Breanna Robinson
Jun 27, 2022
Video
Scientists are already preparing a "black box" for the end of the world.
What does that mean exactly?
Well, if humanity were to collapse, researchers decided that building a gigantic, impenetrable box set to record scientific data to help future civilisations gain insight into how humankind fell is the best way to do it.
Called Earth's Black Box, it will be a massive metal block that will be built in a secluded area of Tasmania.
It is comparable to black boxes built to withstand airline crashes and give investigators crucial information on what prompted the disaster but on the scale of planets.
The researchers for the project hail from the University of Tasmania, marketing agency Clemenger BBDO, and creative agency The Glue Society.
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The group is designing the box to record climate data for things such as atmospheric CO2 levels, energy consumption levels and sea temperatures.
It can also get information such as social media posts and news headlines.
In conversation with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Jim Curtis, the executive creative director at Clemenger BBDO, said that the recording device will remain present for whoever is around to "learn from that."
The box will be crafted from three-inch-thick steel and extended off granite.
Inside the box will be internet-connected storage drives that are powered by solar panels on the box's roof.
Jonathan Kneebone, the co-founder of the Glue Society, told ABC that the box is "built to outlive us all."
"If the worst does happen, just because the power grids go down, this thing will still be there."
The largest issue for the team currently is how to help future civilisations get the information it holds.
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