Posted on 10/04/2012 9:46:47 PM PDT by LibWhacker
A team of astronomers is now looking for Dyson Spheres, massive star-scale solar power plants that extraterrestrial hunters hope alien civilizations employ
In 1960, mathematician, physicist, and all-around genius Freeman Dyson predicted that every civilization in the Universe eventually runs out of energy on its home planet, provided it survives long enough to do so. Dyson argued that this event constitutes a major hurdle in a civilization's evolution, and that all those who leap over it do so in precisely the same way: they build a massive collector of starlight, a shell of solar panels to surround their home star. Astronomers have taken to calling these theoretical megastructures Dyson Spheres. Dyson's insight may seem like nothing more than a thought experiment, but if his hypothesis is sound, it has a striking implication: if you want to find advanced alien civilizations, you should look for signs of Dyson Spheres.
Last month a trio of astronomers led by Penn State's Jason Wright began a two-year search for Dyson Spheres, a search that will span the Milky Way, along with millions of other galaxies. Their project was just awarded a sizable grant from the Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funds research on the "big questions" that face humanity, questions relating to "human purpose and ultimate reality."
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Space Ping.
If they have vegetation with sufficiently good photosynthesis, they figure out how to harvest that, right on their own planet. Trying to surround their “sun” would be overkill.
I would think that if there were aliens in the vicinity that advanced we would have picked up EM transmissions from them by now. I believe there is life out there but one thing that troubles me is why haven’t we picked up their version of survivor or dancing with the stars. Or have we............
Also the best way to find paybacks to liberal cronies.
aliens are probably smarter than humans and are laughing their ass off at us using solar and wind power!
Their taxpayer subsidized solar equipment was probably obsolete before being deployed, but they can probably find suckers here to buy them if they don’t charge for delivery.
Seriously? There are theoretical sources of power that dwarf fusion, even on the stellar scale. By a LOT. Any truly advanced civilization would have developed one of them...
EM transmissiona decohere within a few light years.
That massive array of collectors seems to be a nutty idea. If a civilization could build such an extensive assembly, it seems it would require massive amounts of raw materials. Ejecting so much mass from the planet would seem to lessen the mass of their home planet, maybe enough to alter its orbit, it’s weather, it’s time calculations and its long-term prospects. My guess is that all good environmentalists seek skittles-pooping unicorns whose magical waste is an energy source as well as a tasty snack.
There are no Dyson spheres anywhere in this galaxy or any other.
Looking for them is a fools errand.
It could come from asteroids.
The unicorns?
Wow, I clicked on this thread wondering if Obama had established a subsidy for Illegals to set up solar panels.
erm...
Do you think there is enough matter in this whole solar system to actually build a real Dyson’s Sphere??
Hex. By Alan Steele.
Maybe there are Dyson Spheres...
Ringworld. By Larry Niven.
If no spheres, maybe a partial.
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