Let's Do The Science of The Expanse S02E09 "The Weeping Somnambulist"

[@AEGIPAN101]

I'm a 27-year-old man and I squealed with glee when he brought the Drake Equation up on the screen. That's why I love this show - it speculates on a plausible future for humanity without skipping over the history of astronomy and space exploration that's already been established. I enjoyed the position Dr. Iturbi put forward, that intelligent life can choose not to drive itself towards extinction. We *can* choose not to kill each other, but we're a species driven by emotions (many of which are primal) and pure logic must be attained to instead of being an inherent gift. Thanks for your videos, I just discovered them!

[@isolinear9836]

As Colonel Janus stated, the Drake equation is just a WAG (Wild As* Guess). Nice conversation starter around the water-cooler, but of no use to Practical or Applied Physics (Professional/Technical Trade or Engineering)...or as he put it: "It's not a real Equation".

[@Empiro3]

One fun touch they had in the show is that they said Jupiter has 80+ moons. Today, there are 67 known moons of Jupiter, and it's very possible we'll discover more in the future.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Seems likely we will. Cyllene and many of the other retrograde moons were discovered after 2000. I think it's reasonable to assume we have many more that can be discovered.

[@charlesajones77]

There are now 79 known moons, as of 2020.

[@Nick-ry4mk]

@@charlesajones77 crazy coming in now and seeing the disparity of just three years

[@petamerican2588]

Now there’s 92 in 2023.

[@raymondgrose9118]

As of March, there are 95 known moons around Jupiter .

[@CharlesBlazer]

#MyTheory "If these civilizations were so numerous and had been broadcasting their signals everywhere for so long, then we should see signs of them everywhere we look. Instead we get nothing. No signals. No signs. Nothing." Well... if the logical premise is that we should see signs of them everywhere we look, then perhaps the logical consequence is that we do. In other words, everything we see could be the signs of civilization. One theoretical corollary of the Kardashev scale is that the activity of a Kardashev Type IV civilization would be indistinguishable from "natural" phenomena, because such a civilization might have mastery over the manufacture of stellar bodies, or even whole galaxies. Does an ant look upon a human house and see it as the construct of an intelligence? Or does the ant simply see the house as part of the "natural" environment?

[@SavageSalad69]

Very true, an ant would view a human house as a natural formation, not giving second thought about it's origins.

[@robertcartier5088]

@@SavageSalad69 ...but how to get at the sugar in the cupboard would be of primary importance!

[@haldyordan2316]

But if they are Type IV civilization so they were once type 0 or I, couldn't we intercept those signals?

[@haldyordan2316]

@Kalydosos and advanced civilizations were once like us like ants, should have intercept those signals 🤔

[@WaveForceful]

Or perhaps their technology is so advanced, it cannot be detected by ours. In the expanse, the Proto molecule in several ways appears like magic and completely acausal, Eros accelerating without being subjected to G force (Anti gravity), Eros cloaking itself, terraforming Venus and Disassembling a ship down to it's rivets.

[@killersalmon4359]

RE: Water being abundant on Ceres - early in the history of the colony on Ceres, a LOT of that water was strip-mined and ended up going to Mars. So - more reason why the Belters are kind of miffed by the people from the inner planets.

[@EricTrang]

instead of the great filter, we probably have many small filters. We can go through each one of them at 80% chance. But if you consider the number of the filters, we could still end up with very few advanced civilizations out there. So, lets keep hope and go on~~

[@halonkin2]

According to the books Epstein drive exhaust is radioactive and extremely hot, furthermore it was mentioned that you can't use it near the stations because it can damage objects far behind it (don't remember exact numbers) in case of the show I think they made more of an artistic choice to show that scene.

[@poisontoad8007]

If the first message we receive is 'stop broadcasting, you are in danger', we'll understand the Great Silence.

[@annoyed707]

After years of terraforming efforts, the Martian atmosphere, while still very thin, should be significantly thicker than what we observe today. Streamlining would have some value, even if it would not be essential. Titan has a very thick atmosphere, so I'm surprised that Mars does not have some small ships designed to deal with atmospheres.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

True, although I would assert that streamlining is different than aerodynamic design or aeronautic engineering.

[@8556732]

if i remember correctly, ceres had its water stripped by the first colonisation of the belt

[@dardo1201]

Yeah, that's why they have to mine ice asteroids to get drinking water if I remember correctly.

