ALIENS are trying to contact us, but their efforts are a colossal waste of time and space, scientists fear.
They say that extra-terrestrials can beam us messages in particles of light — and the perilous interstellar journey turns them into cosmic claptrap.
A new report states intelligent aliens are most likely to use “quantum communication” to send news from thousands of light years away.
Messages are transmitted via tiny sub-atomic particles — which are so delicate they could be destroyed by the time they reach us.
Scientists say they would not only struggle to understand any alien news — but they would not even know if it came from them at all.
The “quantum gibberish” theory could also be true in reverse — dashing hopes of E.T. ever phoning home.
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Prof Arjun Berera, a theoretical physicist at Edinburgh University, said: “In principle, it should be possible to detect a quantum signal coming from an astrophysical body or even an intelligent signal from an extra- terrestrial civilisation.”
But he added: “Quantum states you think of as very delicate, and if there’s any kind of external interaction, you destroy that state.”
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However, there was some hope that any little green men out there will eventually become less misunderstood.
The report, published in Physical Review, said new technology is being developed so scientists can look for quantum messages.
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E.T. fanatic Spencer Yardley, 45, of St Albans, Herts, said: “I feel very sure I’ll meet an alien lifeform during my time on Earth.
“I just hope they are friendly and they don’t arrive blasting lasers at us.”
