Why have we never been contacted by aliens? This is the question that has puzzled researchers for years. Inspired by a simple sponge, a Swiss researcher from the Laboratory of Statistical Biophysics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has found a new explanation. Although statistical probability suggests that we are not alone in the universe, we have never had contact with extraterrestrial beings.
“We've only been looking for 60 years”, says biophysicist Claudio Grimaldi. "Earth may simply be in a bubble that happens to be devoid of radio waves emitted by extraterrestrial life."
see more
MCTI announces the opening of 814 vacancies for the next portfolio contest
The end of it all: scientists confirm date of when sun will explode and…
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has been an ongoing debate, and some question whether it's worth the effort. However, a statistical model has been developed to assess the distribution of extraterrestrial signals, and it suggests there is still plenty of room to scan. Based on studies of porous materials like sponges, the model could help locate extraterrestrial signal emitters, but there may not be enough transmissions to be detected.
Probability assessments, such as the search for signs of technological origin in the Milky Way, involve a lot of guesswork. One research model starts from the premise that there is at least one electromagnetic signal somewhere of the galaxy at any given time, but Earth has been in a silent bubble for at least six decades.
Statistically, this means that there are less than 1 to 5 emissions per century, which makes them as common as supernovae. However, the assumptions can be adjusted to be more optimistic or pessimistic.
Discovering alien life and communicating with it is a challenging task that requires modeling and strategy. Detecting an alien transmission could take at least 60 years in the most optimistic scenario, while in the least optimistic scenario, the wait could be over 2,000 years.
One possible approach is to look for signals in data collected by telescopes on other missions. Grimaldi suggests that this practice become standard.
“The best strategy may be to adopt the SETI community’s past approach of using data from other astrophysical studies – detecting radio emissions from other stars or galaxies – to see if they contain any technosignals and make this standard practice,” he says. Grimaldi.
Source: IOP Science