• Question: do you think we could ever communicate with other life forms - if there are any?

    Asked by confuddled213 to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 27 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by wentwardroyalchant.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Well, we can communicate with animals – you can ask your dog to fetch a stick. If there are lifeforms on other planets, then we might be able to communicate with them if they are intelligent enough.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      If I lived for 100 years and decided to send a message at the speed of light when I was 10, it could travel 45 light years before the other life form received it, and then we would have the remaining 45 years of my life for their response to get to me.

      There’s probably about 1500 stars within this distance, and probably a similar number of planets. Maybe there is another intelligent life form there, but would they know what my message meant, or where it came from?

      Quantum teleportation is a quicker way to communicate, but we will still have to find where they are (if they exist)

    • Photo: Philippa Bird

      Philippa Bird answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      We already do communicate with dolphins. I heard from a marine biologist the other day that in ten years we will be able to talk fluently with them like other humans.
      Or if you mean in the sci-fi sense, yes but the trouble is the reply might take longer than the lifetime of the scientists who sent the signal in the first place to come back.

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