Introduction:

Since the first day the radio was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895, we always thought that the signals we are sending to space one day would reach someone and they reply to our broadcast. We have seen in the movies and documentaries and read it in books that we are able to send radio signals to space and hoping one day they reach a planet in a far distance. Still thousands of people across the world broadcast special signals into the space and scan thousands of channels everyday hoping to receive something. But, now I can strongly state that because of a Wave-Shift in signals we NEVER have and we NEVER will be able to receive or send even a single signal EVER (a signal of any kind that is understandable or transformable to a form that they can understand it, like turning radio signals into audio). Not even a "beep"(!). Distortions, yes, but not a signal that has been transmitted and received as whole.

Millions of dollars are spent on research every year in most countries around the world trying to receive something from the deep space on their radio receivers without a success. Still we can hear the scientists speaking of radio signals are sent into space for past 70 or 100 years and the signals have traveled a fare bit of long distance and maybe one day someone on a different planet would receive these signals and return a reply. We still hear about SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) and NASA that are scanning thousands of radio channels everyday to see if they can receive anything. SETI has even developed a screen saver that allows users to receive some of these data in a row format, process them and send them back to their site. The signals do reach a destination, but after a considerable time of travel they tend not to be the same signal was generated in the first place. The signal has a new shape and is not the same as we always believed.

The changes to the signals have nothing to do with the condition of signal generator and how powerful it is. Space noise and presence of other signals in the space have nothing to do with the changes to the signal. In normal condition of transmission (i.e. a stationary transmitter) as signal travels a long distance it loses strength and weakens, in the long run it would loss power and eventually disappear, but what is discussed here is the condition that the transmitter is located on a rotating planet (i.e. the earth) and there are no actions taken to reduce this effect. Scientists believe radio signals are generated by planets that do interfere with our transmissions, this is correct but signals have already changed their shape because of the way we transmit them into space. I explain it why they never have and never will be able to get something out of transmitting signals to other intelligent life or listening to them.

What is a "Wave-Shift"?

If a planet is rotating on its axis it will shift whatever is sent out of the planet, such as light or radio signals. This shift is so small that no one has ever bothered to calculate it, and because we always wanted to communicate with a relatively shorter distance (mostly within our own solar system) we actually never experienced this phenomena. The waves or signals start to shift immediately after they leave the transmitter (assuming this transmission is sent directly into space from a dish antenna facing the sky on a 90° angle), but because this shift is so small, it never had any effect on our communications. This shift starts to have a major effect after leaving our solar system.

For example if we are sending a signal to the length of one second from Sydney to PLUTO the last planet in our solar system which is only 5.6 hours (approx.) away by radio signals, the Wave-Shift at this distance is only 110* meters. This shift is not enough to stop the receiver from receiving this signal as the signal's width would compensate the shift. (See the "Shared areas of shifted signal")

 

In recent times we saw contacts were lost with Pioneer 10 only 12 hours (half a light day) away from the Earth. If steps taken and corrections are made to the conditions of transmission we would be able to resume communications with the satellite. Although scientist believe with the only 28 watts of power Pioneer 10 has no signal strength to communicate with earth; but the real problem lies with the way that the signal travels, not the power of transmitter nor the space noise. Of course the more powerful the transmitter is the longer the signal travels and easier to detect, but the first to consider is the condition of transmitter and the rate of its rotation and movement on daily basis. In long distance communications the space noise and signal strength are important factors in transmission of data, but the primary concern is the Wave-Shift. To read more about how communications can be resumed with Pioneer 10 click here.

 

The responsibility of tracking Pioneer 10 is with Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex located in Canberra, Australia. As Canberra is located on 36° latitude, by referring to the formula the beginning and the end of every one second signals are 223* meters apart. In order to enable us to communicate with Pioneer 10, these signals should be almost on the same line and be around 0 meters apart. For example if we are going to transmit a minute of data to this satellite, the beginning of the transmission would be 13,350 meters apart with the end of the transmission. 13.3km distance in signal is grater than what the satellite can handle. By the time the transmission is over the satellite is simply not there to receive the completion of the signal.

 

A "Wave-Shift" is when the end of a wave length has a distance from the beginning of the same signal on the same line. This distance must be zero or close to zero to enable us to receive it and understand it or translate it. When we transmit a signal the beginning and the end of the signal are on the same line and the distance between them is zero, but after traveling a long distance into the space this distance appears to be moved from zero and grows more as it travels farther from the transmitter. (Click to enlarge). The farther the signal travels, the grater the shift is. Eventually the signal would travel in a form that would seem almost sideways rather than straight line.

 

 

 

It does not mean we cannot receive a signal when it is shifted. We are still able to receive it but we can't translate it or turn it into an audible format. If you have a good radio receiver with LW (Long Wave) band, you can receive some of these "shifted signals" in a form of distortions. These distortions sound like an electric motor running close to a radio, but far from each other. Electric motor creates much closer and jammed signals than a shifted signal. To see the 24 hours version click here.

*Ask for details of these figures or see the formula.