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To: backwoods-engineer

Why?


72 posted on 03/25/2014 7:20:15 PM PDT by RedHeeler
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To: RedHeeler
Why would we never be able to communicate?

Suppose they lived on the near side of the Andromeda galaxy, the closest. That's a 4-million-year round trip for a radio wave or laser. You gonna be here? Heck, I seriously doubt our civilization will be here.

Also, the communication equations are just impossible for a path like that. Humanity does not possess the ability to control the power required to be "heard" at those distances without integration times beyond the human lifetime. We're talking quadrillions of watts with antennas the size of a small moon, just to say "hi". I'm a communications engineer and ham radio operator, and I have had friends who have bounced a signal off the moon. The loss from the moon and back is over 230 dB. I cannot even fathom what it would be to another galaxy.

No. I think I am on pretty solid ground when I say "we" will never communicate with "them", if "they" are in another galaxy.

73 posted on 03/25/2014 7:51:42 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (Blog: www.BackwoodsEngineer.com)
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