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re: Is there anything cooler than a neutron star in interstellar space?
Posted on 7/11/16 at 4:52 pm to sunseeker
Posted on 7/11/16 at 4:52 pm to sunseeker
Yes. The inflationary epoch, according to Alan Guth, occurred just after the Big Bang and was very brief.
Guth says these are the characteristics of the epoch:
*Extremely small portion of Universe ballooned outward in all directions at speeds much greater than the speed of light
*Becomes many billions of times its original size to become the visible Universe of today
*Inflated portion pushed much of the material that was originally near our location far beyond its boundaries
*Because the inflated portion was so small, its properties, such as temperature, were extremely homogeneous accounting for the homogeneity of the observable Universe
*Because the observable Universe is a tiny fraction of the entire Universe, it appears very flat, just as a football field can appear quite flat while actually being part of the curved surface of the earth
Though he says the epoch ended almost as quickly as it began, I have a hard time reconciling that with the observations of spacetime. We know that the further an object is from us, the faster it is receding from our view.
Therefore, objects far enough from us are receding faster than the speed of light. That means that spacetime is still expanding. The Dark Force is credited with this expansion so Guth's Inflation Theory seems to be saying that the inflationary epoch was caused by a different mechanism.
Guth says these are the characteristics of the epoch:
*Extremely small portion of Universe ballooned outward in all directions at speeds much greater than the speed of light
*Becomes many billions of times its original size to become the visible Universe of today
*Inflated portion pushed much of the material that was originally near our location far beyond its boundaries
*Because the inflated portion was so small, its properties, such as temperature, were extremely homogeneous accounting for the homogeneity of the observable Universe
*Because the observable Universe is a tiny fraction of the entire Universe, it appears very flat, just as a football field can appear quite flat while actually being part of the curved surface of the earth
Though he says the epoch ended almost as quickly as it began, I have a hard time reconciling that with the observations of spacetime. We know that the further an object is from us, the faster it is receding from our view.
Therefore, objects far enough from us are receding faster than the speed of light. That means that spacetime is still expanding. The Dark Force is credited with this expansion so Guth's Inflation Theory seems to be saying that the inflationary epoch was caused by a different mechanism.
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Posted on 7/11/16 at 5:43 pm to Kentucker
Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about inflationary theory.
Posted on 7/11/16 at 9:15 pm to sunseeker
Well, MIT's Alan Guth is a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Physics for the theory so he must be on to something. Trouble is, very few people understand it well enough to expound upon it for the masses.
With the discovery of gravitational waves, cosmic inflation is confirmed so I imagine many more physicists will take up the field. Also, Guth should be receiving his well-deserved Nobel soon.
His mathematical discovery and its gravity waves confirmation has made the Big Bang Theory very solid. It's very difficult to argue that the Universe began in some other way.
In fact, it's so logical that many physicists are theorizing beyond it and are proposing an "M Theory" that views the Universe as just one of an uncountable number making up a Multiverse.
No one knows the origin of the term M Theory. It's one of the weird aspects of being a research physicist. It just happened. I suspect Edward Witten, the smartest living theoretical physicist, originated it because he laughs every time he talks about it.
With the discovery of gravitational waves, cosmic inflation is confirmed so I imagine many more physicists will take up the field. Also, Guth should be receiving his well-deserved Nobel soon.
His mathematical discovery and its gravity waves confirmation has made the Big Bang Theory very solid. It's very difficult to argue that the Universe began in some other way.
In fact, it's so logical that many physicists are theorizing beyond it and are proposing an "M Theory" that views the Universe as just one of an uncountable number making up a Multiverse.
No one knows the origin of the term M Theory. It's one of the weird aspects of being a research physicist. It just happened. I suspect Edward Witten, the smartest living theoretical physicist, originated it because he laughs every time he talks about it.
Posted on 7/11/16 at 9:46 pm to Kentucker
The big bang happened. Or there absolutely was a singularity and then bang. There is speculation about what caused the bang however. I have been doing some reading on intelligent design and it raises some interesting ideas at least.
Posted on 7/11/16 at 10:05 pm to sunseeker
Also, I don't understand why anyone would not be totally stoked about physics and astronomy. I've read 14 books over the last year and wish I had been smart enough at math to pursue a career in the field. Awesome stuff.
Posted on 7/11/16 at 10:39 pm to sunseeker
quote:
There is speculation about what caused the bang however.
M Theory addresses what caused the Big Bang. It describes membranes, shortened to branes, upon which universes exist. These branes undulate. When two branes bumped together, the energy released caused the Big Bang, forming our Universe.
At least that's how a few theorists see it and they have the math to back them up. Math by itself, however, counts only as a proof of concept. Observation, whether direct or indirect is the only acceptable proof of existence.
quote:
I have been doing some reading on intelligent design and it raises some interesting ideas at least.
Intelligent Design can be summarized as follows, "Existence is so complex as to be impossible by random occurrences. Therefore, an intelligence must be guiding creation."
There are two major fallacies that negate any credibility for Intelligent Design as a scientific discipline. First, complexity is a natural result of chemical chain reactions. Life is the most complex product of these reactions that we currently are aware of.
Second, what created the intelligence that creates complexity? Intelligent Design, like religion, attempts to mark a beginning point for all existence via an illogical creator.
Posted on 7/11/16 at 10:54 pm to sunseeker
quote:
Also, I don't understand why anyone would not be totally stoked about physics and astronomy.
I'm glad you're enjoying the amazing discoveries that seem to be coming faster and faster in these fields. There are many ambassadors of science who try to engage the lay public.
Some of my favorites are Brian Greene, Brian Cox, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye. There are many others that do a wonderful job of explaining scientific discoveries in common terminology and analogies that we can understand. Carl Sagan was my all-time favorite.
quote:
I've read 14 books over the last year and wish I had been smart enough at math to pursue a career in the field. Awesome stuff.
Don't worry about the math. Even Einstein had his difficulties with it. His great talent was having the ability to do thought experiments.
That's what has made Stephen Hawking a great physicist, too. His math is far better than was Einstein's but it's his thought experiments that have given mankind so much knowledge about black holes.
Posted on 7/12/16 at 5:31 am to Kentucker
A theory for everything, a book by Stephen Hawking really gives a good understanding of M theory and branes. There is obviously no way to ever test the theory or no way to begin anytime in our lifetime but it's very interesting. It would explain a lot of paradoxical extremes thought to exist inside a black hole.
Posted on 7/12/16 at 5:42 am to Kentucker
Yeah I greatly respect what every one of those guys have given to the scientific community. Some of my favorites as well. Sagan was a big influence on my fascination with how the Universe works. I spent a lot of time reading his wisdom when I was young.
Hawking really has given us a much bigger understanding of black holes and I can't wait for our earth size telescope to reveal our monster in the center of the milky way.
Hawking really has given us a much bigger understanding of black holes and I can't wait for our earth size telescope to reveal our monster in the center of the milky way.
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