[@mryellow6918]

@@dardo1201 i still feel like they would have plenty of water tho still

[@Argon1115]

#MyTheory: Why there has been silence in the radio spectrum from alien civilizations. 1. Just as light shifts red from sources at distance moving away so too would radio (electromagnetic) waves shift downward in frequency until the amplitudes would be enormous (think in terms of hundreds of thousand to millions of kilometers) thus your receiving antenna possibly would have to span the solar system (see #2) 2. Kyper belt interference: our Solarsystem has a general collective magnetic field that serves to deflect cosmic rays but also acts as magnetic deflector (Fermi cage) (see #3) 3. Earths magnetic field / van Allen belt not only deflects solar winds and the suns remnants of its enormous electromagnetic flux bands around the earth also effects radio waves especially on the lower Hz (red shifted) as to drown them out from the natural stellar radio emitters. I believe to rule out #3 we would need to establish a radio telescope array from Venus to the Uranus orbitals (perhaps even between and perpendicular to the planets orbital plane) staying in opposite locations well away from the gas giants own magnetospheres'. If a autonomous array consisting of a minimum of 3 to 13 (the more the merrier) robotic snap radioisotope powered telescopes was created with radio, optical, infrared thru xray detectors, at a minimum we could image Kuiper belt objects. . To rule out #2 would necessitate creating a array simular to the previous described but placed outside our Kuiper belt into interstellar space. With that I believe we would be able to image Proxima-Centari, Bernard's Star, and Wolf359. If the radio-waves have indeed "red-shifted" the multi-million kilometer array would detect that. Just postulating a hypothesis.

[@SolidMikeP]

Love how you get to the point.

[@JcoreUKhardcore]

#Cyllene Great episode as always! Drake vs Fermi discussion was great. Also, I really like the fact, that even with the Epstein drive, space travel takes quite a lot of time. It took them few episodes from Eros impact to reaching Venus with that science ship. Well, I realized that I actually spend much more time on reading / watching about The Expanse than on watching the show.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

it's great to have a show that's as enjoyable.

[@davidmaximo4385]

I have not heard my solution to fermi paradox but is touched upon in Drakes equation. Drakes equation factors:Planet must be in habitable zone in both heat and radiation, (this should disqualify most stars in middle of galaxies doe to dense stars and lethal radiation) Must have atmosphere therefore must have powerful magnetosphere (need more powerful for a close red dwarf than we have) My Fermi Paradox great filter: Space weather radiation and cyclical changes in magnetosphere halt/prevent technology advancement. We ourselves are in process of losing our magnetosphere due to our very long 200,000-400,000yr polar reversal cycle, When we do lose our shield in next 10-60 years technology and society will collapse. If our planet cycle was 100yrs we never would have developed electronics. What is a normal pole reversal cycle of a planet that can sustain life? Perhaps our long cycle is abnormal and we are as high in technology as can (this may be due to extreme luck or intelligent design) There are of course even more limiting factors concerning space weather limitations on life, technology but are more lengthy than have time for. Is reasonable to assume we are in our golden age of tech and probably only life in universe capable of doing it in our own technological universe horizon. Very soon we wont be able to communicate any farther than we can yell or wave a flag or smoke signals

[@darwinjina]

Isaac Arthur (KZbin channel) has some specific videos about Fermi Paradox

[@jeffpatti6345]

At 27:30 into the episode, according to the time in netflix, there is a wide shot of Jupiter. In the show this occurs just after the Roci separates from the Somnambulist. Much to my surprise, none of Jupiter's moons are visible in that shot. Given that Jupiter's moons are so close to Jupiter and so bright even with amateur telescopes, I would have expected some of the moons to be visible. Do you also think some moons should have been visible in that shot?

[@Vitalis94]

I just discovered your channel. You're doing a great job. I wonder if you could cover some of space battles in previous episodes?

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Thanks for watching. Great idea. After the season wraps up I intend to do a few topical shows on the Expanse rather than go back Episode to Episode and Space Warfare will be one of them. It's a complex topic and I'll break it out into covering the weapons shown separately from the tactics used. I am a veteran as well work in Science and Technology, so I may be overthinking some of that. It's an interesting topic though.

[@jamesp4521]

Hard Scfi has taught me so much, that's why I love it!

[@astrick1768]

I'd like to think that the great silence is explained by the Prime Directive

[@fizzoftheburn]

Great episode bud! Love that you're making these!

