My understanding of this, is that the signal intensity required to be detectable on earth means that messages would have to be intentionally beamed at earth with ridiculous energies. It seems unlikely that any significant fraction of civilizations would be doing this toward any sufficient fraction of sky.
If we were trying to detect a duplicate civilization to ourselves, (assuming our signals had propagated further than ~100 light years) we're certainly not producing signals of sufficient intensity that we could detect our own signals with the detection equipment we're using.
It also seems like there's likely to be a lot of pressures on a civilization to become more energy efficient for a long time before progressing to expensive technologies like dyson spheres and whatnot. I still think such things are our best bet for detecting ET civilizations.
Plus, why would an advanced civilization that has already understood the value of energy waste this kind of energy trying to contact us?
- If they are advanced (+civil), then they would have seen a critical development that this became a necessity, rather than preference.
- They may not be civil: not caring what energy they waste. Advanced but not responsible beings.
- They may be doing something for themselves, leaving traces to different directions. We may have stumbled on a construction site. Nothing of value for sending a response. Would you beam a response to reaction site of a supercollider? In case you did, would you get a "message" back? I doubt it.
Imagine what scientists would think if particle accelerators started receiving small but measurable patternistic statistical deviations in their data they get while the experiments are running only to discover they are evesdropping on some advanced form of interstellar or intergalactic instant quantum communications, only to realize it’s a bunch of alien gamers of different planets talking shit to eachother
I think any species that wanted to send a signal just use probes which last a long time around candidate stars. Eventually, one will get lucky and report back after which if your civilization is still around you can make a decision on a response. Most likely, we'll not be able to detect stray ET signals for a long time until we get serious and make some radio observatories in space for that effort.
Comments
My understanding of this, is that the signal intensity required to be detectable on earth means that messages would have to be intentionally beamed at earth with ridiculous energies. It seems unlikely that any significant fraction of civilizations would be doing this toward any sufficient fraction of sky.
If we were trying to detect a duplicate civilization to ourselves, (assuming our signals had propagated further than ~100 light years) we're certainly not producing signals of sufficient intensity that we could detect our own signals with the detection equipment we're using.
It also seems like there's likely to be a lot of pressures on a civilization to become more energy efficient for a long time before progressing to expensive technologies like dyson spheres and whatnot. I still think such things are our best bet for detecting ET civilizations.
Plus, why would an advanced civilization that has already understood the value of energy waste this kind of energy trying to contact us?
- If they are advanced (+civil), then they would have seen a critical development that this became a necessity, rather than preference.
- They may not be civil: not caring what energy they waste. Advanced but not responsible beings.
- They may be doing something for themselves, leaving traces to different directions. We may have stumbled on a construction site. Nothing of value for sending a response. Would you beam a response to reaction site of a supercollider? In case you did, would you get a "message" back? I doubt it.
- Most probably: interference.
Imagine what scientists would think if particle accelerators started receiving small but measurable patternistic statistical deviations in their data they get while the experiments are running only to discover they are evesdropping on some advanced form of interstellar or intergalactic instant quantum communications, only to realize it’s a bunch of alien gamers of different planets talking shit to eachother
I think any species that wanted to send a signal just use probes which last a long time around candidate stars. Eventually, one will get lucky and report back after which if your civilization is still around you can make a decision on a response. Most likely, we'll not be able to detect stray ET signals for a long time until we get serious and make some radio observatories in space for that effort.