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Scientists believe ‘fire’ is the most important thing in our search for alien life
A new study has suggested that fire could be the key to finding alien life that is as, or more technologically advanced than we are.
In a fascinaring new study that might just change the way we search for aliens, scientists have turned the spotlight on oxygen, a humble element that could be the key in our quest to find intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations just not in the way that you might think.
Why oxygen could be the key to finding alien technology
Scientists from the Universit� di Roma Tor Vergata in Italy and the University of Rochester have suggested that oxygen might not just be the key to finding extraterrestrial life, but the answer to finding technologically advanced alien civilizations.
Since oxygen is one of the fundamental building blocks of life here on Earth, key to both our respiration and metabolism, it shouldnt be a surprise that scientists have long been looking for planets with high oxygen levels in their search for alien life.
We are ready to find signatures of life on alien worlds. But how do the conditions on a planet tell us about the possibilities for intelligent, technology-producing life?”
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However, beyond our basic needs, oxygen is also the fundamental element of developing fire.
Without fire, humanity wouldnt have developed innovations such as metallurgy, cooking, or heating systems and the researchers suggest that these same challenges would apply to life on other planets.
Co-author of the paper Professor Alan Frank explained how You might be able to get biology — you might even be able to get intelligent creatures — in a world that doesn’t have oxygen, but without a ready source of fire, you’re never going to develop higher technology because higher technology requires fuel and melting.”
The study suggests that open-air combustion is a critical process for the forgery of metals and other innovations that is only possible in atmospheres resembling our own Earth with an oxygen partial pressure (pO2) of at least 18%.
The presence of high degrees of oxygen in the atmosphere is like a bottleneck you have to get through in order to have a technological species,” said Professor Frank.
You can have everything else work out, but if you don’t have oxygen in the atmosphere, you’re not going to have a technological species.”
Around the world, scientists are constantly in search of solar systems and planets that might host aliens and based on this research, the best place to start is with those planets with high oxygen levels of at least 18% pO2.
“Targeting planets with high oxygen levels should be prioritized because the presence or absence of high oxygen levels in exoplanet atmospheres could be a major clue in finding potential technosignatures,” Frank shared.
Professor Amedeo Balbi, co-author of the study, added “The implications of discovering intelligent, technological life on another planet would be huge.”
“Therefore, we need to be extremely cautious in interpreting possible detections. Our study suggests that we should be skeptical of potential technosignatures from a planet with insufficient atmospheric oxygen.”
Whilst the search for aliens continues, new research like this is giving a major boost to E.T. enthusiasts hoping that we’ll detect technosignatures within our lifetime.
