The Fermi Paradox

EnricoFermi
Enrico Fermi

Have you ever sat around and wondered, where are all the aliens? Well, you certainly aren’t the only one. In 1950, Enrico Fermi came to the realization that “any civilization with a modest amount of rocket technology and an immodest amount of imperial incentive could rapidly colonize the entire galaxy” according to SETI.  His theory, known as the Fermi Paradox, has four main points. The first is that the Sun is relatively normal, typical star and there are approximately 200-400 billion stars in the Milky Way, along with 70 sextillion stars in the observable universe, many of which are way older than Earth. The second point is that there is a high probability that some of these stars will have Earth-like planets, and some might develop intelligent life, if one thinks Earth to be a typical planet. The third point is that some of these intelligent civilizations, have they been around long enough, might develop interstellar travel, which we are working on now. The fourth and final point is that even at a slow interstellar travel space, the Milky Way Galaxy could be traversed in about a million years, which is a small fraction of the Universe’s 14 billion year old life.

This all leads back to the question of where are they? According to this theory, we should’ve already been contacted by or have some proof of aliens. Hmm.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.