The COSETI Observatory
The LOGO for the Columbus Optical SETI Observatory.
- Indicates that hf >> kT, i.e., the energy in an optical photon is much greater than thermal energy.
- h = Planck’s constant,
- f = frequency,
- k = Boltzmann’s constant,
- T = temperature.
-
- For this reason, optical receivers are much noisier than their microwave counterparts - but that is only part of the story. Read on to find out why this doesn’t really matter.
|