[@Yeomen1986]

The drake equation is fascinating BUT there are 2 issues with it. 1) It's purely theoretical meaning there are no numbers. I don't think it's impossible for the drake equation to equal one (especially if you limit the scope to a single galaxy). 2) The drake eqn also ASSUMES all life comes the same way life came on earth. I'd be willing put down money on the bet that if we encounter an alien race, they will be silicon based. We know it's possible but yet we don't seem to discuss it much. I theorize the Protomolecule is a silicone based organism. When it comes to the great silence: We assume technology progression is always linear. But it depends on who is inventing and the available resources on the planet/ location. We can see that on small scale on earth by comparing and contrasting US vs Soviet technologies (particularly military). We see vastly different approaches to warfare and detection (whithin a similar scope of human thaught). Who says an alien race would have invented the radio and not something else. I think we make far too many assumptions about alien life. Also, The Expanse has ruined me on Scifi. I don't know how I will ever go back to other scifi shows now that I have seen one with soo much science in it, not only is the science accurate but is used to shape the plot. Everyone believed you could not keep the plot if you kept the science and this show has prooved them wrong. I LOVE IT!!!

[@jamesp4521]

Check out Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space novels. The audiobooks read by John Lee are great.

[@EricTrang]

the first episode of the first season mentioned that Ceres had a lot of water could sustain generations. But it was stripped away by Mars and Earth. Mainly Mars.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Fair enough. We found as we sent actual probes there was more water than we imagined so that would be quiet a bit.

[@RooksGambit360]

#MyTheory very late in the game here so this is likely to go unnoticed...However, while the Drake Equation is fantastic, it needs an additional variable after intelligent species and communication, that variable is the number of intelligent species that WANT to reach out. So you could have species which do not want to reach out, and perhaps actively try to stay silent, and those that simply don't care because it's not a part of their psyche. We don't know ho w unique our desire to reach out to the unknown is, it could be that we very unique in that regard and that the number of intelligent species that don't want to reach out, or simply don't care, vastly outnumbers us. TLDR; the Drake equation is great, but needs a few more variables.

[@Ulmaramlu]

#Cyllene Another thing about the Cyllene Scene: Jupiter is WAY off tilt! (8:33) One of the poles is completely in darkness, the other in sunlight. Lots of artistic licence for those establishing shots.

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

I think we just happen to be a relatively early species, with the distances being too large for many interspecies contacts to be established yet.

[@jamesvertrees5857]

I thought Ganaymeade had been mined hollow. The water was shipped to Mars. At least that is what I have gleaned from watching the show. I have read some papers from the 1970's where interplanetary travel could be done by using superheated steam.

[@AleksandrPodyachev]

#MyTheory is that any signal sent out from by an alien civilization would be so far from earth that the signal is so weak that it would be buried in the background radiation

[@benfredericson9467]

Awesome video! Please do more, I really love it.

[@cylontoaster7660]

#MyTheory As another poster pointed out, we have only been broadcasting radiowaves for a little over a century and anything power less than that. Consider the age of our civilization or even our species existing on this planet. For all we know, broadcasts from an alien civilization washed over Earth for thousands of years, but they did so during a time where we didn't have the technology. Then perhaps eventually the civilization either died out or moved on to new tech. For instance, even in this show, they use tight beams (lasers) to communicate over vast distances, so even there you have a move away from radio broadcasts in an effort to maintain signal cohesion and privacy. The other thing to consider is if the radio signal was far enough away, it would be fairly degraded after traveling who knows how many light years. Perhaps we did hear something, but it was so degraded and we lacked the technology to recognize it for what it was. For a civilization to broadcast on a technology we develop as well, and we receive it during a time where we have developed that technology is really rolling the dice probability wise

[@TheTrueRandomness]

I'm really enjoying this show!

[@jocax188723]

Well, I think giant robot cuttlefish harvest all intelligent civilization every 50,000 years.

[@theScorpion87]

What's the program you've used to visualise the planets and celestial bodies? Looks really cool!

[@Vara91391]

Regarding the landing ship. The Landing ship design is actually extremely realistic. All it has to do is launch upwards and downwards. Calculations done by competent qualified people/computers on a space station for instance can take everything into account (Incl. Coriolis force, winds aloft, surface friction winds etc) before maneuvering the main vessel into the exact position before dropping the landing ship in a method where just minor corrections would be needed for it to land on a designated landing area.

[@didur62]

Great channel ! Keep up the good work good sir!

