Stop the universe, it's leaving us behind (faster-than-light expansion)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 3/21/02 | Richard Macey

[Henchster]

"Expansion of the Universe."

Now, only an over-funded scientist could come up with a silly statement like that, if it's infinite, it can't "expand," and if it's expanding, what is it expanding into?

[linear]

Cool.

There are so many questions about this, if you think about it in terms of Relativity.

[longshadow]

accelerating Cosmological expansion bttt

[Lokibob]

If you are in a space ship traveling at the speed of light and you turn on the headlights, what happens?

[skateman]

"Damn it Scottie, I said expound on the universe, not expand it."

[concerned about politics]

"There will be signs in the Sun, the moon, and the stars...."

BTW, scientists say the Sun is cooling, so how can the Globe be warming?

[Eternal_Bear]

maybe our universe will run into another another universe? Anyway, we have billions of years to worry about this problem.

[RadioAstronomer]

The best model we have to date for the universe is that it started with the Big Bang and has been expanding ever since. Time itself also started with the Big Bang so there is no "before" the Big Bang.

[CT]

"If you are in a space ship traveling at the speed of light and you turn on the headlights, what happens?

Well, if you were at the speed of the Universe's expansion, they would become tail lights!

[week 71]

"eventually the universe will accelerate so rapidly the more distant galaxies we can see today will move away faster than the speed of light and will disappear over the horizon."

I know some of the physics euridites on FR might understand how this is possible, but I thought c was the upper limit in speed, save gravity, which is a force and quantum events.

[Consort]

It might have something to do with that inverse square thing. It also sounds like a giant balloon that's getting ready to burst -- that's it! -- the universe is going into burst mode. And, if it goes faster than light, wouldn't it be dark all the time? Or, is that the definition of Dark Matter.

Does anyone know where to buy faster-than-light bulbs?

[RadioAstronomer]

Ping :)

[linear]

That was one of my questions. Assuming that acceleration beyond the speed of light causes you to travel back in time, won't the universe then be traveling back towards the big bang?

[Sabertooth]

Shoot!

I almost missed this thread.

[RogueIsland]

I thought c was the upper limit in speed

RadioAstronomer will correct me if I'm wrong, but if you think of it like a balloon, it makes sense. C would be the max speed you could travel over the surface of the balloon, but it does not have anything to do with the rate of expansion of the balloon, which is what actually causes the galaxies on its surface to move apart.

[concerned about politics]

"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."

[Aric2000]

Thanks for the ping, sounds strange, but makes some sort of sense to scientists I suppose.

Infinity is best thought about in a nice warm bed, with the blanket pulled over your head....

[lepton]

The expansion of the universe, which began about 15 billon years ago with the Big Bang,

Any clue yet as to what to do about the 20 Billion year old stars?

[week 71]

Good illustration in post 16. However I still think Einstein must be turning over in his grave if these new revelations are true. cheers