How Does the Hive Mind Work in ‘Pluribus?

You cognize what’s large astir a amusement similar Pluribus? It’s that we don’t truly cognize what’s going on, truthful we get to speculate. Just similar existent life! In lawsuit you haven’t seen this show, which conscionable finished its archetypal season, here’s a speedy recap:

A vigor transmission arrives from a satellite 600 airy years away, and the connection turns retired to beryllium RNA codification for an alien virus. Some fool synthesizes it, and it infects astir everyone connected Earth, causing them to enactment arsenic 1 entity—a hive caput with communal goals, values, knowledge, everything. The show’s rubric comes from the aged US motto “E pluribus unum”—out of many, one.

Only 13 radical stay immune, including Carol Sturka, an ornery romance novelist who’s intent connected keeping her individuality, against each efforts by the corporate to sorb her. We don’t cognize for definite however the hive caput works, but it seems that the plurbs (the infected people) commune with each different unconsciously done vigor waves. Talk to 1 of them and you speech to each of them.

It has advantages. For instance, there’s nary request to retrieve telephone numbers. You tin telephone immoderate fig and the aforesaid “person” answers. The downside is that they’re not truly a person.

Anyway, if the vigor mentation is correct, however mightiness this corporate consciousness run from a physics standpoint? Let’s investigate!

What’s a Radio Wave and How Do You Make It?

In lawsuit you forgot (or ne'er knew), we utilized to perceive to euphony connected devices called radios. There were 2 types of stations: AM vigor with broadcast frequencies from 535 to 1,700 kilohertz (kHZ) and FM vigor from 88 to 108 megahertz (MHz).

Now, vigor waves are electromagnetic (EM) waves. That means they dwell of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields. In different words, they’re a benignant of light, on with disposable light, infrared, microwaves, x-rays, and truthful on, which disagree lone successful frequence and wavelength. Radio waves are connected 1 extremity of the EM spectrum, with the lowest frequencies and longest wavelengths. That makes them perfect for long-range communication.

Fine. But however bash you marque a vigor wave? Since EM waves usage changing electrical fields, you tin induce a question by accelerating an electrical charge. The vigor presumption that you nary longer perceive to has a precise ample electrical ligament called an antenna. Electric existent goes up and down the ligament accelerating electrons. There’s your vigor wave.

But tin a quality assemblage bash this? Well … maybe? Our tense systems are fundamentally electrical circuits, though the “current” consists of charged ions, not electrons. Maybe the alien civilization figured retired however to harness this.

How Far Can the Plurbs Communicate?

So if we’re right, each erstwhile quality is present fundamentally a vigor transmitter and receiver. One plurb sends retired a awesome that is detected by others, who walk it connected to others, etc. It sounds similar immoderate benignant of decentralized mesh network. But however acold tin 1 plurb transmit?

First, let’s estimation the full powerfulness output of the transmission—the magnitude of vigor radiated per second. A person’s metabolic strategy produces astir 80 watts of powerfulness astatine rest, and this is utilized for basal functions similar breathing, pumping blood, digesting food, and truthful on. For a plurb, let’s accidental 10 percent of it goes into vigor transmission, truthful that’s 8 watts.

Let’s besides presume that plurbs are “isotropic” transmitters, meaning they emit vigor successful each directions equally, similar successful the aged RKO Radio Pictures logo. As it radiates outward, that powerfulness is dispersed implicit an expanding sphere. Total powerfulness remains the aforesaid arsenic astatine the root (P₀), but the powerfulness per area, which we telephone intensity (I), declines. That means the powerfulness of a awesome declines with region (r). Knowing the aboveground country of a sphere, we tin easy cipher intensity: