What if the twinkling star were sending a message from alien to alien through their twinkling lights?Star Light, Star BrightWe might accidentally listen to an alien conversation as we look up at the night skies.Terry Rudolph (Quad Physics, Imperial College London) published last week preprint research suggesting that an extraterrestrial civilization could alter the light coming from stars to communicate with us across great distances.Although the physics of this ordeal can get a bit complicated, it is likely to be reasonable if aliens are quickly communicating across star system. However, the basic idea behind the use of entangled photons to transmit messages that appear random twinkling to any curious onlookers is to use photons from different stars to send messages.Roaming chargesRudolph points out that the idea is technically possible in terms of physics, but only speculation when it comes down to alien technology. Rudolph writes that any entangled communication between stars can be made in principle indiscernible for those who are not part of the conversation.AdvertisementAdvertisementIf there was a super-advanced civilization that colonized the Milky Way galaxy, communication according to Rudolph's suggestion could explain why there is no evidence of life beyond Earth.It's not your faultRudolph concludes his paper with a stern conclusion. He says that humans shouldn't feel bad about not being able to create an interstellar communication network. It is possible that aliens out there may have evolved quantum physics differently.Rudolph stated that entanglement is only a phenomenon we have seen when the most intelligent of our species capture it and protect it in carefully controlled and delicate experiments. Once one understands the importance of photonic entanglement, the question becomes, "Why didn't we evolve to use it?" This entanglement has not helped us find mates or bananas.Continue reading about aliens: The long-awaited UFO Report was genuinely kind of disappointingAdvertisementAdvertisement