[@nickl5658]

There are no great filters but many smaller filters that block the development of live, the development multicellular life, the development of intelligent life, the development tool using life, the development of civilization, the development of technological civilization, the development of space going civilization and the development of space colonization

[@LordCalidor]

#MyTheory #Cyllene Considering the age of the Universe and that of our own civilization, but also taking into account somewhat wide band of time that life could evolve after the Big Bang (after the great gamma purges, radiation bursts, planets cooling etc.) I think we just aren't here long enough to hear or see someone, using our available means ie. optics, radio waves, microwaves, IR... Our own civilization is emitting radio waves for some 150 years, which is pretty much a nano-blink in cosmic terms, so the chances other civilization existed at the exact distances their radio, IR... waves took to arrive to Earth (and become observable by our tech), I think is pretty slim. This could be the reason we haven't heard from anyone. Also, from what we know - faster, or near-light speed travel could very well be impossible, so even is some nearby advanced civilization spotted us and wanted to contact us by means of sending probes, ships or strong signal bursts, they might just be on the way, and have some time yet to travel before they arrive. If someone spotted us the moment we started emitting radio waves all around us, some 150yrs back, they should be at an approximately equal technological level then - because even if they are advanced, they could've moved on from radio comms technology and maybe their advanced tech is not able to detect radio signals anymore. But even if they detected our signals, and they are at our galactic neighborhood, let's say 80 light years from us, they sent a signal back, it would travel 80 years more before we could detect it, meaning it will travel 10 more years. The possibilities are endless, and I think there are many civilizations out there, however they are either short lived (in cosmic terms) for any number of reasons, or they moved on from our compatible comms & detection tech.

[@tracymetherell8744]

I agree! Otherwise it would be such a “waste of space”

[@dcanaday]

I guess I can't help but nitpick. If Celine was so far, then the route took by Alex to get to Ganymede via gravitational assist should have taken much longer, since he wasn't using the Epstein Drive, only thrusters. I really liked that scene though.

[@respectfulconversation944]

Well i think the problem with the question "Why do we not see signs of other civilizations" is, that we do not know enough about how alien life would be like or how alien civilizations would be like to extrapolate how they would develop after a billion years. I do not believe that they all died out, but that there is some factor due to their advancement that makes them invisible to us, that we can not conceive. Yet.

[@mikeferris9150]

good episode. what software are you using for solar system models? looks similar to the old Celestia program. love your breakdown of The Expanse. #Cyllene

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Thanks for watching. Using Universe Sandbox 2.

[@ttomkatt1]

#Cyllene Another really great video. I love your work.

[@lowendfish]

#Cyllene Great stuff as always!

[@jimchoate6912]

Everybody is too far apart to find each other right now. We, Ourselves, earthlings have just recently made it the edge of our galaxy taking the shortest route to do so, spending years getting there in the process. We have just started looking maybe they are as well. Distances are massive in space, I'm not surprised "contact" has not been made. Give it a few more decades.

[@marquesdevalera7403]

Also the paradox only discusses technologically advanced civilizations able to broadcast radio waves but it is also possible that many worlds and star systems are populated by possibly countless primitive civilizations that less developed than humanity and thus not sending out signals of their existence. There could be a world hundreds or thousands of light years away that just started broadcasting radio signals a few decades ago, those signals would not have had the travel time required to reach us and might take decades, centuries or millennia to reach Earth, so the question may just take time for an answer to manifest. Also many advanced civilization might exist but they are so far away that artificial signals may become so attenuated that they blend into the natural noise of other things in the universe or perhaps the worlds of origin have moved beyond the visible universe and thus can never be detected as space-time is expanding faster than light.

[@Winner8501]

I don't think the Martians would have that much of a problem with the Sun. Even at half brightness, the sun is still very bright. You can notice that during a partial solar eclipse when you won't even notice any difference until almost the entire solar disc is obscured by the moon. They would experience 2.63 their "natural weight" (I understand the difference between mass, weight, force, etc., but for the sake of simplicity...), which would indeed be very difficult for an untrained civilian. Bones would be brittler and the muscles weaker; breathing shouldn't be that much harder unless lying on the back/belly. But still, with some training and adaptation, Martians could probably handle living on Earth. People from Luna or other large moons, not so much (as they'd experience at least 6 times the gravity they're used to, would be like a 80 kg guy from Earth suddenly weighing nearly half a tonne). What would be interesting to observe is the agoraphobia and uneasiness in open spaces. For people spending a lot of time living under the domes and in spacesuits, the sudden feeling of being "naked" and exposed could indeed be shocking the first time they experienced it. I can't even imagine what their other senses would make of all the earth smells and sounds. The first visit to a real forest would be something for people living in the pretty "sterile" environments of space colonies. I wonder if they'd be at a risk of severe allergies due to the lack of prior exposure to Earth's potential allergens.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

It's hard to say. The sunlight is much more dim for sure, the intensity would likely make a difference I think but I'm not sure. Realistically, they don't spend a lot of time outside and much more time on ships. From the show, light seems pretty similar to Earth so maybe it wouldn't make a difference. If internal lighting is typically dim though, they wouldn't develop the rods and cones to really handle light well. I read a few papers on eye development in low light and it seems to map. Thanks for your thoughts.

