Did physicists discover a previously unknown fifth force of nature?
(NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage)
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Patrick Rowan | Special to The Republican By Patrick Rowan | Special to The Republican
on January 02, 2017 at 10:52 AM
(NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage)
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Patrick Rowan | Special to The Republican By Patrick Rowan | Special to The Republican
on January 02, 2017 at 10:52 AM
"Where are they?"
Physicist Enrico Fermi famously blurted that question out during a lunch with colleagues one day 67 years ago. By 'they," he meant "the extraterrestrials."
Fermi calculated the probability of Earth-like planets around other stars, the likelihood of life on those, and the possible rise of high technology, etc. Making assumptions about how long such civilizations might survive, he concluded that -- given the age of our Galaxy -- we should have been visited long ago... many times in fact. Or at least seen real evidence of their existence.
Physicist Enrico Fermi famously blurted that question out during a lunch with colleagues one day 67 years ago. By 'they," he meant "the extraterrestrials."
Fermi calculated the probability of Earth-like planets around other stars, the likelihood of life on those, and the possible rise of high technology, etc. Making assumptions about how long such civilizations might survive, he concluded that -- given the age of our Galaxy -- we should have been visited long ago... many times in fact. Or at least seen real evidence of their existence.
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