Some great developments this week - meta materials to make us invisible!
Find out more at http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1895/260200/article/news/44257
Loads more interesting stories too - just a sample here:
LHC gears up to create mini big bangs
The ALICE experiment should have its lead collisions by the weekend
http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1895/260200/article/news/44252
Star Wars 'telepresence' tantalisingly close Holography delivers real-time images of remote events http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1895/260200/article/news/44240
Neutron star is most massive yet
Find rules out many exotic theories of neutron-star composition
http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1895/260200/article/news/44209
'Best evidence yet' for dark matter comes from Milky Way centre Questions remain whether signal has other origins
http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1895/260200/article/news/44203
Friday 5 November 2010
Sunday 16 May 2010
Contacting Intelligent Life in the Universe
I don’t know if you are convinced by the numbers argument when it comes to intelligent life in the Universe (and I don’t mean homo sapiens), but I certainly am.
The numbers argument seems to me to be incontrovertible. For example, it is generally accepted that there are 100 billion stars in our average galaxy (e.g. Cornell University). It is also generally accepted that there are of the order of 100 billion galaxies (e.g NASA). That means that there are 10,000 x 10^18 stars in the universe.
Our sun is one of those stars.
Now, can we believe that we are unique in that vast number? Certainly not! If only 1 in 10,000 stars had a remotely Earth-like planet in orbit, that would still give us 10^18 Earth-like planets in the universe. And if I was wrong by a factor of a billion, then that still leaves a billion Earth-like planets. And, of course, who is to say that only Earth-like planets can support intelligent life – “It may be life Jim, but not as we know it”?
Our Sun is considered to be an ‘average’ star. In all probability, our level of development as a life form falls within the middle of the range from the most primitive to the most advanced of civilisations. So, there are probably intelligent species in the universe who are trying to contact other such civilisations. Now, I am open minded on the question of so-called UFOs. I believe that it is very possible that we as a race are observed by advanced civilisations, and maybe even visited by them from time to time. That, however, is by-the-by.
Anyway, from time to time I think about the problem of contacting other civilisations. There is of course the SETI project, which is analysing incoming radio noise for coherent signals.
Let’s think beyond that though, and consider how, if we were an advanced civilisation in our galaxy, we might want to listen for other such civilisations? I’ve been thinking about this for some time.
The other morning, whilst staring at the coffee percolator, an idea occurred to me. What about a galactic listening post?
Why a listening post? The listening civilisation would have considered the inverse square law problem and come up with the idea of a listening post. If we just sent widebeam signals traffic (e.g. radio) into space then the inverse square law means that its intensity falls off very rapidly. But if we focused that transmission energy at a particular point in space using very narrow beam transmission technology such as lasars then the intensity fall off for a given power of transmission would fall off much more slowly with distance. We could also use infra-red lasars as IR is not attenuated significantly by inter-stellar dust.
That particular point in space we aimed at would be a listening post, and would be a collector of signals traffic at a point in our galaxy. Of course, we are also constrained by c, the speed of light.
So how would an advanced civilisation view this problem? We are also currently constrained by our signals technology (say infra red lasar). In the future, even on a scale of 100 years, what other technologies will we have? What more will we know about branes and multivereses on the Planck scale, and black holes (for example) on the cosmic scale? On this front we are clearly constrained by our technology.
The listening post location(s) would be chosen to be simple to identify from any point within the galaxy. Now, this isn’t easy, as the galaxy looks different depending where you are located within it. So what would make a good location for a listening post, in general terms?
Well, we do have beacons in the galaxy – they are just like lighthouses, and we call them pulsars. However, many are ‘narrow beam’, and if you are not in the plane of that beam then you do not necessarily see them, unless they illuminate other objects nearby (e.g. gas clouds). NASA have recently discovered 17 so-called millisecond pulsars in our galaxy using the Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope.
Pulsars, as so-called ‘radio loud neutron stars’, have other useful properties in the context of listening posts – their strong gravitational fields would concentrate incoming signals traffic. So, if I was an advanced civilisation setting up a listening post, it would have to be near to and in a stable orbit around a neutron star (and that means very high orbital velocities). Further, there would have to be several of them, to ensure that at least one was visible in the plane of the observer (us) and not obscured say by the galactic nucleus.
One more question. Would the listening post location also be a good point from which to originate transmissions? Our researchers are crawling all over the signals from pulsars, but maybe we should be looking even deeper, for other lower intensity signals traffic from the location of pulsars. Perhaps we could start to move this problem forward if we start to think from the point of view of an advanced civilization? What are the chances of that, I wonder!
