Re: OT: We Are a Fluke of the Universe

On 2009-05-17 13:21:29 -0700, "ruylopez" <a680086@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:

So why haven't they found us, or talked to us? Well, now you're talking
about intelligent, civilized life. Something we've only seen on Earth for
approximately 10,000 years, the sustainability of which is very much an
open question. I would be surprised if there was much of that.

If we accept Einstein's theories, nothing travels faster than light. Radio waves, being electromagnetic radiation, travel at the speed of light in a vacuum. Consider that the first 'Radio' broadcast occurred in 1906 and that the first commercial radio broadcast occurred in 1920. Also accept that radio and television transmissions leak from earth into space so we have at most a 89 to 103 light year 'bubble' of communication that has left earth. Also recall that electromagnetic propagation follows a inverse squared rule for signal power density versus distance. As such we've not really made any headway in communicating to alien life. Why would you expect anyone else to have done any better.

With the above assumptions agreed on it's unlikely that any similarly advanced life will make contact with us. There are some quantum mechanics principles that suggest information can be transmitted *instantaneously* (see quantum entanglement) without regard to distance hence faster than light but who would be listening and why? Which quanta do you look at for the message?

Other postulates for faster than light travel verge on the realm of science fiction. Worm holes. Warp drive etc. Managing any of these feats would require immense amounts of energy, the capability for creating extremely large gravitational fields in both the attractive and repulsive states and other whacky ideas. IF an intelligence had mastered these techniques they'd probably just pass us by like we were pond scum. What could they possibly gain by communicating with us?


--

thepixelfreak

.

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