Not a Drill: SETI Is Investigating a Possible Extraterrestrial Signal From Deep Space

[Thor_MN]

35. I think it's naive to believe that physics can somehow work differently.

KDKA, the first commercially licensed radio station, TODAY, operates at 50,000 watts. Remember that at 95 light years away, it would take radio waves 95 years to get there. In 1921,KDKA started broadcasting at 100 watts.

Compare that with the signal. Estimates put it at 100 billion billion watts to generate, if it is truly from that star system.

100,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts which allowed us to detect it with our most sensitive radio systems. Versus our 1921 best signals at 100 watts. Even if it were aimed directly at us, and I think it would be naive to believe they would have a reason to aim it at us, it would take on the order of the total power generated by the United States to produce that signal.

If we were to turn off every device that can generate radio waves, every vehicle, computer, fan, refrigerator, air conditioner, anything with an electric motor of any sort, turned the entire planet into an antenna - it would not be possible to detect a 100 watt radio station from 95 light years away.


They were going to spend two nights looking at that system, ending at about now. First night showed nothing. We will know later today if this is WOW2, or something else.