© 2010 Phil Marks
The numbers argument seems to me to be incontrovertible. For example, it is generally accepted that there are 100 billion stars in our average galaxy (e.g. Cornell University). It is also generally accepted that there are of the order of 100 billion galaxies (e.g NASA). That means that there are 10,000 x 10^18 stars in the universe.
Our sun is one of those stars.
Now, can we believe that we are unique in that vast number? Certainly not! If only 1 in 10,000 stars had a remotely Earth-like planet in orbit, that would still give us 10^18 Earth-like planets in the universe. And if I was wrong by a factor of a billion, then that still leaves a billion Earth-like planets. And, of course, who is to say that only Earth-like planets can support intelligent life – “It may be life Jim, but not as we know it”?
Our Sun is considered to be an ‘average’ star. In all probability, our level of development as a life form falls within the middle of the range from the most primitive to the most advanced of civilisations. So, there are probably intelligent species in the universe who are trying to contact other such civilisations. Now, I am open minded on the question of so-called UFOs. I believe that it is very possible that we as a race are observed by advanced civilisations, and maybe even visited by them from time to time. That, however, is by-the-by.
Anyway, from time to time I think about the problem of contacting other civilisations. There is of course the SETI project, which is analysing incoming radio noise for coherent signals.
Let’s think beyond that though, and consider how, if we were an advanced civilisation in our galaxy, we might want to listen for other such civilisations? I’ve been thinking about this for some time.
The other morning, whilst staring at the coffee percolator, an idea occurred to me. What about a galactic listening post?
Why a listening post? The listening civilisation would have considered the inverse square law problem and come up with the idea of a listening post. If we just sent widebeam signals traffic (e.g. radio) into space then the inverse square law means that its intensity falls off very rapidly. But if we focused that transmission energy at a particular point in space using very narrow beam transmission technology such as lasars then the intensity fall off for a given power of transmission would fall off much more slowly with distance. We could also use infra-red lasars as IR is not attenuated significantly by inter-stellar dust.
That particular point in space we aimed at would be a listening post, and would be a collector of signals traffic at a point in our galaxy. Of course, we are also constrained by c, the speed of light.
So how would an advanced civilisation view this problem? We are also currently constrained by our signals technology (say infra red lasar). In the future, even on a scale of 100 years, what other technologies will we have? What more will we know about branes and multivereses on the Planck scale, and black holes (for example) on the cosmic scale? On this front we are clearly constrained by our technology.
The listening post location(s) would be chosen to be simple to identify from any point within the galaxy. Now, this isn’t easy, as the galaxy looks different depending where you are located within it. So what would make a good location for a listening post, in general terms?
Well, we do have beacons in the galaxy – they are just like lighthouses, and we call them pulsars. However, many are ‘narrow beam’, and if you are not in the plane of that beam then you do not necessarily see them, unless they illuminate other objects nearby (e.g. gas clouds). NASA have recently discovered 17 so-called millisecond pulsars in our galaxy using the Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope.
Pulsars, as so-called ‘radio loud neutron stars’, have other useful properties in the context of listening posts – their strong gravitational fields would concentrate incoming signals traffic. So, if I was an advanced civilisation setting up a listening post, it would have to be near to and in a stable orbit around a neutron star (and that means very high orbital velocities). Further, there would have to be several of them, to ensure that at least one was visible in the plane of the observer (us) and not obscured say by the galactic nucleus.
One more question. Would the listening post location also be a good point from which to originate transmissions? Our researchers are crawling all over the signals from pulsars, but maybe we should be looking even deeper, for other lower intensity signals traffic from the location of pulsars. Perhaps we could start to move this problem forward if we start to think from the point of view of an advanced civilization? What are the chances of that, I wonder!
© 2010 Phil Marks
Friday 26 March 2010
The Eerie Silence - Are We Alone in the Universe?
The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone in the Universe?
For 50 years, astronomers have been sweeping the skies with radio telescopes in the hope of stumbling across a message from an alien civilization. So far, they have been greeted by an eerie silence. So are we alone in the universe after all, or might the scientists be looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Paul Davies calls for the search to be widened to include any signatures of intelligence, and examines several ways in which alien technology might have left subtle footprints in the universe. Listen to his online lecture and find out..