[@michaeldavidson1877]

A terribly interesting concept, but I think its misplaced. If the Martians train in 1G, wouldn't they also train against light sensitivity? Practically - if earthers (Earthers?) knew that Martians were light sensitive, it could be used against them. Disorienting light beams, light bursts during combat. Light has been a battle tactic in a few other pieces of fiction - seems like it would also play here - and it seems like the Martians are the type to prepare for it.

[@Winner8501]

I think this is because the scenarios for which the Martians are training involve them wearing full combat armour, including a helmet with a visor which can presumably filter light and protect the wearer's eyesight. Here, they were in their standard dress uniforms, which probably wasn't something they were much prepared for.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Good point.

[@tinamoul]

It sucks that this channel isn't bigger

[@gilde915]

#mytheorie : the initial number might be high but in my understanding its the number in total since the creation of the universe...to get signs/signals we must be in the right "timezone" to get them.The signals might have passed us for example 300 years ago or their traveltime is so high that we might find them in e.g. 500 years cause the source is 2000 light years away.

[@Generalkidd]

Wait you mentioned Eos in your size comparison about places where people live, but I thought people lived on Ceres and Eros, not Eos. Eros would be the 2nd largest asteroid currently known to man, bigger than Ceres I believe. Eos is a mini asteroid like you showed.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

yikes, that's entirely possible. I'll go back and check the sim. I may have grabbed Eos and not Eros. Still struggling with learning the software. If I missed that I'll add an annotation to the video and might add a quick comparison correction in this Monday's show.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

I checked this and have it right. I used Eros and the size is about right. Vesta is the 2nd largest asteroid, followed by Pallas (named in the snow with a station, but I don't think shown). Eros is the 2nd largest near earth asteroid but still only 34km along it's biggest dimension (about 7km in the others). The sim shows doesn't show it's shape correctly (the show does) and it averages the sizes in all dimensions but it's about right from the data I can find.

[@Solaxe]

what? Eros is TINY compared to Ceres

[@artificialgravitas8954]

I googled it: Eros 8km diameter, Ceres 945km. That's not even close.

[@mattbracher4973]

Thank you for an explanation of the Drake Equation. I was amused, though, by the remark that we could check out a good book on the topic. I *don't* have time to do explore a book, but was surprised when you didn't recommend an accessible book. I'm sure life out there can exist, I just expect the number to be almost vanishingly small compared to the number of stars -- and therefore it can still be a sizable number -- due to one small fraction multiplied by another and another. Not zero -- couldn't be zero unless one of the probabilities was -- but can be pretty close and still allow plenty of room for us. Is it misanthropic to wonder why anyone would want to contact us? But that implies intent. Given what could be a small number of civilizations out there, it's very possible (as you stated) that we don't receive radio signals due to a civilization's short use of radio. We've only used it for what fraction of our existence? Question: wouldn't radio signals degrade over immense distances? (Using #MyTheory because you asked us to, but not because I actually have one -- just random thoughts and a question.)

[@LetsDoTheScience]

That's a good point on the book recommendation. I should make that more of a point. I actually read journal articles or such on it rather than a book. Not sure the assertion is that they would want to contact us but more that a side effect of a civilization is signal "leakage" out in to the galaxy. One of the predomonate theories is that general radio broadcasting is something they do for only short periods and they go with direct laser broadcast or some kind of quantum based technology we don't know about. It's all speculation obviously. At the highest level it's basically saying that by what we know we'd expect to see lots of signs. We don't so there's some significant set of discoveries we need to make still one way or another. Matt, true radio signals would degrade. The theory is that advanced civilizations would broadcast at some power and we'd pick up patterns or spikes in the noise if not full radio signals.

[@sallyshipwreck4315]

I think space is big and life bearing planets very far apart. That makes it a question of timing. Until time itself can be taken out as a factor we're stuck talking to ourselves, hoping that the rubric of "intelligent species tend to self-destruct" isn't true.

[@raymondgrose9118]

Interesting the difference in technology between the Expanse & Star Trek given the similar time frames. Expanse is much more plausible.

