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Title: Another ‘settled science’ topic is not so settled after all – Big Bang theory questioned
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URL Source: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/ ... ll-big-bang-theory-questioned/
Published: Feb 11, 2015
Author: Anthony Watts
Post Date: 2015-02-11 08:10:44 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 20451
Comments: 58
We’ve all heard of the claim of “settled science” when it comes to global warming/climate change, and we’ve all heard of the “Big Bang Theory”, and I’m not just talking about the popular TV show. The scientific theory goes all the way back to 1927. This is an artist’s concept of the metric expansion of space, where space (including hypothetical non-observable portions of the universe) is represented at each time by the circular sections. Note on the left the dramatic expansion (not to scale) occurring in the inflationary epoch, and at the center the expansion acceleration. The scheme is decorated with WMAP images on the left and with the representation of stars at the appropriate level of development. Credit: NASA The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the birth of the universe. It states that at some moment all of space was contained in a single point from which the Universe has been expanding ever since. Modern measurements place this moment at approximately 13.8 billion years ago, which is thus considered the age of the universe. After the initial expansion, the Universe cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later simple atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies. The Big Bang theory does not provide any explanation for the initial conditions of the Universe; rather, it describes and explains the general evolution of the Universe going forward from that point on. (Source: Wikipedia) Now, it seems there’s a challenge to this ‘settled’ science, and a new quantum equation predicts the universe has no beginning. (Phys.org) —The universe may have existed forever, according to a new model that applies quantum correction terms to complement Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The model may also account for dark matter and dark energy, resolving multiple problems at once. The widely accepted age of the universe, as estimated by general relativity, is 13.8 billion years. In the beginning, everything in existence is thought to have occupied a single infinitely dense point, or singularity. Only after this point began to expand in a “Big Bang” did the universe officially begin. Although the Big Bang singularity arises directly and unavoidably from the mathematics of general relativity, some scientists see it as problematic because the math can explain only what happened immediately after—not at or before—the singularity. “The Big Bang singularity is the most serious problem of general relativity because the laws of physics appear to break down there,” Ahmed Farag Ali at Benha University and the Zewail City of Science and Technology, both in Egypt, told Phys.org. Read more at: phys.org/news/2015-02-big-quantum-equation- universe.html#jCp
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#3. To: A K A Stone (#0)
(Edited)
Nothing has existed forever because time,by definition,begins at a certain instant,and nothing existed before time began. Time is measurable,so it has to have a starting point. This is more of an observation on how the human mind works than a scientific certainty. Humans love to define and measure things. It's what makes humans different from other sentient animals like welfare creatures that only concern themselves with "now". Having said that,isn't the whole focus of this discussion "inside science",where a bunch of autistic geniuses are arguing over (for lack of a more appropriate term) "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin."? It can neither be proven or shown to be false . Like other "religions" it is a theory that you either accept,reject,or say "who cares?" and move on.
What is the definition of time? Time can be measured? Really? Are we not, rather, measuring some physical phenonmenon, placing a numerical scale alongside of it, and calling the dance of this physical object in from of our arbitrarily drawn scale the "passage" of "time". When a bicycle wheel with a card stuck in it clicks, is that time? Is our heart beating out time? Or is our heart just beating, and call the count sequence "time". The latter. You're right: this is indeed an observation about how the human mind works. We cannot "measure time". Rather, we can arbitrarily define the sequence of a mechanical process as "time". We can SAY we're measuring something other than the cyclical nature of the mechanical process, but that's just us asserting it. The hands of the clock are never pushed along by "time". Time doesn't actually EXIST. It's a description of a relationship of a physical thing to a physical thing, like "pi" or "i" or "e".
Gen 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, Job 38:32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasonsd or lead out the Beare with its cubs? Psalm 104:19 19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. Jeremiah 8:7 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD. Daniel 2:21 21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Ge 1:14–Ac 14:17.
#15. To: GarySpFC (#13)
(Edited)
Yes, and each of those things is a defined term: a "day" is the period of light. "Night" is the period of darkness. A "month" is a phase of the moon. A "season" is a period of agricultural activity, with the celestial play as the predictable background. In no case is there an abstract time. "Time" is not an entity. It has no essence. And no, the moon doesn't "know" when to go down. The author of the Psalm engaged in an anthropomorphization that treated an inanimate object as though it had a mind that it does not in fact have. If that idea were pressed one inch more, it would be idolatrous. The moon goes down in sequence because God set a physical law that binds it. The moon "knows" nothing at all.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestThe universe may have existed forever.....
#9. To: sneakypete (#3)
Nothing has existed forever because time,by definition,begins at a certain instant,and nothing existed before time began. Time is measurable,so it has to have a starting point. This is more of an observation on how the human mind works than a scientific certainty.
#13. To: Vicomte13 (#9)
We cannot "measure time". Rather, we can arbitrarily define the sequence of a mechanical process as "time". We can SAY we're measuring something other than the cyclical nature of the mechanical process, but that's just us asserting it. The hands of the clock are never pushed along by "time". Time doesn't actually EXIST. It's a description of a relationship of a physical thing to a physical thing, like "pi" or "i" or "e".
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