Posted on 03/29/2009 6:32:33 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Does Dark Energy Really Exist?
Or does Earth occupy a very unusual place in the universe?
Scientific American, March 2009
By Timothy Clifton and Pedro G. Ferreira
...
Most of us are very familiar with the idea that our planet is nothing more than a tiny speck orbiting a typical star, somewhere near the edge of an otherwise unnoteworthy galaxy. In the midst of a universe populated by billions of galaxies that stretch out to our cosmic horizon, we are led to believe that there is nothing special or unique about our location. But what is the evidence for this cosmic humility? And how would we be able to tell if we were in a special place? Astronomers typically gloss over these questions, assuming our own typicality sufficiently obvious to warrant no further discussion. To entertain the notion that we may, in fact, have a special location in the universe is, for many, unthinkable. Nevertheless, that is exactly what some small groups of physicists around the world have recently been considering...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
Sith lightning
Your’re not being fair to dark matter. Dark matter is like a cleaning deposit on a rental apartment. A deposit exists because it’s made but once made it cannot ever be seen.
Supposedly it has some effect on what is owed at the end of the rental but so far no one has been able to detect just what this effect is or how it works.
The truly scientific explanation is that the deposit helps to “keep our rents competitive” but how a rent called a deposit does this is beyond the understanding of the average layman.
So when anyone talks about dark matter just think of your last cleaning deposit.
And to the question of whether the earth occupies a special place: Just recall how the landlord treated you to get you to move in, not the eviction notice when you were three days late with the rent.
The conundrum is that if it was a few dgrees here or there we wouldn't even know.
You bet your sweet patootie it does. It's alive and well in the White House.
Now that’s a good one!
Observations, study, research, and more observations, repeating this process millions of times over many years. Technological advances assist in substantiating theories based on those observations, research and study.
Science fiction MUST be very logical...
Reality need not be so logical.. (nothing to prove)..
Please come down from the mountain and help me understand what a cleaning deposit has to do with dark matter!
Perhaps the first, second and third all evolved independently. How’s that for science fiction!
Sorry, GGG. I’m not as qualified in astrophysics to argue any of the points in this article. Rain check?
OK, but as soon as it stops raining, I expect answers!
Can you add me to your ping list?
Here is a terrific website on creation topics:
http://www.creationsafaris.com/crev200903.htm
You’re in...and welcome to the HMS Creation! And you are quite correct, I post articles from Creation Safaris/CEH on a regular basis. Indeed, if you ever post an article from there, be sure to ping me and I’ll ping it to the list. All the best—GGG
There's a reason I never asked to be on the ping list. I look at them occasionally, but soon a certain group will pile on and spew nasty personal attacks under the guise of intellectualism.
Here's a hint for them. If you're right, you can afford to be gracious; if you're wrong, you can't afford not to be gracious.
Earth-centered bump! :o)
I am an educated conservative FReeper. I believe Darwin was correct about evolution in about the same way Ptolemy was correct about astronomy. He got a few of the largest details generally right, and that’s about it.
house of cards wobbles a little more......
I have no idea but it seemed like a good comment and if you’re going get picky about relevance of comments to the article there is going to be very little commentary.
Of course I didn’t see much connection of dark matter with the special place earth occupies either but then I’m not a writer for S A.
From The Mountain, Cheers!
A direct quote from paragraph 3:
A giant void strikes most cosmologists.
A direct quote from Psalm 14:1:
. . . There is no God.
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