4th Edition

ISBN: 9780134089089

Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak

Publisher: PEARSON

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The theory of special relativity discusses how space and time are related to objects traveling along a straight line at a constant speed. Simply stated, as an object reaches the speed of light, its mass becomes infinite and it is unable to move faster th…

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Chapter 12, Problem 44IF

Contact. Watch the movie Contact, paying careful attention to the SETI experiment described in the first third of the film. How accurately does this experiment reflect any of the current SETI search programs? Did you spot any obvious scientific or technical errors? Write a one- to two-page essay comparing Contact to the reality of SETI efforts.

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Chapter 12, Problem 43IF

Chapter 12, Problem 45IF

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Which of the following seems least reasonable regarding life on Earth? Group of answer choices There is much scientific evidence suggesting that all creatures living on Earth today appear to have evolved from a common ancestor. Louis Pasteur discredited the concept of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that even bacteria and other microorganisms arise from parents resembling themselves. There is ample physical evidence that the earliest life forms on Earth were multicellular creatures, perhaps resembling some of our primitive fish. When the earth formed some 4.6 billion years ago, it was a lifeless, inhospitable place. Before the mid-17th century, most people believed that God had created humankind and other higher organisms and that insects, frogs, and other small creatures could arise spontaneously in mud or decaying matter About billion years into its development, the Earth it was teeming with organisms resembling blue-green algae.

Which of the following is least reasonable regarding the difficulty in contacting extraterrestrial life using space flight and radio communication. Group of answer choices Space flight to the nearest star would take thousands of years with current technology. Even if another intelligent civilization is within a few hundred light-years of us, conversations would be very slow with a turnaround time of decades or even centuries. The spacecraft that NASA sent to Proxima Centauri a few years ago should be approaching its target within a decade or two, depending on solar wind conditions. Earth has been broadcasting at radio wavelengths since the 1930's, so any civilization within a radius of about 100 light-years or so could have received the broadcast by now. Without some major breakthrough, interstellar space flight is totally impractical.

Tutorial A radio broadcast left Earth in 1923. How far in light years has it traveled? If there is, on average, 1 star system per 400 cubic light years, how many star systems has this broadcast reached? Assume that the fraction of these star systems that have planets is 0.50 and that, in a given planetary system, the average number of planets that have orbited in the habitable zone for 4 billion years is 0.40. How many possible planets with life could have heard this signal? Part 1 of 3 To figure out how many light years a signal has traveled we need to know how long since the signal left Earth. If the signal left in 1923, distance in light years = time since broadcast left Earth. d = tnow - broadcast d = 97 97 light years Part 2 of 3 Since the radio signal travels in all directions, it expanded as a sphere with a radius equal to the distance it has traveled so far. To determine the number of star systems this signal has reached, we need to determine the volume of that sphere. V, = Vb…

Chapter 12 Solutions

Life in the Universe (4th Edition)

Ch. 12 - What is the purpose of the Drake equation? Define...Ch. 12 - What is convergent evolution? How does this idea...Ch. 12 - Prob. 3RQ Ch. 12 - Prob. 4RQ Ch. 12 - Briefly describe early attempts at interplanetary...Ch. 12 - Briefly discuss early SETI efforts. What do we...Ch. 12 - What are the three general categories of signals...Ch. 12 - Why do SETI researchers assume that beacon signals...Ch. 12 - Summarize the current techniques of radio SETI and...Ch. 12 - Explain why it is reasonable to imagine optical or...

Ch. 12 - Prob. 11RQ Ch. 12 - What are the three distinct categories of...Ch. 12 - Briefly discuss some of the issues that would...Ch. 12 - Discuss several types of claims about alien...Ch. 12 - Humans are the crown of creation and an inevitable...Ch. 12 - If, for some reason, we humans were to suddenly...Ch. 12 - Prob. 17TYU Ch. 12 - Most of the intelligence in the universe is not...Ch. 12 - Because SETI researchers are listening to star...Ch. 12 - Prob. 20TYU Ch. 12 - Prob. 21TYU Ch. 12 - Looking for signals from star systems is a poor...Ch. 12 - If 10,000 people saw the same UFO, scientists...Ch. 12 - The absence of any scientific evidence for alien...Ch. 12 - The end result of a calculation with the Drake...Ch. 12 - Which of the following statements is true about...Ch. 12 - The fact that marine predators like dolphins and...Ch. 12 - Which of the following would lead an animal to a...Ch. 12 - Prob. 29TYU Ch. 12 - Why are we more likely to be able to detect a...Ch. 12 - What is the distinguishing characteristic that...Ch. 12 - Two-way conversation with other societies is...Ch. 12 - Prob. 33TYU Ch. 12 - One reason scientists doubt that crop circles have...Ch. 12 - Alien Visits. Learn more about a particular claim...Ch. 12 - Prob. 39IF Ch. 12 - Evolution of Intelligence. Based on your...Ch. 12 - Intelligence on Other Worlds. Consider again the...Ch. 12 - Talking Back. Suppose SETI were to find a signal...Ch. 12 - Contact. Watch the movie Contact, paying careful...Ch. 12 - Invasions of Movie Aliens. Choose a science...Ch. 12 - Prob. 47IF Ch. 12 - Actual SETI Searches. Project Phoenix, the largest...Ch. 12 - Power Used by E.T. A modern SETI search using the...Ch. 12 - Detecting Signals. SETI scientists are sometimes...Ch. 12 - Societal Reaction. It is frequently said that the...Ch. 12 - Dealing with UFO Claims. Given the large number of...

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