# Discussion on the idea of stasis fields



## Vox Nihili (May 28, 2015)

edit: Sorry if i put this in the wrong forum. I wasn't sure if I should put this in technology or science since it's a bit of both. 

Hello community!

I am an aspiring SF/Fantasy writer and a story I am working on requires the use of a stasis field or stasis field like technology. While I've done much of my own research into the idea of stasis and stasis fields, I'm still having a hard time coming up with a relatively plausible explanation on how the stasis/stasis field work so I wanted to hear other's thoughts (who probably have more knowledge of science than I do) and theories on the subject and some of my ideas. I do understand that this is science *fiction* and that technologies and theories in SF are generally fiction or improbable. But I would like to have some sort of scientific basis for the idea and as they say, the best lies are based on truth.

Now let me be the first to say; My understanding of these kinds of physics and sciences is very basic and most likely very flawed. While I enjoy learning about these kinds of sciences, my mathematical understanding/interest is not quite on par. However, I am doing my best to learn about these subjects from the beginning and to understand them. But It will most likely be a long time before I completely understand the concepts and I would like to start writing as soon as possible. Most likely I will go back in revisions to clean up my sciences in the story. So with that, here are some of the ideas and thoughts I've had on the subject.

Details of my story stasis (field):

it is being used to preserve a human life for long periods of time (hundreds to thousands of years) within each stasis unit/field. Think Dave Lister from Red Dwarf.
It happens within an enclosed unit on earth and/or a habitable planet.
The occupants of the stasis unit/field are periodically "woken up" to complete a task/mission (while within the unit) before returning to stasis.
It is not being used to set up temporary stasis fields (such as the ones in The Forever War), targeting single individuals in any environment (like the stasis ability in Mass Effect) or being used as a weapon.

Requirements of my story stasis field:

must be able to essentially stop time passing for an individual (a human being) within an enclosed space.
Must be able to be turned off (or revive its occupants) for periods of time for activity before being re-engaged.
Must be able to last thousands of years with occupants in stasis.
Assumptions I am allowing:

having the power supply available to power the stasis (field). (creating a plausible explanation for extreme power sources isn't too hard and the stasis (field)s will be on a planet where massive structures for power sources are possible)
having the resources and/or technology to create the necessary environment for stasis (fields).

Now here are some of the theories/ideas I've had for stasis units/fields:

There are two basic forms of stasis (that I know of): stasis through biological means (hypersleep? extreme hibernation?) such as cryogenics or physical means (a stasis field where time literally stops within a set area). I will begin with biological theories (and why I'm probably not going to use them)

Biological Stasis:

As far as I am aware the only means to biological stasis is through some form of extreme cryogenics (such as the hypersleep chambers in Alien). This is either done through freezing the body externally or inserting/replacing body fluids with some cryogenic fluid.
There are a few reasons why I am not likely to use this concept: 1) Would this be able to work for over a thousand years without super serious side effects to the occupant? 2) Would multiple unfreezings/refreezings over hundreds of years cause damage/strain the human body too much? and finally 3) I think the recovery process/time after being unfrozen would leave the occupants unable to complete their tasks
Physical means of Stasis:

First, it seems like from my research that there are possible characteristics of physical stasis fields:

1) Objects within an active stasis field are not affected by things/forces/objects outside the active stasis field and vice versa while the stasis field is active.
2) stasis fields have infinite or near infinite rigidity making it/ whatever is inside of it unbreakable (unless you deactivate the stasis field)
3) stasis fields have a perfect or nearly perfect reflective surface (what the consequences of this are, i'm not sure)

So while a human in biological stasis could be killed (if you freeze a banana you could still break it while frozen) a human in a physical stasis field couldn't unless the stasis field was deactivated (?).

As far as plausible theories for a physical stasis field using theories/concepts from sciences today, there are three (as far as I know from my research):
*Time Dilation from Acceleration* - as far as my understanding of the theory of relativity goes, the closer to the speed of light object A is traveling, the slower time appears to have passed for object A (from object B's perspective?). The reason I am unlikely to use this idea (if I understand this concept correctly) is that coming up with a plausible explanation as to how I have an occupant traveling close to or at the speed of light within a contained unit that is sitting in place on a planet (would they also have to be unaffected by gravitational forces as well?) seems a bit difficult.
*Time Dilation from Gravity* - again my understanding is limited, but what I get from this is that the stronger the gravitational force an object experiences, the slower time appears to move from the perspective of an object not experiencing the same gravitational force. At some point, something has a mass so great that the gravitational force is strong to enough to make time appear to stop (from the view point of those outside the influence of the gravitational force?). So to make a stasis field unit, a gravitational force strong enough to make time appear to stop would have to be introduced into the field while not affecting anything outside the field. The idea is to come up the ability to contain a gravity well/force and its effects within the unit. However I have had difficulty coming up with how to create the gravitational force. Would it be viable to suppose that gravitons exist and could be harnessed somehow to do this? Or would I have to essentially create a miniature black hole with the occupant sitting within the apparent and/or absolute horizon? I have a hard time justifying the black hole without having the occupant completely destroyed or having their atoms completely reorganized after exiting the apparent/absolute horizon.
*Some sort of Quantum Zeno Effect - *funnily enough, this is the concept I understand the least, probably is the least viable but the one I have come up with ideas for and think has the most potential (ugh). In this, an unstable quantum system/unstable particle (?) that is continuously measured will never decay, thus appearing as if time has stopped for that particle(?). I don't know if the particles within a human being are stable or not (I think they are?). Assuming they are, you would need a device/unit that could put its occupant into an unstable quantum state(?) - without killing them or affecting them in any major way - while having something constantly observing them in that quantum state (?). This all seems highly implausible and I've probably got most of it wrong, but it still seems like a cool idea/concept.

So that's what I've come up with so far, sorry for the long post. I'm sure there's spelling or grammatical errors in it and I apologize for misspelling and/or butchering scientific theories/concepts. Anyways I hope to hear from others on their thoughts about what I've written and stasis fields in general.

Thanks!
Vox Nihili


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## Ray McCarthy (May 28, 2015)

Vox Nihili said:


> a hard time coming up with a relatively plausible explanation on how the stasis/stasis field work


Wave hands and don't explain it. Use it like a TV or Mobile or DVD player. Most people have no idea how those work, I do, so the best stories with Stasis fields, Jump Drive etc just take the existence for granted and don't explain them.

Needing a decent power source / using a lot of power is convincing (c.f. Fridges / Heat pumps which are the closest Thermodynamic equivalent). A Fridge reduces energy and thus movement, eventually even at atomic level. A Stasis field somehow insulates the object from Time. So no light or heat would be able to enter or leave. From outside like a mirror. On inside no imaging or recording device would work, no creature would be conscious, no power source will work  and appearance / existence would be meaningless.  As there is no passage of Time inside the stasis field, gravity, dimensions and mass are meaningless.



Vox Nihili said:


> while a human in biological stasis could be killed


You are imagining a fridge, not a stasis field. A human would be exactly as they were when it was turned on, even if turned  off 10,000 years later.


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