Hang around some latest study are questioning our constants and light is one of them.Just on this point I was thinking recently about the speed of light from another area of my reading. The question was asked why is the speed of light the particular speed it is ie why not 10klm faster or slower
Then it struck me from a remark made it HAS to be the exact speed it is. It is a inbuilt feature and cannot be otherwise
Consider E = mc²
We know Energy cannot be created or destroyed so it would appear what the total energy content of the Universe has ALWAYS been such (in different forms sure) but in total always the same
So extracting the energy from mass by the formula E = mc² will always provide the same amount of energy from the same amount of mass
And that will happen ONLY if the speed of light remains invariant
I'm still trying to refine the thoughts about this into more explanatory terms (rather than mathematics) but it appears to me at the absolute bedrock of physics would be the speed of light
Why the universe has to be so big?
- Thread starter Saint
- Start date
Why is the universe so small?
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Not finished with the renovations yet
Work in progress
I've been looking at a few of those studies thanks and if you have any links they would be welcome
Cheers
^^^Just on this point I was thinking recently about the speed of light from another area of my reading. The question was asked why is the speed of light the particular speed it is ie why not 10klm faster or slower
Then it struck me from a remark made it HAS to be the exact speed it is. It is a inbuilt feature and cannot be otherwise
Consider E = mc²
We know Energy cannot be created or destroyed so it would appear what the total energy content of the Universe has ALWAYS been such (in different forms sure) but in total always the same
So extracting the energy from mass by the formula E = mc² will always provide the same amount of energy from the same amount of mass
And that will happen ONLY if the speed of light remains invariant
I'm still trying to refine the thoughts about this into more explanatory terms (rather than mathematics) but it appears to me at the absolute bedrock of physics would be the speed of light
Any thing's speed is constant unless something affects it & makes it different.
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I appreciate that and agree in so much as when light passes through a transparent medium it slows and one lab managed to bring light to a standstill
It's the c² part when light is at its full speed in a vacuum etc etc and its value plays a part in conversation of mass into energy which I understand makes it critical to be the speed it is otherwise you either end up with extra energy being extracted from the mass or not enough
It's as bad as a clock "ticking" faster at the top of a tall building than one one the ground floor. Why does the top floor not move into the future and what stops the ground floor slipping into the past?
Never mind why is the Universe so big/small. Why is it so weird?
^^^Never mind why is the Universe so big/small. Why is it so weird?
Compared to what?
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Gawdzilla Sama
Valued Senior Member
I no doubt got the discipline wrong.
Seattle
Valued Senior Member
Yes, it's not science. It's religion or philosophy.
The universe is expanding and aging. So it is growing. Though total energy is conserved.
Thats due to the dynamics of the universe.
Perhaps life is possible in the earth only.
(my bold) So at T=10^-43 Secs (hope that is right) there was as much energy in that (to us) small space as there is now in the observable and unobservable universe that developed from it.
Would that be a correct interpretation?
Are there any figures that have attempted to quantify those energy levels?
Well there is no must about it
Nobody knows and people form their opinions from the numbers
I look at life, look at conditions around the Universe, look at how many of those conditions appear in how many trillions of regions and conclude (but refrain from a "knowing" pronouncement) life could be out there
Nobody should fault you for holding a different view since as mentioned nobody knows
Well if we take our assumption as to what the universe looked like at T+10^-43 secs we then assume that it expanded and evolved to what we observe today.
That is the observable universe.
However ,owing to expansion distant parts of the universe are moving away from us so fast that the light from them will never reach us and this is the unobservable universe I was referring to.
This part of the universe presumably had its origin in the same event as the observable universe (debatable but I have assumed as such)
Did I answer your question? (perhaps you thought I was referring to Dark Mass;I wasn't)
NotEinstein
Valued Senior Member
As far as I know, this is merely a popular hypothesis, not a scientific fact.
Can anyone add to that? ( It was something I had been wondering about)
If true would it follow that total mass was also zero?
How might one go about testing it?
spidergoat
Valued Senior Member
Our existence isn't important.
You do not have to believe there are aliens, why do you think you do?
Given the immense number of stars in the universe it seems likely that there are aliens. But since there is no concrete evidence of life anywhere but earth it is perfectly valid to say that you believe earth is the only place that life exists.