Flyboy
March 14th, 2008, 05:39 PM
Overview Of What Is Known:
Now I'm sure for those of you who have the will to read this already know these facts, however for those of you who might be willing to learn something new then allow me to state some of the known knowledge of the universe that actually apply to this subject. If you know what your talking about then you might as well skip this, but for those who don't I suggest you read. Also...err...prepare to read a lot.
In The Beginning:
What is theorized to be 13-14 billions years ago space was condensed to a mass relatively the size of an atom. Every ounce of matter in the universe was contained in a spec too small for even the most sensitive microscopes to spot. The gravitational force in this spec was so immense that it continued to collapse on into itself to a infinite density and size. Eventually this mass broke open one way or another, likely because of the sheer unimaginable forces acting inside it. A tremendous explosion happened as it ripped and all the matter in the universe was spit out of the spec at impossible speeds and densities. This is what we call the big bang theory, and it is the commonly accepted idea among scientists.
Expansion:
The big bang expanded the universe with insane speed and power, not only was the area that matter covered increased, but the actual volume of space itself changed as well. Something people must understand is that in space there is no resistance, as it is a vacuum. One of the basic and fundamental laws is the law of Inertia. It states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless enacted upon by another force. In earth objects stop moving after a period of time as a result of the forces enacting upon them, those forces being gravity and air resistance. As said in the above, space is a vacuum so there is no gravity or air resistance slowing these objects down in the beginning (theoretically there is but we'll get to that in a second). As a result these objects keep expanding for a large period of time eventually resulting in the immense size of the universe today. Gravity from each of these pint sized particles attracted them together, thus resulting in a larger mass. This larger mass attracts smaller masses and would reverse them from their original path. As a result the objects flying away from the big bang would eventually slow down, as objects tugged them towards one another. Eventually this entire idea of expansion would theoretically reverse itself and the new largest mass would eventually attract all of the other objects back upon itself. From that point the circle would repeat itself with another big bang right? Wrong.
Acceleration Of Expansion:
Many of you know of the Hubble telescope. Well it was named after a man who probably created the largest puzzle to science in human history. Hubble calculated that space was not only expanding, but in fact it was accelerating. This shocked and baffled the entire scientific community and has been a puzzle for decades. There are several theories, all of which have several holes and have problems to them. I'd list them here but you could probably go get more information from a wikipedia article. So currently, there is no universal theory to Hubble's law of inflation.
General Relativity:
In order to understand the theory I'm about to present you need some basic background on General Relativity. Einstein is mainly known for his work, by the common man, regarding the equation E=MC^2. However his ultimate triumph was general relativity. General relativity basically states that space itself is effected by gravity. It's hard to explain with words so allow me to use a picture.
-----\-------/-------\------------/
------\-----/---------\----------/
-------\_o_/----------\---------/
-----------------------\-------/
------------------------\-----/
-------------------------\_0_/
With the above you can see a net. The heavier (in this case the larger o represents a heavier piece of mass) mass creates a larger whole, or depression. This is exactly how space works, masses not only attract other masses, they suck space into themselves. So the placement of different masses shapes space to how heavy the mass is. This is how black holes and heavy objects actually have the ability to bend light, because their gravity bends space, thus bending the path light is required to take. And because of it my theory can work.
The Theory:
The short version of this story is basically the idea that the universe is not simply moving out in one direction, that direction being outward of the source of the big bang. What it is doing is spinning, rotating from the center of origin, or the big bang point. If you understand what that means then good. If you don't, then once again allow me to explain.
Centripetal Force:
Centripetal force is the force that causes an object to spin in a circle, now what happens if we apply this to the universe then we get a pretty interesting result. When something is spinning, there is a force causing it to want to move away from the point it is spinning around. For example if you take a ball and spin it around on a string, the string will tighten as the ball gains momentum. And I swear if you cut that string that ball is going to fly outwards away from the circle. Basically the object wants to go outward, which is exactly why there would be tension in the string. Now apply this to space and you'll realize that there would all of a sudden be a urge for the universe to expand outwards (we getting somewhere?). So these objects, if under a centripetal force would have a desire to move outwards. But what explains the accelerating? This requires a bit of an explanation, and an understanding of general relativity. Now imagine that the walls of space time are not only effected by the objects contained within them, but those objects have a similar effect on space itself. Basically I'm saying what if space has properties of matter, and it's not just some random barrier. Because of this the matter that is spinning is not just going alone, it is dragging space along with it, the forces that caused it to spin would also effect space itself as well. As a result space time itself would be rotating, and if the objects aren't dragging it along, then it would be the other way around, where space drags objects in this circle. In which case the idea explains itself quite well, but rather than make a lecture about that as well I'll relate it to something everyone knows quite well. Pizza.
Pizza Doe Explanation:
Rather than using the ball on a string idea I can use something that makes a bit more sense to explain this. Imagine your a baker with a slab of pizza doe, and you need to make it into a very, very, very thin pizza. Oh yeah, also imagine there's no gravity in your bakery aside from the pizza doe itself, and that your somehow alive in a vacuum. So you give the pizza a good spin, and then watch what happens. As you spin the pizza around and around in your hands you notice it gets thinner and thinner as it goes around. Why? Centripetal Force. But after a while you'll begin to notice this pizza is getting both terribly thin and terribly long, your also going to start noticing that the pizza is stretching out faster and faster. Why is this? Well as the pizza doe gets stretched out, the texture of the doe starts becoming weaker. The strength that once held the doe together is fading. (if you actually try this you'll get the same result) So as a result less force is required to get the doe to stretch, as it has much less resistance than it once did. However if the same amount of force is continuesly applied then the pizza will expand faster. This basically covers how the universe is expanding at an increased rate. As the force that binds space time together gets weaker, the force required for it to expand becomes less, but under the same amount of force that expansion will accelerate. However, at a certain point the doe will no longer have to strength to hold itself together against the forces that are pulling it apart.
