In an interview last night I was asked two scientific questions. First of all, there was a report on the discovery of the “strongest evidence” of life on a distant planet, K2–18b.
I was asked: “If life was confirmed there, what would be the next step? Should we try to make any contact? In general, do you think that it is a good idea to contact extraterrestrials when we find out where they are?”
I explained that the novel one paper It is based on the detection of JWST spectral fingerprint of a single molecule, dimethylist, in an atmosphere of exoplanets. This molecule is not a reliable biomarker according to another paperwhich shows that he is in an interstellar medium without the presence of life. On Earth, this molecule is produced by microorganisms in the oceans.
Conclusions based on the detection of molecular biomarkers in the atmosphere of exoplanets are indirectly. However, as I suggested in paper Together with my former student, Henry Lin and Gonzalo Gonzalez, detection of particles related to industrial pollution, such as CFC, will be much more approximate, not only about life, but also the technologies she developed. I think microorganisms are much more monotonous than knowledgeable life. The microbes are probably very profuse, but we can learn much more than a smarter kid on our space block.
If we ever discover life to exoplan, we should definitely listen to all technological signals sent by him. But the dialogue would be challenging. For example, this planet K2–18b It has been lightweight for 124 years. If we send a communication signal to it, the earliest time for us to receive a response at the speed of lightweight in 248 years, in 2273. I am not so patient and I would like to learn more, watching it in detail for centuries before 2273.
Due to the immense distances to the stars, I'm not worried about predators. Those who can reach us are probably much more technologically advanced than we do. They probably do not perceive us as a solemn threat. In fact, I am afraid that they will practice all direct message (DM) that we send them because they do not consider us particularly knowledgeable, taking into account geopolitics on our planet.
In the second message, the novel policy director of Office of Science and Technology (OSPP) in the White House, Michael Katsios, gave his first public conversation, in which he noticed that “our technologies allow us to manipulate time and space.” This statement was part of a broader discussion on how the regulatory framework from the 1970s potentially hindered technological progress, calling for re -assessment to escalate American performance and innovation. I was asked if Michael's statement indicates that the US government has a secret knowledge of how to manipulate space -time, collected from the years of reverse engineering spacecraft that was recovered on earth.
In response, I explained that the field equations formulated by Albert Einstein in 1915 connect the curvature of space -time on the left to the mass or density of matter of matter or radiation on the right. Time or space distortions are petite, unless it focuses a huge mass in a petite volume.
For example, the sun distorts space -time at a petite level of one part in 10⁸ in the position of the earth. The minuscule curvature was created is enough for the earth to move around the sun. When black holes with dozens of sunlight collide at cosmological distances, they produce petite waves in the space -time of one part in 10^{21} near Earth, first detected Author: Ligo in 2015.
Directly black holes are characterized by high distortion of space -time, but the US government has no access to such environments. We exploit Einstein equations to obtain precise navigation using GPS systems. If these equations were wrong, we would get lost.
I also explained that all US government experiments do not reach the density of energy available from CERN Large Hadron Bumper According to many rows of size. This means that if there is a novel physics regarding the manipulation of space -time, it would be noticed in unclassified data provided by the international physicist community in CERN. Secrets leaked from the project in Manhattan, and physicists around the world would know about any significant progress in the theory of gravity.
If we ever find out how to bottles “dark energy”, which causes an accelerated expansion of the universe, we could have access to repulsive gravity, which can drive a ship without fuel. The discovery of a more advanced civilization with this knowledge would free the novel wave of American innovation, which Michael Katsios will appreciate very much.
But first we need to find these foreign technologies. For this to happen, NASA and NSF have to spend billions of dollars on the search for extraterrestrial technical signals, and not just invest, just like now, in search of biological signatures. I hope someone listens there!
Image Source: Pixabay.com