[@tigre3droyce771]

I Want "Summer Glau" from the series firefly as Clarissa Mao in season 4/5

[@bradtorville5526]

The main problem with discussing space and its relevant science lies with the fact that we nearly always refer to galaxies as if they were the entire universe. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is ridiculously small in comparison to other galaxies out there and while there may be no other life that has been detected so far in our extremely limited examination of our own solar system, we've yet to get an in depth look at even just the rest of our own galaxy, let alone any of the millions of others out there. The "galaxy" is not the sum total of all that's out there. It doesn't even begin to define what lies beyond our tiny solar system. So maybe it might be a good idea to not use "galaxy" so much when trying to explain such theories. That very idea that something would be either zero or many is ludicrous. Based on what? Our limited look at Mars. We have fly-bys of the other planets but no real sensation of what's there because we haven't visited them yet. And even putting that aside for the moment, the idea that our nine planets (Pluto is still a planet, right?) could provide data enough for that theory or "zero or many" is wildly speculative and not really supported by anything scientific.

[@Banedragon]

#mytheory Given the Dyson dilemma, and taking in to account the vastness of both time and space that we are talking about, I think that we have to look at several solutions my thoughts are rare earth (garden world) along with the great filters, in combination and to such a degree that we are looking at the late emergence of technological civilizations like us, but also given the Dyson dilemma if there are any interstellar civilizations out there that there biology would either be so Differant from us that they wouldn't show up in the ir spectrum or there a hider civilization trying not to be noticed, or they've got post-biological and are more concerned with lamdouers limit

[@rollieroulston]

More important regarding the drive, the extreme velocity that the molecules exit the drive at make the exhaust a nasty weapon. Pointing the drive at the surface that close and firing it would be an effective way of wiping everything in its path out, no?

[@LetsDoTheScience]

True. It would probably burn a whole in anything below it and melt a bunch of the surface on Ganymede. The velocity of the exhausted could likely be controlled to a degree. There ar a lot of reasons why that probably isn't fusion exhaust and I wanted to cut to the chase and say it is likely just some other form of propellant, at least for the descent.

[@henrikmikaelkristensen4784]

If there was offshoot technology of the Epstein drive used to mine and landscape the planets, they could pretty quickly make large areas more habitable, like flattening mountainous regions. It seems to be that whatever resources they might be lacking out there in the Belt, it's not energy. That's always bugged me a bit, because belters should have access to plenty of resources, if they have Epstein drives.

[@pepps779]

Well it is not clear if they use the main drive all the way to the surface, so they might just use it as the primary break mechanism and then shift to a more environment friendly system as they get closer to the surface.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

That would seem likely on breaking maneuvers around any structures, particularly with people in them.

[@ReadingDave]

Hiding radio and other signals of civilization might be a survival technique.

[@ZAHKAR]

Regarding landing, maybe they are using aneutronic fusion and or switch to a vasmir drive. Just theorizing.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

That could be, though if I recall correctly the exhaust of a Vasmir Drive is still plasma and ionized particles. Wouldn't that basically melt through the pad? I'm not sure of the level of output though even so and don't have the numbers in front of me. The relative thrust needed would be less obviously because of the lower gravity but the relative weight would likely still be many tons. That's a good theory. Thanks for adding it.

[@ZAHKAR]

Thank you for responding. Vasmir would be hot yes, but no neutron radiation as you would get from neutronic fusion nor as hot as aneutronic reactions. Vasmir on the other hand can run off just hydrogen. Besides, if you have a true space based economy, I would figure that such platforms would use alloys of iridium and or osium. I believe such alloys could take it.

[@pepps779]

Part of the reason for Ceres having a lack of water is its use an export product.

[@LetsDoTheScience]

Makes sense, particularly if it's used as fuel too.

[@MyBen200]

Maybe we are not intelligent enough to interpret those signals? Imagine sending radiowaves to a herd of sheep. #MyTheory

[@georgelionon9050]

The covering of the drake equation is very wrong. It can be *any* number. Also why not 1/100? (one civilisation every 100 galaxies?) Zero or big is a bit... just a statement you throw in there you can't backup.

[@sequoia1171]

I think it is inevitable that there has been life in other galaxies, what we don't know is what life persists now. There may have been intelligent life billions of years ago, and certainly there has been intelligent life before us or that goes back to the assertion that we are the only one, just as unlikely we would be the most intelligent out of whatever intelligent life exists in the nearly infinite universe

[@jasonyesmarc309]

#MyTheory I'm late to the punch, but I heard an idea from my father, which he read in a paper. The idea is that red dwarves have more time to come about the creation of life, as their lifespans are much longer than giants and main sequence stars like our own. Therefore, our civilization may be early, and the true golden age of life in the galaxy may be much later, after a large chunk of the red dwarves have had their chances of developing life.

