In real science
Goldilocks and the three aliens
Nicholas J Albertini
Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: Features
The new Allen Telescope Array, a radio astronomy telescope system to be used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, recently began operation in Hat Creek, Calif. The original SETI array, named Project Phoenix, stopped looking for alien signals in 2004 after looking at only 800 stars over the course of about 10 years.
This new system is smaller than had been planned due to funding issues. It boasts only 42 dishes rather than the planned 350. However, it is still projected to be capable of scanning over 400 times faster than Phoenix and can scan nearly a million stars in a similar time frame. The new array will also scan a larger band of frequencies.
A major question involved in calculating the probability of finding an alien broadcast is whether or not extraterrestrial life is prevalent. Another is how developed technology might be among alien civilizations. The Drake equation, developed by astrophysicist and first exobiological radio astronomer Frank Drake in 1960, is an attempt to calculate this likelihood.
The equation takes many factors into consideration, including: rates of stellar and planetary formation, probability that planets lie in the habitable or "Goldilocks" zone of their stars where liquid water is possible, probability of spontaneous biogenesis and evolution toward intelligence, rate of technological development and even the probability of a catastrophic end to civilization. However, there are more factors to consider.
I would like to revisit some of the technologies that I reported on last year in "In real science." We may need to consider extrapolating from our current cutting-edge technology and science, both in an effort to envision what we as a species are becoming and what alien species may have already become.
The DARPA SyNAPSE project is a current effort to create smarter-than-human artificial intelligence computer systems. Extrapolating from this technology, one can envision computer systems with the capacity to contain informational complexity much greater than that contained by the human brain, thus with the capability to contain human consciousness. The near prospect of quantum computing magnifies this potential by orders of magnitude.
This new system is smaller than had been planned due to funding issues. It boasts only 42 dishes rather than the planned 350. However, it is still projected to be capable of scanning over 400 times faster than Phoenix and can scan nearly a million stars in a similar time frame. The new array will also scan a larger band of frequencies.
A major question involved in calculating the probability of finding an alien broadcast is whether or not extraterrestrial life is prevalent. Another is how developed technology might be among alien civilizations. The Drake equation, developed by astrophysicist and first exobiological radio astronomer Frank Drake in 1960, is an attempt to calculate this likelihood.
The equation takes many factors into consideration, including: rates of stellar and planetary formation, probability that planets lie in the habitable or "Goldilocks" zone of their stars where liquid water is possible, probability of spontaneous biogenesis and evolution toward intelligence, rate of technological development and even the probability of a catastrophic end to civilization. However, there are more factors to consider.
I would like to revisit some of the technologies that I reported on last year in "In real science." We may need to consider extrapolating from our current cutting-edge technology and science, both in an effort to envision what we as a species are becoming and what alien species may have already become.
The DARPA SyNAPSE project is a current effort to create smarter-than-human artificial intelligence computer systems. Extrapolating from this technology, one can envision computer systems with the capacity to contain informational complexity much greater than that contained by the human brain, thus with the capability to contain human consciousness. The near prospect of quantum computing magnifies this potential by orders of magnitude.
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