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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>spike<br><b>…</b><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Whoa! Check this!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.popsci.com/alien-megastructure-star-dimming-again">http://www.popsci.com/alien-megastructure-star-dimming-again</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:3.75pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>That weird ‘alien megastructure’ star is dimming again right now<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666;text-transform:uppercase'>ASTRONOMERS ARE SCRAMBLING TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=label><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'>By</span></i></span><span class=apple-converted-space><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'> </span></i></span><span class=author><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#695F62'><a href="http://www.popsci.com/popsci-authors/sarah-fecht"><span style='color:black'>Sarah Fecht</span></a></span></i></span><span class=apple-converted-space><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'> </span></i></span><span class=date><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>5 hours ago</span></i></span><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-converted-space> </span>…<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Here’s the curve! There is no known natural phenomenon that can do this without leaving one helllll of an IR signature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=575 height=386 style='width:5.9895in;height:4.0208in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D2D0E6.8F188510"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So why is old spike obsessing about all this? First of all, I prefer “middle-aged spike” please.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Why is middle-aged spike obsessing about all this? I’ll tell ya why no-particular-age spike is obsessing about all this. Late-youth spike is obsessing about all this because an S-brain is a possible explanation for how we could be seeing a sudden dimming without a corresponding IR signature!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>You know that argument I suggested about 6 yrs ago in this forum that any M-brain would need to reflect its energy in a uniform direction in order to prevent overheating? I think… I think… that same argument would hold for S-brains! And if it does… that would explain how the heck we could see a 2% drop in signal from Tabby’s star in TWOOOO DAAAAAYYYYYS! Without a cloud of hot dust and debris!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Think about it my physics-enabled friends! Do you recall aaaaaany lecture in which you could have a star dimming that fast? Ja, a debris cloud. Do you recall any lecture on debris clouds and how to recognize one? Ja, they warm up and have an IR signature. Do you recall aaaaaany lecture which would explain how a star can dim without a debris cloud or with a debris cloud with no IR signature? No, ya don’t! I sure don’t.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>An S-brain would do that, if… if it is correct that an S-brain needs to direct its energy in a uniform direction for the same reason an M-brain does, it must dump most of that good low-entropy energy… for some fundamental reason, such as… it would overheat otherwise. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And young Spike was the guy who advanced the notion, right here in good old ExI-chat, that an M-brain and possibly an S-brain would need to radiate low-entropy energy in order to avoid overheating, and would as a result, dim a star with no visible IR signature, because it was directing the IR (or higher (probably a lot higher than IR)) elsewhere, so we can’t see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Oooooh these are exciting times to be living, so exciting!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Life… is… gooooooooood…<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>