There’s a possibility that we could suddenly be wiped out of existence without any caution by an advanced alien civilization. But that’s only if a science experiment goes wrong. As per a former Harvard astronomy chair Avi Loeb, a huge and advanced particle accelerator could generate a dark energy explosion that can burn down everything in the galaxy in milliseconds.
Interstellar diplomacy needed
Loeb wrote this theory in a new Scientific American op-ed. He says that if humans want to survive this apocalypse, they will have to engage in some interstellar diplomacy as soon as possible.
“One way to avoid a cosmic catastrophe of this type is to establish an interstellar treaty, similar to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed first in 1963 by the governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States,” Loeb wrote.
This may not be a pressing concern at the moment, since there’s no sign of extraterrestrial life in any form until now. What’s more unlikely is a highly advanced alien civilization capable of building such a device. So thinking about making a diplomatic pact with one such civilization is farfetched.
Could be apocalyptic
Loeb also mentions an explosion caused by this theoretical particle accelerator should need to bigger than the size of our entire solar system. But if this hypothetical device ever comes to life, it could energize a “soap bubble” of dark energy and destroy everything in its way.
“Would such a heat wave be a reason for concern?” Loeb wrote. “The bad news is that we would not receive any advance warning before this cosmic disaster hit us in the face because no precursor signal can move faster than light to alert us to the risk.”
“But perhaps this is also good news,” he added, “since it implies that any resulting devastation would occur instantly and be as surprising as the Chicxulub impactor was for the dinosaurs. We would never know what hit us.”
Previously, Michio Kaku, a theoretical physics professor at City College of New York, warned humans about trying to contact aliens. “I think it’s a terrible idea,” Kaku said.
