Seafaring not Seafearing that brought us closer as humanity

Indus Valley Civilization (2600-1900 BCE) was known for seafaring using primitive boats and oars. In this regard, Rig Veda has several verses describing ocean-crossing.

In 1.116 The Deeds of the Asvins Verse 3 says:

"Tugra had left Bhujyu in the cloud of water as a dead man leaves behind his wealth.You brought him back, Asvins, in ships that were alive, that swam through the realm of air far from the water."

The Ashvins are twin gods in Hindu mythology, often referred to as the horsemen. They are associated with medicine, health, healing, and the sciences.

Later hindu Kings developed trade relations by navigating the oceans on ships with Persia, Java, Sumatra, etc. where they exchanged spices with local produce. Therefore, it is established that our forefathers knew about ship design and how to take advantage of trade-winds for navigation.

However, the invention of submarines apparently didn't take place in Bharat. The credit goes to europeans. Why is it important? The ships and sail boats traveling on the surface of oceans are subjected to storms and unfavorable conditions. The navigation could fail, making the ships end up in unexpected places. The oars-men could succumb to sickness. And so on. The submarines, on the other hand, have none of these and can travel faster than ships, especially the nuclear ones. By using a hydrofoil design, similar to planes, the friction is greatly removed. They can also take advantage of warm currents inside oceans, such as the gulf stream, which are highlighted in the animation movie "Finding Nemo" (2003).

When it comes to space travel, the hottest ticket is, not a rocket to Mars, what is called a "warp drive" that can travel faster than light, overcoming the limitation set by physicists for the massive objects like spaceships. The way they do it is by creating higher pressure in the backend several times greater than the pressure in the front much like hydrofoil. In other words, the warp drive is like submarines if only in space. The idea of warp drives started with science-fiction. Now it is proved to be possible by a number of breakthroughs in theoretical and experimental physics. The physicists are now betting that one can travel in a warp bubble back and forth to Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system 4.2 light years away, in a year's time.

But there is a catch. The physicists tell us that the warp bubble can only be sustained with negative energy and exotic matter that are yet to be invented. To understand negative energy, one can start with negative pressure which is seen in a building when an enclosed area has lower pressure than surroundings. In the case of a submarine, when in deep-dive, the pressure of water mass above the submarine will be many times greater than the atmospheric pressure inside. So the material of construction of the submarine should be able to withstand it.

As for the exotic mass, it often means "dark matter" that is thought to be pushing the galaxies apart at great speeds away from earth. Since it can't be seen with telescopes or measured with sensors, there is a great deal of speculation. It is possible to liken it to our negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves, near and dear ones, governments and the planet earth in general.

Thus, on this new year's day, let us resolve to give up negative thinking and pray for world peace. Just as navigating oceans, later skies in planes, brought us closer as humanity, despite Manu's prohibitions on crossing the seven seas, with space travel one day, we hope, we will be able to see the creator who holds the answer to all of our doubts.

Regards