It would seem that sometimes in the toilet it is sometimes difficult to achieve a sufficiently confident Wi-Fi signal, so what can we say about the scale of space - a completely different level! GALACTIC. Sorry for such a frank example, but so what there is. And now more seriously. According to one expert, the creation of the galactic Internet inside the Milky Way can take up to 300,000 years. Of course, nobody offers to lay fiber-optic cables from planet to planet. Instead, we can use flashes of light from our Sun to send signals to deep space, says one of the latest proposals.
Duncan Forgan of the University of St. Andrews carried out some mathematical calculations and created a model of the hypothetical galactic Internet. It is based on lasers, which, when sent from ground-based installations, will interact with the sun's rays and transmit messages outside the solar system with their help.
If we assume that there are 500 technologically advanced civilizations in the Milky Way, who will not mind exchanging a few words among themselves, then it will take about 300,000 years to create a galactic communication system, Forgan says.
“If you want to communicate with someone who is on the other side of the galactic center, then you will have to find a way to transmit a signal through various obstacles that you will encounter a lot in its path: dust, gas, stars, black holes and a lot of things still. Therefore, it may take a long time to create an effective network, ”Forgan said in an interview with New Scientist.
However, according to the proposed method, even if we are not in the right place to receive signals from a particular planet, we can still receive messages sent to us through other systems.
Using the feature with which the planets revolve around their stars (blocking part of their light for the rest of space), we can create a network with regular sending of signals. Interestingly, we have telescopes such as Kepler watching the planets at the moment they pass in front of their stars. In other words, the signal tracking mechanism is more or less known to us. In addition, using this approach solves the problem of the necessary power source, since such networks will use the energy of the stars themselves.
As for the use of laser pulses to modulate the rays of sunlight, the concept of such a system was proposed last year by scientists at Columbia University. It is noteworthy that it can be used not only to send messages to deep space, but also to hide the presence of our planet in the solar system, for which it was primarily created. The principle of its work is simple. In the direction of a potential threat (a planet on which, according to our guesses, evil aliens can live), a laser pulse will be sent at exactly the moment when the Earth passes by the star and intersects with the direct observation line from this planet. A laser pulse of a certain frequency will compensate for the level of the transit decrease in the star's brightness, making our planet virtually invisible to another civilization.
Still, it should be understood that the computer models proposed by Forgan are approximate, require serious refinement and analysis by other experts of the relevant field and area.
Yes, and Forgan himself admits that his work does not take into account some aspects. For example, the displacement of planetary orbits over time. In addition, to create such a galactic network, at least in the proposed time frame, will require the efforts of hundreds, and possibly thousands of alien civilizations. And for now we would find at least one.
But even despite these limitations, the proposed idea looks very interesting from the point of view of one of the technology options for galactic communication. In any case, the work will require unprecedented efforts and a lot, a lot of time, so perhaps now it will be more reasonable to prepare a message for potential inhabitants of the Alpha Centauri system, which we are going (at least very much) to visit within this century.
It should also be added that other experts are not quite sure that the proposed system will ever be able to make money, especially if there will be a need to use other planets as a kind of hub for signal transmission. Even considering our future technological development. Too big, expensive and long.
“When civilization becomes so technologically advanced that it has the capacity to build space megastructures, a more likely and simpler option would be to relocate. That is the planet, "- says Avi Loeb of Harvard University.
“Signal transmission can take thousands of years. On a cosmic scale, maybe this is not much. But personally, you will have to be very patient. ”
Given the enormous distances, it is impossible not to be amazed by the fact that we generally receive signals from probes and rovers sent to distant planets. Scientists and engineers continue and will continue to work to improve our interplanetary communication capabilities. It is quite possible that the option proposed by Forgan may also, over time, be added to the piggy bank of technologies that allow us to expand our future (in theory) space expansion. But, perhaps, the only thing you can start dreaming about right now is that over the next 300 thousand years you will still be able to get rid of the problem, if not galactic, then at least planetary, earthly spam in electronic messages.
The article is based on materials .
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