Alien Physiology, Convergent Evolution, and f c Recap N = N * f s f - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Alien Physiology, Convergent Evolution, and fc

N = N* fs fGHZ fp nH fl fJ fƒfEufm fi fc L/T

• N* = 4 x 1011
• fs = 0.2
• fGHZ = 0.002
• fp = 1.0
• nH = 2
• fl = 1.0
• fJ = 0.5
• fƒ = 0.01
• fEu = 0.1
• fm = 0.1
• fi = 0.3

N = 4.8 x 103

Recap

Necessities of Life

• Energy

– What does it eat? – How does it eat?

• Reproduction
• Senses

– What senses are important? – Communication

• Motility

• Evolutionarily useful traits evolve among unrelated animals.
• Manipulative organs:
• Primate hands
• Bird beaks
• Elephant trunks
• Cephalopod tentacles
• The eye has evolved >65 times, with 10 different designs.
• The mammalian eye evolved from brain tissue.
• The cephalopod eye evolved from skin tissue.

Convergent Evolution

Will Intelligent Aliens be Humanoids?

What might a Martian look like?

Let’s build an alien…

If we expect to make contact and communicate, (unless we can travel to their planet), they must have communications technology (e.g., radio) fc is fraction of intelligent creatures that develop communications technology

Technology

Intelligence and Technology

Must intelligent creatures develop technology? Can you generate technology without manipulative organs (e.g., hands)?

Technology and Culture

• Must intelligent life form societies, and have cultures?
• Some insects are social, and keep farms.
• Many mammals, and most primates, are social.
• Is a society required for the development of

technology?

• Some primates and birds use tools.

N = N* fs fGHZ fp nH fl fJ fƒfEufmfifc L/T

• N* = 4 x 1011
• fs = 0.2
• fGHZ = 0.002
• fp = 1.0
• nH = 2
• fl = 1.0
• fJ = 0.5
• fƒ = 0.01
• fEu = 0.1
• fm = 0.1
• fi=0.3
• fc=0.1

N = 480

N update