Astronomers Detect First Split-Second of the Universe

[alchemize]

Link
I have a problem conceptualizing this. How can the entire mass of the universe be compressed into a marble? If so, what would trigger it to "bang" - wouldn't there need be some external force involved, otherwise it would just stay in equilibrium?

How could mass travel at a speed trillions of times greater than the speed of light required for this to happen in a millisecond? Why did it stop expanding so rapidly - wouldn't an external force be needed to slow it down? And how is Bush going to screw this up?

The universe makes my head hurt

 

[DealMonkey]

Poppycock! They changed the outcome by studying it!

 

[zephyrprime]

It's actually the space that is travelling at super-luminal speeds. The matter is just along for the ride.

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

a strike forward for scientific rationalism

 

[Albatross]

i`m only interested in the fifth second of the universe.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
It's actually the space that is travelling at super-luminal speeds. The matter is just along for the ride.

That helps me some. But why did it only do it for a fraction of a second? What was outside the marble if it wasn't space?

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: alchemizeHow can the entire mass of the universe be compressed into a marble? If so, what would trigger it to "bang" - wouldn't there need be some external force involved

whatever it is, I'm sure Cheney is having guys trying to figure that out right now.... so they can use it in a new super-destructive bomb

that ought get rid of them arabs

 

[catnap1972]

Originally posted by: alchemize
I have a problem conceptualizing this. Why did it stop expanding so rapidly - wouldn't an external force be needed to slow it down? And how is Bush going to screw this up?

You mean he didn't create the universe? He sure thinks he's the center of it :laugh:

 

[Spamela]

interesting.

the link at the bottom lets me sleep better at night:
Universe Has At Least 30 Billion Years Left

 

[Todd33]

There are thousands of book on this subject, I'm not sure you will get the best answers here for Astrophysics. Kip Thorne has a good one called Black Holes and Time Warps.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
It's actually the space that is travelling at super-luminal speeds. The matter is just along for the ride.

That helps me some. But why did it only do it for a fraction of a second? What was outside the marble if it wasn't space?

Green cheese?

Jesus Juice?


I guess just a big vacuum of nothing.


But, was this amazing and instant expansion the result of a prior contraction of the entire universe down to that marble?

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: Spamela
interesting.

the link at the bottom lets me sleep better at night:
Universe Has At Least 30 Billion Years Left

Until one of these babies goes off nearby. The universe will live, we will not. And by 'nearby' I mean within 10 light years.

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: judasmachine

Originally posted by: Spamela
interesting.

the link at the bottom lets me sleep better at night:
Universe Has At Least 30 Billion Years Left

Until one of these babies goes off nearby. The universe will live, we will not. And by 'nearby' I mean within 10 light years.

thank god for this part:

There are no magnetars close enough to worry about, however, Gaensler and two other astronomers told SPACE.com. But the strength of the tempest has them marveling over the dying star's capabilities while also wondering if major species die-offs in the past might have been triggered by stellar explosions.

 

[strummer]

Where were Adam and Eve when this happened?

 

[WelshBloke]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
It's actually the space that is travelling at super-luminal speeds. The matter is just along for the ride.

That helps me some. But why did it only do it for a fraction of a second? What was outside the marble if it wasn't space?

Green cheese?

Jesus Juice?


I guess just a big vacuum of nothing.


But, was this amazing and instant expansion the result of a prior contraction of the entire universe down to that marble?

Nope no vacuum.

Theres no space for there to be nothing in

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: judasmachine

Originally posted by: Spamela
interesting.

the link at the bottom lets me sleep better at night:
Universe Has At Least 30 Billion Years Left

Until one of these babies goes off nearby. The universe will live, we will not. And by 'nearby' I mean within 10 light years.

thank god for this part:

There are no magnetars close enough to worry about, however, Gaensler and two other astronomers told SPACE.com. But the strength of the tempest has them marveling over the dying star's capabilities while also wondering if major species die-offs in the past might have been triggered by stellar explosions.

Yeah I was just having a little fun with the whole story. There are only a few stars withing 10 light years anyway. And of coarse none of them are magnetars.

 

[Duckzilla]

Some physicists believe that the big bang (and our resulting universe) is the byproduct of a collision between 2 of the 26 theorized dimensions. Where these dimensions overlapped and touched, our universe was born. The crazy thing is there could be infinite parallel universes.

 

[alchemize]

Why do they theorize the size of a marble? Why not a pinhead, a grapefruit, or a large planet or sun?

 

[Future Shock]

Originally posted by: Duckzilla
Some physicists believe that the big bang (and our resulting universe) is the byproduct of a collision between 2 of the 26 theorized dimensions. Where these dimensions overlapped and touched, our universe was born. The crazy thing is there could be infinite parallel universes.

This is referred to in the original article as "quantum flucutations". It's that whole energy/matter duality that Einstein first spoke of - I think of it as taking two energy dimensions, cross them like high-voltage lines, and 'poof' spawn a new universe.

And to your point, it definately leaves room for a whole heap of other universes - but not necessarily parallel. In fact, given differrent dimensions crossing, you could have universes that are fundamentally different than ours..

Future Shock

 

[frankie38]

The interesting question is whether the universe will keep expanding or will it eventually stop and contract?

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: frankie38
The interesting question is whether the universe will keep expanding or will it eventually stop and contract?

It depends whether there is enough mass.

 

[tnitsuj]

All I know is that I will never ever be smart enough to understand all this..so I will pick up a convenient holy book and let it answer all my questions with simple parables and absolute truths.

 

[magomago]

awsome I love astronomy...From 5th throgh 8th grade that is all I ever thought about...

To be an astronomer three thousand years now would definitely kick @$$ with all the potential information we could gain

 

[cumhail]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximander

He was quite sure he had it all figured out too. And in another 2500 years, today's science will likely be termed philosophy, as well. Oh but silly me... we're more recent. Therefore, we're more advanced and, by definition, better informed than he was. Right?

Antoher of yesteryear's wisest scientists/philosophers understood that what made him wise was that he knew that he knew nothing... Today's scientists would all do well to be reminded of that (and many, I am sure, are).

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Meuge

Originally posted by: frankie38
The interesting question is whether the universe will keep expanding or will it eventually stop and contract?

It depends whether there is enough mass.

From WikipediaDuring the late 1990s, observations of type Ia supernovae ("one a") suggested that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. These observations have been corroborated by several independent sources. Since then, measurements of the cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, and the large scale structure of the cosmos as well as improved measurements of supernovae have been consistent with the Lambda-CDM model.

Unsolved problems in physics: Why is the expansion of the universe accelerating, as we have observed? Is our understanding of redshift complete? If it is, then what is the nature of the dark energy driving this acceleration?The type Ia supernovae provide the most direct evidence for dark energy. Measuring the velocity of receding objects is accomplished easily by measuring the redshift of the receding object. Finding the distance to an object is a more difficult problem, however. It is necessary to find standard candles: objects for which the absolute magnitude is known, so that it is possible to relate the apparent magnitude to the distance. Without standard candles, it is impossible to measure the redshift-distance relation of Hubble's law. Type Ia supernovae are the best known standard candles for cosmological observation, because they are very bright and ignite only when the mass of an old white dwarf star reaches the precisely defined Chandrasekhar limit. The distances to the supernovae are plotted against their velocities, and this is used to measure the expansion history of the universe. These observations indicate that the universe is not decelerating, which would be expected for a matter-dominated universe, but rather is mysteriously accelerating. These observations are explained by postulating a kind of energy with negative pressure (see equation of state (cosmology) for a mathematical explanation): dark energy.