It would seem that here in the toilet it is sometimes difficult to achieve a sufficiently reliable Wi-Fi signal, so what can we say about the scale of space - a completely different level! GALACTIC. Forgive me for such a frank example, but what it is. And now more seriously. According to one expert, it could take up to 300,000 years to build a galactic Internet inside the Milky Way. Of course, no one suggests laying fiber-optic cables from planet to planet. Instead, we can use flashes of light from our Sun to send signals into deep space, says one of the latest proposals.
Duncan Forgan of the University of St Andrews did some mathematical calculations and created a model for a hypothetical galactic Internet. It uses lasers that, when sent from ground installations, will interact with the sun's rays and with their help transmit messages outside the solar system.
If we assume that there are 500 technologically advanced civilizations in the Milky Way that will not mind sharing a few words with each other, then the creation of a galactic communication system will take about 300,000 years, says Forgan.
“If you want to communicate with someone who is on the other side of the galactic center, then you have to find a way to transmit a signal through all sorts of obstacles, of which there are many on his way: dust, gas, stars, black holes and much more. yet. Therefore, it can take a long time to build an effective network,”Forgan says in an interview with New Scientist.
However, according to the proposed method, even if we are not in a very suitable place to receive signals from a certain planet, we can still receive messages sent to us through other systems.
By taking advantage of the way planets revolve around their stars (blocking some of their light to the rest of the cosmos), we can create a network that sends out signals on a regular basis. Interestingly, we have telescopes like Kepler that track planets as they pass in front of their stars. In other words, we already know more or less the signal tracking mechanism. In addition, when using this approach, the problem of the necessary power source is solved, since such networks will use the energy of the stars themselves.
As for the use of laser pulses to modulate 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 into deep space, but also to hide the presence of our planet in the solar system, for which it was created in the first place. The principle of its operation 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 exactly at the moment when the Earth passes the star and intersects with the direct line of sight from this planet. A laser pulse of a certain frequency will compensate for the level of transit decrease in the brightness of the star, making our planet virtually invisible to another civilization.
Nevertheless, it should be understood that the computer models proposed by Forgan are approximate and require serious revision and analysis by other experts in the relevant direction and field.
Promotional video:
Forgan himself admits that some aspects are not taken into account in his work. For example, the displacement of planetary orbits over time. In addition, the creation of such a galactic network, at least within the proposed time frame, will require the efforts of hundreds, and possibly thousands of alien civilizations. And we would still find at least one.
But, even in spite of these limitations, the proposed idea looks very interesting from the point of view of one of the options for technologies for galactic communication. In any case, the work will require unprecedented efforts and a lot, very much time, therefore, perhaps now it would be more reasonable to start preparing a message for potential inhabitants of the Alpha Centauri system, which we are going to (at least very much want) to visit within this century.
It should also be added that other experts are not entirely sure that the proposed system will ever work, especially if there is a need to use other planets as hubs for signal transmission. Even considering our future technological development. Too large-scale, expensive and time-consuming.
“When a civilization becomes so technologically advanced that it has the ability to build space megastructures, then a change of residence is more likely and simpler. That is, planets,”commented Avi Loeb of Harvard University.
“It can take thousands of years to transmit a signal. On a cosmic scale, maybe this is not much. But you personally have to be very patient."
Given the vast distances, it is striking 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 communications capabilities. It is quite possible that the option proposed by Forgan, too, in time can be added to the treasury of technologies that will 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 millennia it will still be possible to get rid of the problem, if not galactic, then at least planetary, terrestrial spam in electronic messages.