[@markhaus]

That depends on the magnetic field produced by the red dwarf planets in question. Red Dwarves produce bursts of radiation in the UV+ range but would be easier on the magnetic field of planet as a whole than a solar flare of the likes of our sun. If a red dwarf planet has even half of the magnetic field the earth has for at least a billion years then I don't think it inconceivable for life. There are after all an order of magnitude more red dwarf systems than our own kind.

[@milolll]

Forget about the galaxy, so many species on earth, why only one communicable civilization exist?

[@hokiturmix]

Somnambulist read as Somebullshit and you don't even need click bait. :D

[@NicholasSibille]

#MyTheory 1) Our biome and culture are more interesting as a study subject than interacting with us ever would be, therefore any and all extra-solar civilizations go out of their way to cover their tracks. 2) We can’t pick up any radio signals because with forward knowledge of where these signals would reach us from, either one of many of these galactic civilizations place something like a starshade (a giant coronograph, as seen on PBS SpaceTime episode on future telescopes) blotting out any signal and even the existence of said star system. 3) The galactic mass paradox would partially be explained by this (since there are actually many more stars than those we can see), and also by the fact that many of these civilizations are using Alcubierre Drives to achieve superluminal speeds; the combined effect of thousands -or millions- of these drives are increasing the gravitational well of the whole galaxy. There may not be any dark matter after all, just warped space and hidden stars.

[@ajdembroski7529]

Once is never. Twice is always.

[@Borealis-Rainbow]

#MyTheory Very late one. I believe intelligent life is possible but also that the Great Filter exist but it isn't a "solid impossible barrier". I would argue that there are several barriers all the way from basic molecules to even our society today, just because one world develops molecules might mean that another one does but the molecules get killed off. Like this every step of this ladder gets smaller and smaller, considering some theories that life might be kinda young in the galaxy this might mean that no species has passed the barrier ahead of us yet or some have and started to explore the Universe but are just at the infant stages checking out their bordering star systems. Or it might mean that these civilizations use lightwaves or other form of communications that isn't readable and with civilizations being young it might mean that their old radio signals haven't reached us or were distorted enough to never arrive.

[@misterkite]

#mytheory we're first. Someone has to be first, why not us? Yes the odds say we're likely not first, but all evidence shows us that we are.

[@changye9604]

I mean, all science fiction has that ancient race that seeded life throughout the whole galaxy. What if, we are that race that was the first.

[@blipzero]

well other stars are bing forced away fomr each other and also galaxies as well so thy might be just to far away from us .

[@blipzero]

is nuclear ways to heat up water gases evaporate they will be used as fuel or maybe by gases evaporate they will be used as fuel so you have air for the crew also also water for them and also the gases evaporate they will be used as fuel and also gases evaporate also the electrolysis effect .... there is also an idea of toxic waste encased in glass.

[@codedlogic]

#MyTheory - The prime directive.

[@MusikCassette]

you got the Fermi Parradox wrong.

[@pioneer_1148]

#other alien civilisations could have some sought of protocol forbidding them from contacting civilisations below a certain tech level such as in Star trek

[@haru-vz5dn]

#mytheory Could there be some kind of scientific death trap? Some basic, simple scientific experiment that looks safe from current knowledge but will have a disastrous side effect? E.g. if the first nuclear explosion, through complicated quantum effects, would have created a black hole? We'd be dead by now without even knowing why.

[@jerrybolt3241]

#Cyllene

[@johncampbell4389]

It has disturbed me - more than once - the show seems to ignore the Kzinti Lesson w/r/t the Epstein Drive.

[@kchstudiophx9843]

Because of a massless particle like light or neutrinos or maybe a discovery of tachyon, the radiation may be extremely low and the speed might be extremely fast. Use of hydrogen also might be the fuel and then a Quantum plasma just a guess but I think Epstein drives could be feasible. And, I did watch all of your videos, thank you . -Kase

[@Irgendjemand1986]

Fermi paradox: Dark Forest.

