by tec 10 Replies latest social current
I was hoping people could tell me what the current scientific views are on the universe. Do scientists believe it had a beginning, such as the big bang, or that it is infinite - no beginning/no end, etc. etc.
My husband told me that he thinks the current view is that the universe is slowing down? Meaning that it had a beginning?
I'm not going to understand equations and such, but I am hoping to hear a general explanation about all the current known views and theories.
Thanks in advance,
Tammy
tec: First there was the big bang. Our laws break down the closer you get to the big bang meaning we not only dont know anything about the before, but also the emediately after (10^(-40) seconds after or something like that). There are also other things that are mysterious, for example inflation and so on.
TODAY there are plenty of stuff we dont know about the universe. For example how quantum mechanics and gravity connects, or what dark matter is. This is not a trivial thing: Dark matter(energy) constitute about 95% of the universe, but we dont know what it is at all.
That is why there is such an exitement about the big accelerator in CERN: we may verify that our current world-view makes sence (NOT a final theory of anything!), or it may be blown to bits. There may also be given hints on what dark matter/energy is, and what stuff such as 'time' is. the 21st century may be as exiting as the 20th!
The future looks very grim: We can observe that the universe is expanding, that has been known for about 50 years. Quite recently we have observed that not only is everything moving apart, the expansion is accelerating. It seem that 'vacuum' is pushing the universe apart. If this continue, everything will be torn apart in some billion years, there wont even be atoms, just ever-expanding space. That will be the end of everything.
There are plenty of ideas regarding the conditions around big bang, but nothing concrete yet. With respect to the big bang, we are stone age men wondering what the moon is.
they talk alot about it on the science tv station....the one with NASA on it......
Bohm - thanks for the update. There's a lot to watch for to get the nitty gritty. I'm interested in the more general theories, I suppose, but I'll take what I can get.
Peaches - I'm in Canada. Not sure about the different channels here compared to where you are, but I'll search for it. I'm usually awful about watching the discovery channel, but my husband has it on often enough.
Tammy
Check out Steven Hawking's A Brief History of Time. This book lays out up to date scientific knowledge of cosmology in readable, layman's language.
Awesome, GLTirebiter. Thanks.
I don't know if I can explain this but I will try,
A couple of years ago I seen a TV prograhm where scientist where describing the function of a cell (if I am using right term cell?) but anyway the function of the cell is the same as an electric motor and when electric current is switched from positive to negative it causes the cell to spin in oposite direction just like an electric motor and in turn can cause the cell to go forward and/or backwards and that the cell goes about as if it had a mind of its own. That was about incouraging enough for the scientists that were putting on the deminstrations to say that the haves to be a designer who created all things but they went on to demonstrate that for one part of the cell to be created by a big bang would be some odd billions of a chance to 0ne chance and for all the other parts with about the same chances of being created the same way at the same time and come together was so finominal that there just haves to be a mastermind behind it all.
If you like things like that to watch and you can't get them on your TV there are plenty of things on youtube and I believe that there are videos on history channel through the net. I could not find this video on where they where doing expiriments to find out how the big bang was created but maybe you will enjoy these for starters.
Thanks for looking these up, Trueblue. I really appreciate the effort, and as soon as I do not have an eleven year old trying to go to sleep beside me, then I will listen to them.
Tammy
The current understanding is a big bang from a black hole. There are at least
a dozen ideas about what preceded that. For the logical consequences of that
being eternality vs. exnihilation, the best coverage I know is
"How to Think About God" by Mortimer Adler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_J._Adler#God
