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Astronomers Search For Dyson Spheres of Alien Civilizations
Hugh Pickens writes "An article by Ross Andersen makes note of Freeman Dyson's prediction in 1960 that every civilization in the Universe eventually runs out of energy on its home planet, a major hurdle in a civilization's evolution. Dyson argued 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. Last month astronomers began a two-year search for Dyson Spheres, a search that will span the Milky Way, along with millions of other galaxies. The search is funded by 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.' Compared with SETI, a search for Dyson Spheres assumes that the larger the civilization, the more energy it uses and the more heat it re-radiates. If Dyson Spheres exist, they promise to give off a very particular kind of heat signature, a signature that we should be able to see through our infrared telescopes. 'A Dyson Sphere would appear very bright in the mid-infrared,' says project leader Jason Wright. 'Just like your body, which is invisible in the dark, but shines brightly in mid-infrared goggles.' A civilization that built a Dyson Sphere would have to go to great lengths to avoid detection, building massive radiators that give off heat so cool it would be undetectable, a solution that would involve building a sphere that was a hundred times larger than necessary. 'If a civilization wants to hide, it's certainly possible to hide,' says Wright, 'but it requires massive amounts of deliberate engineering across an entire civilization.'"
Eventually, the energy is converted to heat, which can leak out into space. Our planet is not a closed system. The good thing is that there is also energy coming in into our system (solar energy, for example).
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
For those who don't get the reference it's a beat poem called Storm by Tim Minchin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U
He's very much being derisive of that sort of viewpoint.
Sorry to spoil the joke.
"The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
How does science explain psychics?
It doesn't have to. Science doesn't have to deal with fairy tales.
Auras
If you mean Auroras, we've got you covered. If you mean the fuzzy, ill defined fields that come up when you overexpose film or electronic sensors, well, we've got that covered as well.
the afterlife
What afterlife? Before it needs explaining, it needs existing.
the power of prayer?
What "power of prayer"? The non existent causal relationship between other people praying for someone and having an outcomes change? That doesn't happen. The ability of the plastic human mind to influence the rest of the body (to which it's intimately connected)? May I introduce you to the concept of neurobiology in all it's complexity and splendor?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!