Drake equation


Drake equation

[′drāk i‚kwā·zhən] (astronomy) An equation which gives the number of advanced technological civilizations curently active in the Galaxy as the product of the rate at which new stars are born in the Galaxy, the probability (actually a product of probabilities) that any one of these stars will possess the necessary conditions for life to originate and to slowly evolve to a technological civilization, and the average longevity of such civilizations.