You know, stuff about giant Magellan telescopes, Hubble's successor (James Webb), dark matter, quasars, the four dimensions of space, the curvature of space-time, the weight of the universe. Stuff like that. You know, INTERESTING stuff. Right.
A four-dimensional 'tesseract' rotating on ONE axis
Anyway, what's MORE interesting is that apparently the latest research in astrophysics has shown that the universe does not have enough matter to stop the universe from expanding.
*Gasp* The universe is EXPANDING?
Well, yes, astronomers since the 1930s have shown, through observation of objects (stars?) of fluctuating luminosity from other galaxies that... that...
Nevermind, the point is that the scientists say that the universe is expanding, so they MUST be right, RIGHT?
Well, the question that scientists THEN asked is whether the universe would continue to expand FOREVER. Would the universe keep getting larger till kingdom come or, worse yet, 'heat death' (open universe model)? Or would the universe eventually stop expanding, and eventually be of fixed size (flat universe model)? Or, heaven forbid, would the expansion eventually run down and the universe then start to contract (closed universe model), leading eventually to The Big Crunch?
Well, the answer apparently depends on the amount of matter there is in the universe, and the latest research on dark matter has indicated that the universe does NOT, in fact, have enough mass to halt its expansion.
Thus the universe is doomed to grow ever larger, till we are all stretched out like rubber bands on a pair of braces.
Well, at least it's better than the Big Crunch.
In physio-philosophical terms though, that means that our ever so insignificant existence is becoming even less significant. Our presence in this universe is being diluted, at an EXPONENTIAL rate. Sad, isn't it?
There's still hope, though. Dr Freeman said that as of the moment, a number of oscillating models of the universe cannot yet be ruled out. That means it's either we stretch till we can stretch no more, or we are doomed to an eternal bungee jump.
*shrugs* Either way works for me. We're all gonna die anyway.
Ah, cynicism.
5 comments:
Harhar, funny lah you.
"Well, yes, astronomers since the 1930s have shown, through observation of objects (stars?) of fluctuating luminosity from other galaxies that... that..."
If you completed that sentence...coonskin, anyone? =P
Astronomers since the 1930s have shown, through observation of objects of fluctuating luminosity from other galaxies that the the distance between our galaxy and others is increasing at an exponential rate. Also, the farther away the galaxy is, the greater the exponential value. This observation holds true in all directions, thus showing that ALL space is expanding, not merely one segment of the universe. These observations form the basis for the scientific theory (aka "fact") that the universe as a whole is expanding.
AHHHH! *runs from the skinner's knife*
XD
Show-off. LOL! Great. Now you know what fear is. XD
Who cares about what happens, and what is happening to the universe?
Hmm, look at Kyoto protocol, let's say.
Is everyone working together?
Yes? No? Maybe? I don't know!
Maybe I'm wrong by just by "simply-how-cincai-cincai" assuming everyone (those big-cash industrialized countries) doesn't care about how much pollution they let out everyday, every month, every year, every decade.
But my point is, why do we look to the skies, the stars and beyond, when our own home is suffering it's own Big Crunch?
The pursuit if knowledge isn't always practical, I agree. Science is often an end unto itself. But you never know, there might be practical applications in the future.
Besides, looking to the skies and beyond keeps us humble, if nothing else.
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