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I've a different idea. Rather than try to recover old photons that left earth long ago, can recover and collate the remnants of these photons. This might be pos
by intrasight 12y ago
I've a different idea. Rather than try to recover old photons that left earth long ago, can recover and collate the remnants of these photons. This might be possible if these photons left a holographic imprint on matter which is still present – buildings, old trees, rock formations. I envision that in the future there will be a field of "photonic archaeology" where scientists will reconstruct past images from these trace holographic signatures. Same thing could theoretically be done for acoustics.
- davmre 12y agoGodel Escher Bach has a chapter riffing on the acoustics version of this idea: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/jvt002/BrainMind/Readings/Prelude.pdf http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/jvt002/BrainMind/Readings/P.... Though the discussion there is about recovering sound waves that are still propagating in the air, which seems orders of magnitude more difficult than recovering sound from impressions on solid objects (which already feels likely impossible in most interesting cases).
- adamio 12y agoReminds me of this http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/algorithm-recovers-speech-from-vibrations-0804 http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/algorithm-recovers-speech-fro...
- pdonis 12y ago> This might be possible if these photons left a holographic imprint on matter which is still present How would that happen? Holographic imprints aren't left on just any old material; you need special film to make a hologram.
- dubya 12y agoThere was an X-Files episode with this idea. Something Jesus said ("Talitha cumi") was recorded in a piece of pottery.