Where are they? Why I hope the search for ET life finds nothing (2008)

Re:Where are they? Why I hope the search for ET life finds n... by brazzy on Wednesday November 21, 2018 @05:21AM (#18501507)

Charlie Stross' "Accelerando" floats an interesting idea: Post-Tech-Singularity civilizations might naturally become isolationist because consciousness becomes tied to computing hardware that is dependant on abundant energy and low communication latency that you don't have unless you all cluster closely around a star, i.e. a small Dyson sphere. Leaving those ideal circumstances becomes unthinkable for the individual because it would mean lobotomizing yourself.

However, we should be able to see those Dyson spheres, and we don't.

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Re:Where are they? Why I hope the search for ET life finds n... by ludos on Wednesday November 21, 2018 @08:59AM (#18502679)

Isnt the purpose of a Dyson sphere to keep all Energy inside? If thats the case, how would you detect such a sphere?

Maybe that's where the dark matter is. 80% of the universe, packed into small Dyson Spheres, where live is sprawling and we just cant see it. ;-)

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Re:Where are they? Why I hope the search for ET life finds n... by brazzy on Thursday November 22, 2018 @08:33AM (#18509886)

> Isnt the purpose of a Dyson sphere to keep all Energy inside?

No, because that would be both impossible (see "black body radiation") and useless. The purpose is to use all energy produced by the star. But "using" energy doesn't mean it's gone (see conservation of energy) or that you have to trap it. What it really means is you want to use the low entropy inherent in a concentrated source of energy to perform work.

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Re:Where are they? Why I hope the search for ET life finds n... by HappySweeney on Wednesday November 21, 2018 @10:51AM (#18503530)

They would glow in infrared.

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