrays, literally,

hingga kami bisa berpikir untuk membangun susunan raksasa

kilometer-scale arrays, much like solar farms,

seperti ladang panel surya yang bukan menerima, namun mengeluarkan cahaya.

but instead of receiving light, they transmit light.

The beauty of this type of technology is it enables many applications,

Indahnya, teknologi ini bisa diterapkan dalam banyak hal,

not just relativistic flight for small spacecraft,

tidak hanya penerbangan relatif untuk kapal kecil,

but enables high-speed spacecraft,

namun juga kapal cepat di tata surya kita.

high-speed flight in our solar system,

it enables planetary defense,

Ini memungkinkan perlindungan planet, pemindahan serpihan luar angkasa,

it enables space debris removal,

it enables powering of distant assets that we may want to send power to,

dan pemberian tenaga ke aset jarak jauh,

such as spacecraft or bases on the Moon or other places.

seperti kapal antariksa atau markas di bulan atau tempat lain.

It's an extremely versatile technology,

Ini teknologi yang sangat serbaguna.

it's something that humanity would want to develop

Ini sesuatu yang ingin dikembangkan manusia,

even if they didn't want to send spacecraft to the stars,

bahkan jika tidak ingin mengirim kapal ke luar angkasa,

because that technology allows so many applications

karena teknologi ini bisa diterapkan pada aspek yang sekarang sulit dicapai.

that are currently not feasible.

And therefore, I feel it's an inevitable technology,

Maka, saya kira ini teknologi yang pasti datang

because we have the ability,

karena kami punya kemampuannya.

we just need to fine-tune the technology

Kami hanya perlu menyempurnakannya dan menunggu ekonomi

and in a sense, wait for economics to catch up with us

menjadi cukup murah bagi kami untuk membangun sistem yang besar.

so that it becomes cheap enough to build the large systems.

The smaller systems are affordable now.

Sistem yang lebih kecil sekarang sudah terjangkau.

And we've already started building prototype systems in our lab.

Kami sudah membangun prototipe sistemnya di lab.

So while it's not going to happen tomorrow,

Meski tidak akan terjadi besok, kami sudah memulai prosesnya.

we've already begun the process,

and so far, it's looking good.

Sejauh ini terlihat bagus.

This is both a revolutionary program,

Keduanya adalah program revolusioner

in terms of being a transformative technology,

yang sangat transformatif, dan juga evolusioner.

but it's also an evolutionary program.

So personally, I do not expect to be around

Mungkin saya sudah meninggal saat penerbangan relativis pertama terjadi.

when the first relativistic flight happens.

I think that's probably 30-plus years off before we get to that point,

Saya pikir hal itu mungkin terjadi 30 tahun lagi atau lebih.

and perhaps more.

But what inspires me

Inspirasi saya adalah kemampuan mencapai tujuan akhirnya.

is to look at the ability to achieve the final goal.

Even if it does not happen in my lifetime,

Walaupun itu tidak terjadi sepanjang kehidupan saya,

it can happen in the lifetime of the next generation

itu bisa terjadi dalam kehidupan generasi selanjutnya atau seterusnya.

or the generation beyond that.

The consequences are so transformative

Saya kira konsekuensinya sangat transformatif,

that we literally, in my opinion, must go down this path,

hingga kita harus menjalaninya, menemukan batasannya, dan melampauinya.

and must explore what the limitations are,

and then how do we overcome the limitations.

The search for life on other planets

Pencarian kehidupan di planet lain akan menjadi eksplorasi terdepan manusia.

would be one of humanity's foremost explorations,

and if we're able to do so,

Jika kita bisa melakukannya, dan menemukan kehidupan,

and actually find life on another planet,

it would change humanity forever.

hidup manusia akan berubah selamanya.

Everything is profound in life.

Semua bermakna dalam hidup.

If you look deep enough,

Jika dilihat dengan teliti,

you'll find something incredibly complex and interesting and beautiful in life.

Anda akan menemukan sesuatu yang kompleks, menarik, dan cantik.

And the same is true with the lowly photon

Sama halnya dengan foton terabaikan yang kita gunakan untuk melihat tiap hari.

that we use to see every day.

But when we look outside and we imagine something vastly greater,

Tapi, ketika kita lihat ke luar dan membayangkan sesuatu yang lebih besar,

an array of lasers that are synchronized,

susunan laser yang sinkron, kita bisa membayangkan sesuatu yang luar biasa.

we could imagine things which are just extraordinary in life.

And the ability to go to another star

Kemampuan melakukan perjalanan ke bintang lain adalah salah satunya.

is one of those extraordinary capabilities.

(Birds chirping)

(Kicauan burung)

(Musik)