Literature Review #3

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Citation: 

Elani, Zion. “Space, the Final Frontier: In the Scientific Pursuit of Extraterrestrial Life Away from Earth.” Physics Essays, vol. 33, no. 4, Oct. 2020, pp. 367–379. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4006/0836-1398-33.4.367


Summary: 

Elani's article, "Space, the Final Frontier: In the Scientific Pursuit of Extraterrestrial Life Away from Earth", it narrates how did scientists and astrobiologists in history use scientific methods, such as the Drake Equation (1961) which became the basis of all SETI research before astronomers proved there was water on Mars in 1971, to discover life outside of Earth. Elani analyzes each variable on the Drake Equation would need to be modified as time goes, since there was no definite proof of whether advanced civilizations would colonize other planets. Until we have enough technical capabilities to estimate and contact other civilizations, the equation remains incomplete and inestimable, yet we still can see the equation as a guide, according to Elani. 


Author: 

Zion Elani is a researcher (scientific advisor) at the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA) at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His research interests include nanomaterial synthesis, crystallization of nanoparticles, and nanoscale chirality. He has written many articles and book chapters, including pedagogic derivations on various physical phenomena in nature such as Einstein’s special relativity theory, the Drake Equation, Quantum Computers, and other topics.


Key terms:

Drake Equation: the estimation of extraterrestrials life in the Milky Way. 



Fermi Paradox: the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability.


Three Quotes :

"But perhaps we need to look at this equation not as a blueprint of a strict estimate, but more of a guide to our approach toward the search of life beyond Earth." (375)

"Neither the time of travel nor the energy requirements create an insuperable obstacle to space travel." (375)

"Looking for biosignatures from these planets has been one of the many essential analyses required in the quest for life. This research has helped, to some extent, predict the correct range of numbers to be plugged into the Drake equation to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy." (377)


Value:

The Drake Equation made a blur blueprint to prospect the possible life or intelligence life inside the Milky Way. It is also the current basis guide for researchers to follow and to build up their work. The Drake Equation, even though could be considered an assumption, illustrates the process of how human being making hypothesis based on scientific and mathematical calculations, instead of assumptions of possible alien behavior based on humans' (like in Lit Review #2). 

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