posted on Mar, 12 2011 @ 04:33 AM
I wouldn't go as far as to aim lasers upwards, because you don't want to unintentionally zing somebody in the eye when they're flying an
aircraft.
A bright, but short of blinding light is what is needed. Thus an array of LEDs might be interesting. Combined with some kind of directional radio
emitter with a wider and broader reach, it may be more interesting.
I was thinking of something that counts a repeating upward sequence in binary and uses the colors of the spectrum and a stepped range of frequencies
as base-2 placeholders would provide a fairly unique signal. It says something about mathematics, but doesn't quite tend to blend in with normal
communications between each other on this planet. So if you can get something like 1m wide panel arrays of LEDs for ROYGBIV (possibly IR and UV too)
and then upward pointed "cantenna" emitters also pulsing in a similar harmonic frequency stepped pattern as compared to the colors - but in radio...
(I wouldn't be so interested in a narrow beam for the radio, but since so many other things use it - such a rig may interfere with other things and
attract unwanted non-alien attention. Thus the can-style reflectors for a narrow upward beam.)
And then you count in binary with red being 2^0, orange being 2^1, yellow being 2^2, etc... The values proceed in the same order that the spectrum
frequencies do.
I can't honestly say that it would work, but just a scheme that I'd roll with. That old Close Encounters movie seems to be sort of close... But this
is a less musical and showy and more mathematical variation of that. But since it's just counting, it's much more basic than Pi or the Fibonacci
Sequence - but since it's binary - nature doesn't do that either. It's definitely an artificial signal meant to get attention. (Now if somebody
shows interest or starts trying to copy or reply to the signal, then I'd breakout from the repeat count and try some other mathematical numbers or
various proofs that can be represented by various simple operations.)
Of course most people will settle for blinking a basic ol' flashlight around at the night sky. I suppose that's still better than nothing. And with
LEDs the modern flashlights last much longer than the ones I used to do that with as a kid.