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SETI Disrupted By Cell Phones in Airplanes?
Iphtashu Fitz writes "If, as recently mentioned, the FCC does allow wireless access on airplanes, could it effectively mean the end of the search for ET? NewScientist has a new article that explains how radio interference from airborne cellphones could drown out faint radio signals from space. Among other concerns astronomers have is that the second harmonic of many cell phones falls in a frequency band that reveals the molecular signature of newborn and dying stars, which is among the 2% of frequencies in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum reserved for use by radio astronomers. Michael Davis, director of projects at California's SETI Institute, stated that a single cellphone on an airplane 100 miles from a radiotelescope could exceed recommended radio noise levels by 10 times. A potential solution that astronomers have suggested is to install a miniture cell transceiver on each airplane, called a picocell, that would act as a relay using a frequency that wouldn't interfere with their work."
We should prevent cell phone use on airplanes because it might interfere with a project that has consumed massive amounts of computational and technical resources and has never been successful, ever.
At least now SETI will have an excuse.
Fuckwits who keep their mobile phones switched on 24-7 even in airplanes/hospitals/cinemas as an act of overinflated self-importance are equally, if not more 'cunty'.
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
Nope sorry SETI doesn't get default ownership of the sky. They must be equally weighed. Oh yeah, get and wear headphones if people talking bothers you. They have a right to talk though yelling should be frowned upon.
Sagan and his predecessors postulate that this one narrow band would be used by aliens since it doesn't get absorbed the way everything else would by nebulae and whatnot and we go spending millions on listening to it.
Meanwhile, even NASA admits that the speed of light may not be a constant, warp may be possible, so no one dares think that anyone advanced enough to make it work might choose some other method of communication that worked faster than some arbitrary wavelength of radio waves?
Hello, the people on Trek have been using "subspace" for decades on television. Did it occur to no one in science to ditch the old ideas and try checking out other methods of transmitting information, such as the workings of other kinds of electromagnetic waves? Did anyone pay attention to electrodynamics discoveries?
Anyone advanced enough to be worth speaking with is not going to be talking on the same port SETI is listening on to use an Internet comparison. It's like running Telnet and the other side is trying to use SSH.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
Must have been one of those southern Democrats.
Seriously though, I've never seen that joke before. Pretty good one too. I'll have to pass it on.
Reminds me of someone that worked with a friend of mine. This person told my friend that she wanted to leave the job, but was trying to get fired so she could draw unemployment. My friend tells the boss about it, and the boss cuts the person's wages and demotes her, but refuses to fire her. She finally quit a few weeks later.
In other words, you think your priorities are somehow better than mine?
There are more of me.
The solution is not clear just because you say so.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!