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Nuclear Interstellar Transmitter

Hey, over here! (with nukes)
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If we sent some very large nuclear weapons into space and detonated them in sequence, they would provide a very bright beacon for any ETs in the area. There would be a large flash of light and radiation on all spectra in all directions, detectable by optical, X-ray, and radio telescopes. How could aliens miss that? They would also know that we were advanced enough to have nuclear weapons, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. If the weapons were set off a long way from earth and outside of the magnetosphere there would be no danger from radiation or EMP.

This was inspired by bs0u0155's Fluorescent Planet idea and attempts to solve the problem of contacting aliens via radio - signals have a limited range and must be aimed at star systems that we think might have life. If the signals do make it far enough, how do we know aliens are listening for radio signals alone? Clearly the answer is blowing shit up; it's the human way!

DIYMatt, Dec 24 2011

Fluorescent Planet Fluorescent_20Planet
Effective at signaling aliens, but lacking in atomic bombs. [DIYMatt, Dec 24 2011]

METI http://en.wikipedia...strial_Intelligence
P.S., I guess Prof. Stephen Hawking was discouraging METI. [Inyuki, Dec 25 2011]

Active SETI Talk Page http://en.wikipedia..._encode_the_message
A more promising way of sending a message to ETs. [Inyuki, Dec 25 2011]

[link]






       I'd bun this if it suggested a phased-array or something. Setting off nukes seems awfully simple and not very noticeable.
baconbrain, Dec 24 2011
  

       Well, it is detonating nukes in sequence, perhaps in the shape of an arrow pointed at earth.
DIYMatt, Dec 24 2011
  

       We could use the damnable nukes to impart spin on the moon. If they only detonate on the dark-side to attain the needed harmonic resonance it should be quite noticable... if anybeing's looking.   

       The best 5th of November display, as well.
Ling, Dec 24 2011
  

       I wonder if there is a way to do some gravity lens effect to beam the signal more efficiently. Now that we are finding Goldilocks zone planets we could try saying hello.
MisterQED, Dec 24 2011
  

       You should really, really listen to your Prof. Stephen Hawking: "Is it a good idea to draw attention to ourselves ?"
8th of 7, Dec 24 2011
  

       while nukes are the biggest most noticeable thing we humans can produce (you'd have to be REALLY into that book not to notice a sequence of nukes....), particularly large H-bombs, are these the best way? By setting off a large H-bomb, you'd be converting a small amount of matter into a lot of energy by nuclear fusion. Which is exactly what the 10x10exp11 stars in the galaxy are doing. The energy you're making might be a tiny bit unusual in spectra etc, but you're still looking for a small temporary needle in a REALLY big pile of MASSIVE needles. Bun for setting off nukes for fun though...
bs0u0155, Dec 24 2011
  

       ^^^hits the nail on the head^^^
WcW, Dec 25 2011
  

       I would love to see that kind of a display. However, I believe a more promising way of METI, is the one mentioned on the Active SETI Talk page (see links).
Inyuki, Dec 25 2011
  
      
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