Comunication across the Galaxy

For all of those who have seen the movie Independence Day with Will Smith, remember that scene when the ufo came down to the city and the helicopter with this huge panel of lights tried to communicate with the ufo??? Is that really possible to comminucate with aliens with light signals??? Yes yes i know this IS a movie so it could be just made up.

However before thinking of this question, i was thinking of a way to communicate with other life beings across galaxys. There is no way we can send out radio waves or such across the galaxy. I guess we can sent out hundreds of satelites or probes that will continue across the galaxy forever until it hits somethign. If aliens do find our probe, then they will know theres other life forms out there!

But then I remember that light can travel very very very far into the universe also! Now if we CAN communicate with lights, do you think it will will be possible to send out light signals/ messages across the universe?

You know how bright the damn light would have to be....to even see it from one side of our solar system to the other let alone the Galaxy..........PRETTY DAMN BRIGHT.

And if your thinking of that large of a scale....Light is too damn slow.

As for the probes.....it would be a waste of material, I think it would be best for them to come to us rather the opposite.

sub-atomic particles which can theoretically travel faster than light has been thought of, but were a ways from that.

Well, if you don't mind waiting hundreds, thousands or maybe even millions of years for the message to get there, and you manage to do the calculations just right so that your intended recipient will be in the path of the light, then sure

You do have an interesting idea, though. In theory, it should work, but to be practical, the distances have to be relatively small, so that the light can travel to the destination in a reasonable time. I'm not sure what the speed of radio is, but I think it's the same as the speed of light or close to it, if I remember right. I can't think of a reason that this light communication would be any better than radio, though.

To the best of my recollection, the "Welcome Wagon" a helicopter fitted with two rather large boards with rows of light bulbs built into them, with one board on each side of the helicopter. The signal I recall them giving the aliens appeared to be nothing that would seem like a communication. If it was a communication, it would seem to have been saying "fire on this craft first" or "this light thing may be a weapon, watch out."

I really can't imagine successfully using such a lighting scheme to inform an ET of anything we would want it to be made aware of. It's just too hostile, and unlikely to be interpreted properly. So I don't think the creators of Independence Day were onto anything there, unless I'm just not remembering the scene correctly.

I must say though, I could see light as being an application of dialogue with a form of life unable to speak a common language other than mathematics. Much like how morse code was and is still used today, we could send a message in the form of light using binary, the alleged universal language. All that would be needed would be a device capable of emitting light, a power source, a message and an on/off feature.

We could send whoever may be watching a combination of 0s (off) and 1s (on) which could be translated by the receiving end to mean whatever we felt the need to say to the intelligent universe. This of course, has already been done. We have sent messages in the form of binary over radio broadcasts intentionally directed into space hoping someone or something will intercept and decode them.

So, we could use light to speak with ETs already on or near the planet, sure. It would be rather difficult to send them a message in the form of light into space, though. The sun is to great a source of light for us to compete with, it would be difficult if at all possible to see a pulsing light coming from SOL. Even if somehow it was noticed, they would have to have reason to believe it was more than just a twinkle, or other natural occurrence before they would begin to analyze and attempt to discover the message we have sent.

This has been considered in the past by the scientific community. "If nothing is faster than light, then lets use it to talk with our galactic neighbors." Shortly after the thought and proposal, the flaw was noticed. I believe they have been working to refine the idea and find a way around the Sun problem, but it seems like we might as well just use microwave and radio messages for the time being, as simple light seems too unlikely work out.

As far as sending out satellites goes, we could do that with little expense in the foreseeable future with the help of Nano-Technology. I don't know it will be too helpful to us though. Earth trying to communicate with an advanced civilization using satellites or probes seems like no better of an idea than telemarketers trying to interest you in their product via smoke signals. We should be sitting here waiting for them to come to us instead of actively seeking them with technology which is hardly likely to be even compatible with their own.

In my opinion, they already know our number if they're looking and if they haven't given us a ring yet, then they aren't gonna call. We shouldn't waste further time or resources trying to get their attention. We should just sit back an listen for a reply.

If I was an alien(and I am not saying I am), then I would probably use a combination of HFGW(High Frequency Gravity Waves) for long-range communications and Quantum-entanglement ship-to-ship, planet-to-planet communications. HFGWs have the unique ability to be unaffected by most solid objects within out universe, while Quantum-entanglement allows near instantenous relay of messages, however both craft(or more than one craft) would need to have the system entangled before they left for whatever destination they were going to.

You could use light, in that movie the two ships were very close together so it could be very easy to in that scenario. For above reason, light would be stupid for interstellar communication.

Gravity would be a better way. It's hard to accomplish, but you can communicate in a morse code like fashion using changing gravity fields. It's hard to detect, but if you make it large enough it will be definitely noticable.

Although it's a long way off, it's a much more viable answer than light. And, really, the only way until we find shortcuts, in which case we can just fly.

light can travel very very very far into the universe also! Now if we CAN communicate with lights, do you think it will will be possible to send out light signals/ messages across the universe?

Light has been encoded with information and that information has been retrieved from the light. Done.

Your brain's capability to integrate new knowledge is limited to the laws of association. You have to be able to associate a new truth to an existing truth. What truths did you have at birth which all other truths have been linked to the source programming in you. Instincts. Instincts are the truths you have to begin with. And Instincts are the truths you take for granted are truth, those encoded strands of information are the basis of your personality and identity. But what if those instincts were not correct information.
I could continue to spell it out for you. But you would not believe me.

So I offer you this advice:
Ask the logical question.
Find the answer.
Ask the next logical question.
Find the answer.
Ask the next logical question.
Find the answer.
Continue this process until you are faced with the last logical question.
Every essence of your personality and identity stem from?
Your last opinion will precede the truth.

Well, using tesla oriented technology, to charge up a transmitter and send signals of ultra high potential and high frequency. Tesla used this to perfect his wirelless power transmitter, at Wardencliffe (in the EARLY 1900's I might add), which used AC in stead of DC. His method was actually more efficient and sound than the system of DC we use today.

Technology like this brings us one step closer to intergalactic communication. I am currently working on a design project to test materials to use in these antennas (i am a student in the materials engineering dept.) that can handle the high power, and high frequency without melting, or fracturing. Still pretty far off, but projects like HAARP and the LIDAR facility in puertio rico are testing this technology as we speak. (not necessarily for communication yet, but it is a related project)

I hope we can put out all these options to the test soon when its time

Is that really possible to comminucate with aliens with light signals??? Yes yes i know this IS a movie so it could be just made up.

And an idea copied (and poorly so) from another UFO movie...Close Encounters of the Third Kind...a far better film.

Anyhoo, as mentioned, even using light, such as laser communications, etc. would take a long time and be slower than snail mail here on Earth. Just to get to the nearest star, it'd take a little over 4 years, even at the speed of light!

The universe is a very big place.....

Your brain's capability to integrate new knowledge is limited to the laws of association. You have to be able to associate a new truth to an existing truth. What truths did you have at birth which all other truths have been linked to the source programming in you. Instincts. Instincts are the truths you have to begin with. And Instincts are the truths you take for granted are truth, those encoded strands of information are the basis of your personality and identity. But what if those instincts were not correct information.
I could continue to spell it out for you. But you would not believe me.

So I offer you this advice:
Ask the logical question.
Find the answer.
Ask the next logical question.
Find the answer.
Ask the next logical question.
Find the answer.
Continue this process until you are faced with the last logical question.
Every essence of your personality and identity stem from?
Your last opinion will precede the truth.

Just how many threads have this same cut-and-paste anyhow???
Perhaps make it a sig?

[edit on 6-5-2005 by Gazrok]