Searching for extera tersesial inteligence

[wrecktech]

Originally Posted by dd74

I have a friend who's been out of work for a while.

These days, he's so deeply steeped in extraterrestrial intelligence, the idea of off-world beings landing on Earth, cover ups, conspiracies, Roswell, and the like, I can barely have a conversation with him, as this is all he chooses to ramble about.

He didn't use to be this way when he had a job.

Don't you know anything? They all travel millions of miles to get here and then promptly crash. I know because I read it in the Enquirer.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by jyl

I don't remember the physics, but doesn't the strength of a omnidirectional radio signal diminish with the square of the distance from its origin? Has to do with the formula for surface of a sphere? So if a radio signal is "X" strong 1 mile from the transmitter, it will be 6 trillion squared or 4 x 10^25 times weaker when it reaches Alpha Centuari? I don't really see how such a weak signal can be distinguished from background noise, including that produced by Alpha Centuari itself? I can see if the signal is a supernova, but some local FM station broadcasting "Dancing Queen"? Anyone who knows the math, please explain. Thanks.

I think your diminishing radio signal really only applies when said radio signal is in an atmosphere. In a vacum, there is no friction, allowing the radio wave to continue to propegate at the same wavelength and frequency. But solar wind and gravity may effect it a bit...

That said, anyone see the flick, "Contact" with Jodie Foster? Definately a "makes you think" movie...

-Z

[Steve Carlton]

Excellent movie. Based on Carl Sagan's book.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Z-man

I think your diminishing radio signal really only applies when said radio signal is in an atmosphere. In a vacum, there is no friction, allowing the radio wave to continue to propegate at the same wavelength and frequency. But solar wind and gravity may effect it a bit...

That said, anyone see the flick, "Contact" with Jodie Foster? Definately a "makes you think" movie...

-Z

I did some reading, found this question addressed on a physics forum. Radio waves in free space do indeed obey the inverse square law, the strength of the signal diminishes with the square of the distance from the origin. It is not a question of the wave being impeded by atmosphere. It is because the signal when emitted has a certain finite amount of energy. As it propagates outward, that energy is spread out over the surface of a sphere, which is 4 x pi x r^2. When the radius of the sphere is 1 light year (6 trillion miles), that original finite amount of energy is spread over an area 4 x pi x (6 x 10^12)^2 square miles.

[tabs]

Everybody thinks that the little greys don't exist...they are here....

Ronald Reagan was right about a threat from up there... we have been a odds with them for decades now. luckily we have reverse engineered enough of their technology since Roswell that we could hold our own in a knock down drag out confrontation. Those cattle mutilations and abuduction stories aren't foolin around stuff, that goes on for reals...best we can tell is that the cattle inards provides the protein that they need to survive, they take it is a liquid form...and the aduductions are 2 fold to trace the subjects of their studies and to do gentic hybridization of an alein race and our own, best bet is that they are planning on colonizing another planet with a sturdy race of beings.

We have found that radar waves effect their electomagnetic drives which causes them to lose stability and become vunerable to our antiaircraft missles...that was the old way. Today we can use laser weapons on satelites to accomplish the same results.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by tabs

Everybody thinks that the little greys don't exist...they are here....

Ronald Reagan was right about a threat from up there... we have been a odds with them for decades now. luckily we have reverse engineered enough of their technology since Roswell that we could hold our own in a knock down drag out confrontation. Those cattle mutilations and abuduction stories aren't foolin around stuff, that goes on for reals...best we can tell is that the cattle inards provides the protein that they need to survive, they take it is a liquid form...and the aduductions are 2 fold to trace the subjects of their studies and to do gentic hybridization of an alein race and our own, best bet is that they are planning on colonizing another planet with a sturdy race of beings.

We have found that radar waves effect their electomagnetic drives which causes them to lose stability and become vunerable to our antiaircraft missles...that was the old way. Today we can use laser weapons on satelites to accomplish the same results.

Whoa! Have you been hanging out with my out-of-work friend, 'cause he's been saying the same as you.

About the antiaircraft missiles - my friend says there are unrecognized reports that more than once, alien ships have taken them out, no problema, easy-pleasey - even before the missiles have been launched.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by jyl

I don't remember the physics,...

I do.

Radio waves:

They travel at the speed of light,
until you can't hear them anymore.

Then they travel at the speed of dark.
But then it doesn't matter.

I forget the formula.

[dd74]

So Johnny Mathis is out there, somewhere, crooning, "Chances Are."

Shuddering...

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by dd74

...more than once, alien ships...

Oh yeah! Much more than once!

My neighbor said, "I don't believe in U.F.O.s"
I said, "Because they've all been identified?
He said, "No."
I said, "Okay."
Now he won't talk to me.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by dd74

Whoa! Have you been hanging out with my out-of-work friend, 'cause he's been saying the same as you.

About the antiaircraft missiles - my friend says there are unrecognized reports that more than once, alien ships have taken them out, no problema, easy-pleasey - even before the missiles have been launched.

Did yer friend tell you about the truning on the launch cycle of the ICBM's in North Dakota? Yep they bin there and done that too.

[tabs]

The thing that happened at Roswell is that the Lightening storm effected their ships stability...once we realized thats what happened we could use our radar to effect the same thing. And if we were are quick enough whoops there goes another one.

[Heel n Toe]

I think it was Timothy Good, the British UFO researcher who discovered a government document that referred to them as AVC's. Can't remember if it was produced by our CIA, NSA, military... or the British Ministry of Defence. Anyway, it was designated as being the abbreviation for...

Alien Visitation Craft

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Check out one of his books sometime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Good

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by dd74

So Johnny Mathis is out there, somewhere, crooning, "Chances Are."

Shuddering...

Wooden shudders won't prevent their penetration when the Mathis waves get bounced back (oh, yeah! Listen to any Golden Oldies station!).

The shudders need to be made out of mu-metal.

[Jim Richards]

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

dinner time!

Reminds me of the old Twilight Zone I saw many years ago. It was about a book titled "How To Serve Man". At the very end of the show, turns out it was a cookbook

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Is that where The Simpsons got it from - that thing with the two aliens and "How to Cook Forty Humans" which later was revealed to be "How to Cook FOR Forty Humans" or whatever?

Wouldn't surprise me. All the great/original ideas in television writing came from the 1950s & 1960s anyway.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Ironically, as the universe continues to expand, the spaces between galaxies are only getting larger. Our own Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across.

Space is expanding, but not all galaxies are moving farther apart.

In fact, the Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the Milky Way Galaxy in 4 B years or so. Andromeda is much bigger and will probably just absorb the most of the Milky Way. There's a fair chance our solar system will remain intact as we're far enough from the center of the MW Galaxy.

And no... as someone said, the speed of light does NOT change just because the Universe is expanding. It's C, it's a Constant. Does NOT change.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by tcar

Space is expanding, but not all galaxies are moving farther apart.

The elasticity of space has always annoyed me.

[m21sniper]

I personally think that if we actually knew the true nature of the universe that we would find that we were almost completely wrong about everything. Of course that's just my opinion.

[Jim Richards]

you're completely wrong about everything, sniper.