826LA Good Times

Campbell poses with the Back to the Future car.

Sierra interviews science-fiction expert and History Channel producer Colin Campbell about life in a Jetsons-esque “Hover World.”

Will people walk in the future?
Indeed, people will walk in the future. Over time, humans have continued to grow bigger and bigger, and live longer and longer. Part of the reason for that has been improved health, due to increased food production, and the development of modern medicines and surgery. But another part has been an overall increase in the fitness of humans over time. And simple exercises, such as walking, help to keep humans fit. In the future, it seems unlikely that we will devolve into the overweight human-like “slugs” seen in the movie WALL-E. We’ll always need to walk, either for exercise, for fun, or to reach new and exciting frontiers.

How will they get exercise?
To look to the future of exercise, take a look back. Devices invented in the 20th century included those which simulate walking and running (“elliptical” machines), rowing a boat (a rowing machine) and riding a bike (the so-called “stationary bike”). In the future, these devices are likely to continue to improve in two key areas. One: Surroundings. Why not step into a “rowing machine,” which is encased by video screens. On those screens, you’d see a full 3-D image of a lake, or an ocean, all around you. You might even smell the ocean spray, or feel a bit of mist on your face as you row; similar technology already exists in theme park rides, such as “Soarin’ Over California” at Disney’s California Adventure theme park. Two: Mechanics. Instead of pumping your legs on the exercise bike, why not have the machine do the pumping for you? Is that as good a workout as doing the pumping yourself? No, but it likely would get your heart rate up, which doctors say is a key component of any exercise regime. In the future, maybe you’ll have the machine “exercise” your body while you watch videos or check e-mail…

How will they plant gardens?
Talk to any avid gardener, and you’ll know why this will always be a human activity. It’s peaceful and productive! Growing plants played a key role in the establishment of human civilizations, dating back to 7000 B.C. in Egypt and India. Evidence of purely ornamental gardens dates back almost as far. So when it comes to planting gardens, this seems likely to remain on humans’ “to do” list for a very, very long time. As to how: Get dirt. Plant seeds. Just add water and light! Plants predate humans on the planet Earth; they’re very adaptable. Whether in tiny boxes on back porches, luscious green fields behind homes, or even in outer space, plants will grow just about anywhere we give them the key ingredients they need to survive (heat/sunlight, carbon dioxide and water).

How will they play soccer?
Soccer will be outlawed in the year 2089 by an alien known as Grand Docent Zarman, the evil overlord of Earth. Docent Zarman, a reptilian Arthropod from the Crab Nebula, led a race of super-soldiers that took control of the planet in 2074. Zarman never much liked soccer—he reportedly found it to be “boring, low-scoring and what’s the deal with offside,” anyway? And will that guy ever stop crying about, “Oooh, he slid into my shin! Ouch!” Such babies! Thus, the game was banned, and soccer stadiums throughout the world were converted into giant food troughs. The wide green fields proved to be perfect breeding grounds for the megatons worth of worms needed to feed the super-soldier army from the Crab Nebula. If only we had shut down all the soccer stadiums earlier, there would be no food source for these soldiers, and we would have had a fighting chance at retaining our planet… Actually, the rules of soccer have changed a few times over the years, rules concerning how and when the goalkeeper can play the ball, and how many players can substitute during a game. Aside from continued tweaking to the rules, and changes in equipment (the players’ shorts levels go up and down according to fashions of the day; today’s jerseys are made of breathable nylon fabrics that are much lighter than the heavy wool and cotton shirts of the past), soccer in the future will probably look much like it does today. After all, you could take someone from the year 1900 to a baseball game today, and they would still understand most (if not all) of what was going on. (Although they might be frightened by the size of today’s steroid-enhanced players…)

How will they ride bikes?
Bikes over the ages have gotten lighter and lighter. (The first bicycles were made entirely of wood!) Assuming this lighter trend continues, soon, everyone should be able to pedal a 25-gear lightweight graphite-framed bike at speeds approaching 30 miles an hour. Be sure to wear a helmet!

How will they build their hover world?
Building a hover-world will require, at minimum, two things: a level of engineering expertise that we just currently don’t have… and a fundamental change in our understanding of the laws of physics. The reason things don’t hover now is, simply, gravity. The gravitational force of the Earth pulls things “down,” toward the center of the Earth. (Fortunately, the ground gets in the way, so we stay on the surface!) Everything—including people—has a similar gravitational force; it’s just that the Earth is so much bigger than you, you can’t get away from the influence of its gravitational field. Astronauts orbiting the Earth—in what we commonly call “Zero Gravity”—are actually still feeling a micro-gravity effect. But their velocity—their speed—is so great, they are, in essence, “falling” around the Earth continuously. Eventually, satellites, space stations and spaceships all will be pulled back down to Earth—unless they reach “escape velocity.” That’s the speed at which an object is able to escape the gravitational pull of Earth. So if you want something to “hover,” it needs to find an equilibrium—to simplify, the object will be pulled toward Earth with “X” amount of energy—so it needs to expend “X” amount of energy to get away, and “hover” in place. As it turns out, the amount of energy (manifested, say, as speed being generated by a rocket) that an object needs to escape from earth is about 25,000 miles per hour! That’s a lot of energy! So, if you could throw a baseball that fast, it would leave Earth, and continue out in to the solar system. But any slower—and it’ll eventually come back down to the surface. You see the problem with building a “hovering city,” which, it should be pointed out, is a lot heavier than a baseball! That’s not to say it’s impossible. After all, we sent men to the moon, we use incredible scanning devices to obtain precise images of the insides of human bodies, and we invented Velcro—all things that would seem like science-fiction to the people of the 18th and 19th centuries. The only limits on the world of tomorrow are those we ourselves impose. Our imagination will shape the future; our determination will make that world come to life.