Posted on 07/21/2012 12:57:15 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Lol
Freakier yet are the problems with the disk accretion theory of planetary formation, which, if disproved, leave us with impossible odds of a planet capable of supporting life, to the point that it may well take an infinite universe to create not only a planet with life, but a planet with sentient life. We may, in fact, be the only life out there. What this does to theology or our sense of purpose is anyone’s guess. My take is that we simply don’t have the smarts to suss this and similar questions yet. I’m hoping that we have the smarts now that could get us to where we can figure out the conundrums of existence. If we don’t, game over.
Only good cops.
The universe may have inflated from the size of a mote of dust to the size of today's observable universe, all during the first few moments of the Big Bang.
Personally, I don't like the term 'inflation' because to me it implies movement, making me erroneously, so many times in the past, wonder how anything could go faster than the speed of light. I'm not a physicist, but I like to think what really happened during the first few moments of the Big Bang was that space itself was actually being created everywhere at a tremendous rate -- including between all the bits of debris in the Big Bang, thereby increasing the distance between those bits (if I'm wrong on this point would some physicist please chime in and correct me? thx).
The expansion continues to this day, but not as rapidly (though it is accelerating).
You can read a little about inflation here.
Ok- Lets blow up a balloon and lets say our galaxy as we know it and all we know is inside that balloon— then whats beyond the ballon (or whats holding up the balloon)and beyond the next— it must keep going forever— there is no beginning of space and no end to it.
God leaves clues of the unknown when he gets angry with Job and demands answers-(JOB chapter 38 thu 42.)- In gen. chapter 1 he states that the earth was built upon water
What is beyond the balloon (universe)?......Nothing.....Aristotle, when asked what is nothing,....he replied...."Nothing...is what rocks dream of...No thing. Space is a thing...there is no space beyond the spacial boundary....dimentionally speaking. It is a very hard concept. Think of it this way...the universe began at a moment and at that moment time, space, energy, matter....all came to be. The explosion of creation was a release of energy on a scale which we simply cannot comprehend, and from that there came to be 10 to the 80th atomic particles. Also space came to be. We know that at the pressures and temperature the character of matter was unlike anything we know of now and that the rate of expansion at Plank time was unimaginable. But it expanded at a rate. Then 2 minutes later the expansion continued at an incredible rate, creating space. And that has been occurring since the explosion....and space has been being created. That barrier continues to expand at a rate faster than the speed of light. Matter and energy are fixed (2nd thermal law). So as we speak ther is not a condition where space goes on forever. There is a barrier (constantly expanding).
Will it go on forever....No.....eventually, without intervention, will die a cold death, with all atoms, subatomic particles, being washed out into a cosmic ocean of near nothingness, approaching absolute zero....entropy will have completed its mission. But it will titrate to an end, and space will cease to expland(or nearly so).
If you want to read more on the subject look at Kaalams Cosmological Arguemnt, The Cosmological Arguements (both of these arguements are families of arguements explaining these matters)
It cant be nothing— our planet earth sits in a galaxy, the galaxy sits in the known universe— well, whats the known universe setting in? then what that setting in, and so forth?
But, there is NO THING.....nothing. What is logic made of? What is love made of? What is the physical makeup of consciounsess, or the number 3, or any abstract entity? Nothing...that is the physical makeup of that beyond the time/space barrier. It is, I will agree, a very difficult concept....but that is it.
OK- i can understand how a planet would have a beginning- But how does a universe start? does it have a beginning or birth? or has space always been there with no birth? were did the void come from before stars and planets?
And yet, after all that, Adams takes us to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
2. The Universe had a beginning.
3. The Universe had a cause.
Think of this. All of time, matter, energy, matter came to be at a moment. Just prior to that singularity, there was no universe. Then,...there was. Einstein profered the General theory of relatity, Eddington proved it with care calculations and photography of the a complete Solar eclipse. Hubble proved the theory with his discovery of the Red Shift. Penzias and Wilson recorded the vanishing remnant of the sound of the initial explosion, George Smoot was the overseer of NASAs COBE probe which proved what had been predicted 40 years prior by photoghaphing the residual heat 'ripples' of that initial explosion, and the WMAP probe reconfirmed Smoots findings.
So, in accordance with the Priniciple of Causality, you ask, what caused it. That is the age-old question. Things which begin (or come to be) have a cause. So from the afforementioned scientists we find that all of physics indicate that there was a cause. What is this cause. We do know that all of causality falling int one of two groups, either an abstract concept, but abstract concepts do not stand in a causal relationship to physical 'things', or the cause is personal (as Mind). So Mind does stand in causal relationship to the physical. So this cause, along the order of Mind, seems to be characterized by the following: unimagninably powerful to have created the masssiveness of the universe, timeless (in that time did not exist prior to the moment of creation), unimaginably intelligent (to ordered the universe out of the entropy of the creation explosion, Personal (in that a decision was made to create everything out of nothing (creatio ex nihlo). Self-existant (as that cause existed outside of the universe). These are the characteristics of First Cause which science, by induction, we can know of this cause. You already know who that is.
So I will ask you this one question, originally put by Leibnez, "If there is no God, why is there anything at all?"
That could be.
Or he plays Basketball - which would explain why we get the Hiccups.
And one last clue: every 'thing' composed of atoms is therefore composed of a pinch of space, a grain of time, and energy, all expressed as a wave function; but that wave function is non-distinct until the function collapses to be expressed in 'linear' temporal expression. Before collapse the wave function is a volumetric expression of time. That's where the notion of quantum non-locality arises.
IIRC, it was DeBroglie who told the Copenhagen gaggle that everything these is is an expression of wave function.
And one last clue: every 'thing' composed of atoms is therefore composed of a pinch of space, a grain of time, and energy, all expressed as a wave function; but that wave function is non-distinct until the function collapses to be expressed in 'linear' temporal expression. Before collapse the wave function is a volumetric expression of time. That's where the notion of quantum non-locality arises.
IIRC, it was DeBroglie who told the Copenhagen gaggle that everything there is is an expression of wave function.
Thanks for taking the time to post this. Food for thought.
It’s big.
It goes to eleven.
Hiccups? Dang.... Never thought of it that way... But wow, a new theory is born that might explain a few things.
You ought to apply for a grant.
I am being sidetracked in reading this neat article by the photos, especially the fourth, discussing “curvature”.
I am almost certain that the “curvature” in that photo is caused by “Fisheye Lens Effect”, not “atmospheric distortion”.
In addition, I know that it is nevertheless possible to directly observe Earth’s curvature without going into orbit.
As a pilot, I definitely noted Earth’s curvature (as well as darkening zenith) when flying near 50,000ft, by viewing the horizon.
At lower altitudes in the 30,000 ft range on very clear days, it is amusing to observe “section lines” while flying over the great MidWest of our country. Looking North/South, they appear straight. Looking East/West, they clearly appear “bent” toward the North. This is the case due to their being laid out by compass. Think about it a bit if this effect baffles you; it really is quite interesting demonstration that Earth is curved, even though at those lower altitudes the curvature of the horizon was not noticeable.
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