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Cellular Phone Spectra and Earth's SETI Invisibility

Posted by timothy on from the and-I-need-all-the-tin-foil-you've-got dept.

astrobio writes: "How long will the Earth's technology be detectable to other worlds? From an article today by the Chairman of the SETI Institute: 'Not long, with shared transmission spectra. To transmit ever-increasing amounts of information, portions of the spectrum must be shared. This is only possible if signal strengths are reduced so that transmissions on the same frequency do not interfere with one another. The textbook example of this paradigm is the cellular phone system. This signal reduction means we are well on our way to becoming invisible.'"

2 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Good. by Violet+Null · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe now the three-eyed, ten-tongued aliens of Vega will be able to get some rest once we turn the noise down.

    Bad intergalactic neighbors, that's what we are.

  2. This is not a new theory by eclectric · · Score: 5, Informative

    SETI researchers have known this for a good while now. As we move from broadcast television and radio to digital formats, we will essentially be reducing and eventually completely shutting off runaway transmissions out into the cosmos. This is actually included in probability calculations in the success of SETI: you only have about 200 years in a given civilization in which to find them through their leftover radiation... after that time frame, there are certain signals (radio telescopes, for instance) that are detectable, but which don't travel in every direction.

    One of the goals/projects of SETI is to keep transmitting data that appears to be from intelligent creatures... Prime numbers in binary is one proposed method. A simple SOS is even possible... anything that would look nonrandom.