NEW ONLINE LECTURE ON PHYSICSWORLD.COM
Date: Wednesday 31 March 2010
Time: 4 P.m. BST (5 p.m. Central Europe, 11 a.m. East Coast US)
Where: Online - registration is FREE at
http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1681/260200/go/webinar8
What shall I cook tonight? Get great recipes from http://www.ezcookery.com/ , just click it and cook it!
For 50 years, astronomers have been sweeping the skies with radio telescopes in the hope of stumbling across a message from an alien civilization. So far, they have been greeted by an eerie silence. So are we alone in the universe after all, or might the scientists be looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Paul Davies calls for the search to be widened to include any signatures of intelligence, and examines several ways in which alien technology might have left subtle footprints in the universe. Listen to his online lecture and find out..
NEW ONLINE LECTURE ON PHYSICSWORLD.COM
Date: Wednesday 31 March 2010
Time: 4 P.m. BST (5 p.m. Central Europe, 11 a.m. East Coast US)
Where: Online - registration is FREE at
http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1681/260200/go/webinar8
What shall I cook tonight? Get great recipes from http://www.ezcookery.com/ , just click it and cook it!
Sunday 14 March 2010
New Galaxy Study backs General Relativity
Einstein's general theory of relativity has been tested for the first time over distances nearly as large as the universe itself – and has, in the process, trumped most other alternative theories of gravity. The test was done by astronomers in the US and Switzerland who studied images of more than 70,000 distant galaxies. For the full story and great graphic see PhysicsWorld . The comments/debate is very illuminating too.
Need Dental Work? Consider Malta - Get it Done, in the Sun !
Need Dental Work? Consider Malta - Get it Done, in the Sun !
Friday 19 February 2010
Anti Gravity Machines
I confess that I am still trying to understand this article in PhysicsWorld, but the comments are suggesting its potential (!) for designing quantum level anti-gravity machines. I'll have another coffee and ponder some more. This is one of those topics that's great to focus on at night when your head hits the pillow!
See the full story (and read the comments) at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/41740
Need a Physics Tutor? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk
See the full story (and read the comments) at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/41740
Need a Physics Tutor? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk
Thursday 18 February 2010
Blazar News
A blazar is a supermassive black hole. Occasionally, one fires an intense beam of radiation in the direction of Earth. Ejected matter travels several light years before being accelerated to nearly the speed of light. This is the conclusion of an international team of astronomers who used the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study radiation such a beam. The result conflicts with some theories that suggest the acceleration occurs much nearer to the black hole.
Maybe a billion times heavier than the Sun, blazars dominate the centre of most large galaxies, and are often encircled by a thin "accretion disc" of matter that swirls into the black hole like water going down a drain. Near the centre, the matter is so hot that a rotating plasma that generates huge magnetic fields. is created.
In some supermassive black holes the magnetic field lines pop out of either side of the disk like uncoiling springs, taking jets of matter with them. Occasionally, one of thes jets happens to point towards Earth and astronomers see a "blazar" – literally, a blaze of radiation at energies all the way up to the highest detectable gamma rays. The radiation is focused into a tight beam by a process called relativistic beaming, which means that it is created in a region of the jet that has been accelerated to about 95% of the speed of light
Read the whole story at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/41749
Need a Physics Tutor in Hampshire? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk/
http://www.ezeefriends.com
Maybe a billion times heavier than the Sun, blazars dominate the centre of most large galaxies, and are often encircled by a thin "accretion disc" of matter that swirls into the black hole like water going down a drain. Near the centre, the matter is so hot that a rotating plasma that generates huge magnetic fields. is created.
In some supermassive black holes the magnetic field lines pop out of either side of the disk like uncoiling springs, taking jets of matter with them. Occasionally, one of thes jets happens to point towards Earth and astronomers see a "blazar" – literally, a blaze of radiation at energies all the way up to the highest detectable gamma rays. The radiation is focused into a tight beam by a process called relativistic beaming, which means that it is created in a region of the jet that has been accelerated to about 95% of the speed of light
Read the whole story at http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/41749
Need a Physics Tutor in Hampshire? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk/
http://www.ezeefriends.com
Friday 12 February 2010
Face of Jacko spotted in a Polymer Droplet - it's a Mad World!
It's good to know that physicists do have a sense of humour! A researcher in Nottingham, UK, has observed Jacko's face in a droplet of polymer. See the image of Jacko and get the full story at PhysicsWorld
Jacko's Face in Polymer Droplet
Need a Physics Tutor? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk
Jacko's Face in Polymer Droplet
Need a Physics Tutor? http://www.tutorsforsuccess.co.uk
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