3 ms·
I _think_ even just seeing Oxygen (in O2 form) should be fairly suggestive, because it's not stable in the presence of a whole bunch of other things.
by kadoban 5y ago
I _think_ even just seeing Oxygen (in O2 form) should be fairly suggestive, because it's not stable in the presence of a whole bunch of other things.
- perihelions 5y agoAnd the CFC's would be definitive proof. https://arxiv.org/abs/1406.3025 https://arxiv.org/abs/1406.3025
- RosanaAnaDana 5y agoYeah, but you might not be looking for those specifically. Oxygen however. Just the fact that our atmosphere is as far out of equilibrium as it is.
- nawgz 5y agoI wasn’t clear at all, but I certainly agree it would be clear life was on earth from such data. I am less clear how much about our society you could meaningfully conclude from it is all, but perhaps it’d be clear from our pollution exactly what we’re manufacturing/burning
- dotancohen 5y agoUnless the observers' planet also had ancient, non-renewable carbon deposits (which required very specific conditions) then atmospheric pollution might not even be a concept to them. They might notice a change in our atmosphere's composition, but honestly a 200 ppm to 400 ppm change of some trace gas over the course of two hundred years could have many much simpler explanations than "intelligent life dug up all the carbon and burned it".
- BBC-vs-neolibs 5y agoHaha, yes, talk about Occams razor! :-D