[@AVBruggen]

#mytheory First, I'll limit the scope of the problem to only "technical limitations", such as size, signal strength, and time, because otherwise I can go on and on about how different alien life can be and other theories like Dark Forest. The topic is just too massive and the only limit to potential "solutions" here is your imagination. Most likely, it has been mentioned already a bunch of times, but I think that 3 primary factors are sheer size of the galaxy, radio signals getting weak and hard to pick up at a couple of dozen light years away, while the galaxy itself is ~100,000 light years in diameter, and we just might be too far apart from each other not just in space, but in time as well. About size. As Dr. Iturbi said, the time we've been broadcasting radio signals is tiny compared to the time it takes radio waves to traverse even a thousand light years, which is just about 1.3% of the distance between Sol system and the farthest edge of Milky Way. Wondering why no one is answering our signals is like walking into a kitchen inside your house and taking the absense of other people there as a sign of absense of them in the entire city. Radio signals getting too weak to detect even with our biggest radio telescopes over large distances may also be a reason, especially if we live in not a very populated region of space. Nearest civilization able to detect our signals may be 1,000 or 5,000 light years away, which means we won't get a reply within 2,000 or 10,000 years, respectively. Not to mention the fact that the more powerful a signal is, the more directed it is, meaning that you can only broadcast a very weak signal that fades into the background noise very quickly, but to reach farther away it would have to be directed at a specific tiny region of sky, further minimizing the chance of it getting intercepted. As for the time, homo sapiens has been around for about 50,000 years with known history stretching back only about 4,000 years into the past and radio invented just about 120 years ago, which is just a blip on cosmic scale, making it statistically extremely unlikely for even 2 civilizations to happen to coexist and be on the same level of development, let alone more. If they're just 10,000 years ahead of us (which is still nothing on cosmic scale), they may be straight up terrifying and inconceivable to us. And what about 100,000 or a million years difference? Overall, at our level of technology humanity reminds of a tribe living on an isolated island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific and trying to contact the rest of the world by building a huge drum that can be heard from other continents, while having no idea that the rest of the world has been using radio for a long time and never thought of someone actually trying to use sound for communication.

[@glenmassey3746]

As far as not detecting radio or tv signals, look a what the Voyager probes found in the heliopase at the edge of our system a dense radiological soup that could interfere with anysignal. The WOW signal was picked because of one of biggest satellite dishes which meant it may have been a large signal to start with. If you look at digital signals, they need a converter to make that signal readable on a device as for older signals any race would have to have the same technology level to receive it, so the window is very narrow. As for contact there maybe at least three reasons our system maybe a hazard to navigate, they maybe doing an evaluation of our cultures and may not wish to communicate yet, and may have been here studying us like we study primitive man. In any case we are on our own, until they chose introduce themselves, which won't likely happen in the foreseeable future.

[@concernedcanadian6683]

Are these fictitious god(s) from earth or they alien?? #MyTheory #Cyllene

[@moanawalters945]

I want to bye the movies of the Expanse. Where can I do this? Please help.

[@xBINARYGODx]

Some of your script towards the beginning is problematic - as the every human in the system is used to sea-level pressures (or thereabouts) for an atmosphere. Gravity and brightness is really the only thing people would have to contend with (and difference aerodynamics). Although I imagine many non-Earthlings are you to brightness similar enough (but of course, that's not the same as being outside on a full-sunny day around local noon.

[@dcanaday]

One third is not an order of magnitude.

[@cbro_]

It is in base 3

[@ShrekWallBee]

#MyTheory "Well my theory is that logicly we cant be alone in the universe that there must be other races out there and weather or not they are more or less technically advanced than us and what theses races look like is meer specualtion at this point. And to why theses races have not made contact with us yet is maybe because they are waiting for us to grow up a bit to put ower petty diffrences aside and to work together to explore the galaxy as like in Startrek.

[@kchstudiophx9843]

Thank you, a very good Channel I've never watched the expanse but now I think I will be the science of it just seen someone possible with the Epstein Drive low radiation might be because the

[@Willaev]

Okay, if you're going to talk about "Science" never mention "The Fermi Paradox" or "The Great Filter" as "theories". At best they're hypothesis'. The Fermi Paradox isn't even a real paradox, it's a mistake.

[@autopartsmonkey7992]

#mytheory i think life is common,,,but space faring civilizations are uber rare. think about us..currently we have only a few countries,,,barely doing any space travel. and anytime it could end. most civilizations would probably see no need to try to colonize space. giant waste of resources.

[@pathologicboy4559]

Intelligence is mal-adaptive. #MyTheory Why assume cultures/species will expand? Likely turning themselves into constructs of some kind, machine intelligence can create virtual environments far superior to the real thing, and less risky.

[@saquist]

An order of magnitude is 1000 x. Kilo to Mega is and order of a thousand Mega to Giga is and order of a thousand Giga to Tera is an order of a thousand Tera to Peta is an order of a thousand Kilo to Peta is 4 orders of magnitutde

[@dXXPacmanXXb]

The first 50 seconds are unnecessary

[@OmarAngola]

#Cyllene

[@alexflores7652]

#Cyllene