MUFOB ARCHIVE/01 New Hope for Extraterrestrial Communication

Paul Hopkins

Merseyside UFO Bulletin, volume 1, number 6, November-December 1968

Ever since Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity theoretical evidence has been weighted against any body travelling with a velocity faster than that of lights. In other words, the velocity of light, about 186 000 miles per second, is considered as being the ceiling velocity that a body or particle may attain. The simple explanation of this phenomenon is that as a body is accelerated towards the speed of light, the mass of the body increases, and thus more energy is required to maintain the acceleration of the body.

Such a process forms a vicious circle represented by Einstein’s equation E=MC2 where E is energy, M is mass and C is a constant, the speed of light. As Einstein said concerning velocities greater than that of light: “They have no possibility of existence.”

It is obvious that such a law of science limits space exploration in a very negative manner. Consider the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which lies approximately four and a half light years distant from the Earth. Such a journey to Alpha Centauri in a hypothetical rocket that could travel at the speed of light would take nine years for the round trip. Since rockets will never be able to attain the speed of light because off the energy/mass relationship the journey would take many times longer, The undertaking of such a journey by conventional standards would be impossible.

Radio links with extra-terrestrial civilisations would also be a long drawn out process since radio waves travel with practically the same velocity as light. Should our astronomers locate an advanced civilisation in the neighbourhood of, say, Epsilon Eridani a message beamed from the Earth would take eleven and a half years to reach its destination. The answer to our message would be received twenty-three years after the original transmission. Under such conditions one tends to ask whether such a link would be of any value, apart from the extreme cost and difficulty involved in searching for such civilisation. The modern trend in scientific thinking is that the Earth is one of millions of inhabited planets in a universe teeming with life, and yet we are isolated beyond all comprehension.

Now the revolutionary theory of an American physicist, [Dr Gerald Feinberg], of Columbia University, may challenge our whole concept of the universe. He has postulated the existence of a new particle, the tachyon (from a Greek word meaning ‘swift’) which he believes permeates the universe travelling in some cases with almost infinite velocity, which it achieves by losing energy as it gains velocity. Dr Fienberg’s hypothesis itself derives from the basis of Einstein’s equations and at least appears plausible to some theoretical physicists.

Attempts to detect the tachyon, have so far failed. It can only exist above the speed of light and it may not be electrically charged. Consequently the task of developing a suitable technique for detecting it is very difficult indeed.

Should Dr Fienberg discover the tachyon, then the dreams of science fiction writers may come true. It could provide a tool for instantly communicating across the vast reaches of space and time. Actual space travel at or above the speed of light would still remain an impossibility, but tachyon beams might be able to transfer energy over tremendous distances – something that is at present impossible due to the inverse square law.

Still, the possibility of communicating with an extraterrestrial civilisation via a tachyon beam is an exciting prospect that could either bring great benefits to mankind, or complete destruction through misuse. We hope that Dr Feinberg’s research will not be fruitless.

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