So What Does That Imply:
Nothing intentionally. I'm just trying to provide an explanation for why the universe accelerates. But if you want me to get all dooms day then I might as well. What this implies is that the new end of the universe could very well be a point where space just begins to break apart under the strain of force enacting on it. At that point I have no idea what would happen, theoretically it could be nothing. However what lies outside of space time very well might not be friendly. But hell, I think thats a lot cooler than the big crunch idea. Much more mystique.
One Vital Flaw:
There is one error that I have considered in this theory, and the error if true makes it impossible to one extent. As I said before, in order for this theory to work space time needs to have properties of matter. And like in the example when the pizza doe was spun, it became thin. So this theory works for the X and Z axises, but not for the Y. Because instead of moving away from us, for a temporary period of time objects would be getting closer as the universe began to thin out like the pizza doe. However over a period of time, once the universe became thin enough it would still appear that all objects would be moving away. So it's actually a question of what point in this spinning cycle we are. If we're late in then this would actually work, as we currently see everything moving away. However if we're still early on, then this theory is a no go.
Another Explanation Of Acceleration Through Spinning That Gets Rid Of The Flaw:
The original idea that I came up with did not state that space was expanding because of the centripetal force on the objects. Basically the idea constitutes that as the objects rotate, the force making them expand remains a constant. However as they get farther away their momentum would increase relative to their position and distance from the center. Because of this they would want to move away from the source faster en light of their increased momentum as their distance increased. So relative to anythings position, things would be moving away from them. Many of you might say that "the mass of the objects traveling around this aether would slow each other down because of their gravitational pull on each other". Not exactly so however. Because everything is spinning at once, relative to our position it appears as if nothing is spinning. The only thing that one can see is that objects are moving away. As a result we have no idea how fast everything could be spinning, if we're traveling at say half the speed of light around a given point then the momentum of each object would increase drastically. So much so that gravity could pull objects towards other objects, but not stop the spinning. This is also because the object that is attracting the other object is moving as well, so in the end both objects will continue their rotation. (I hope you understood that) In other words we can look at it like the earth and the moon. Just because the gravity of the earth makes the moon orbit around it, the moon is still moving with the earth around the sun. Both theories would work. However I started with the one I did for the simple reason that it's easier to explain than this one. However this one lacks the vital flaw of the first and makes it more practical.
Ok that's basically it. Keep in mind that I'm not some big fancy pants astrophysicists. I know basic physics and formulas and I'm pretty much working on my own background knowledge here. So feel free to tear this apart as much as possible. I'll try to answer any questions on it. Oh, and one more request. Please don't reply unless you have something intelligent to say. :shake:
Whew that took a while.
Now I'm sure for those of you who have the will to read this already know these facts, however for those of you who might be willing to learn something new then allow me to state some of the known knowledge of the universe that actually apply to this subject. If you know what your talking about then you might as well skip this, but for those who don't I suggest you read. Also...err...prepare to read a lot.
In The Beginning:
What is theorized to be 13-14 billions years ago space was condensed to a mass relatively the size of an atom. Every ounce of matter in the universe was contained in a spec too small for even the most sensitive microscopes to spot. The gravitational force in this spec was so immense that it continued to collapse on into itself to a infinite density and size. Eventually this mass broke open one way or another, likely because of the sheer unimaginable forces acting inside it. A tremendous explosion happened as it ripped and all the matter in the universe was spit out of the spec at impossible speeds and densities. This is what we call the big bang theory, and it is the commonly accepted idea among scientists.
Expansion:
The big bang expanded the universe with insane speed and power, not only was the area that matter covered increased, but the actual volume of space itself changed as well. Something people must understand is that in space there is no resistance, as it is a vacuum. One of the basic and fundamental laws is the law of Inertia. It states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless enacted upon by another force. In earth objects stop moving after a period of time as a result of the forces enacting upon them, those forces being gravity and air resistance. As said in the above, space is a vacuum so there is no gravity or air resistance slowing these objects down in the beginning (theoretically there is but we'll get to that in a second). As a result these objects keep expanding for a large period of time eventually resulting in the immense size of the universe today. Gravity from each of these pint sized particles attracted them together, thus resulting in a larger mass. This larger mass attracts smaller masses and would reverse them from their original path. As a result the objects flying away from the big bang would eventually slow down, as objects tugged them towards one another. Eventually this entire idea of expansion would theoretically reverse itself and the new largest mass would eventually attract all of the other objects back upon itself. From that point the circle would repeat itself with another big bang right? Wrong.
Acceleration Of Expansion:
Many of you know of the Hubble telescope. Well it was named after a man who probably created the largest puzzle to science in human history. Hubble calculated that space was not only expanding, but in fact it was accelerating. This shocked and baffled the entire scientific community and has been a puzzle for decades. There are several theories, all of which have several holes and have problems to them. I'd list them here but you could probably go get more information from a wikipedia article. So currently, there is no universal theory to Hubble's law of inflation.
General Relativity:
In order to understand the theory I'm about to present you need some basic background on General Relativity. Einstein is mainly known for his work, by the common man, regarding the equation E=MC^2. However his ultimate triumph was general relativity. General relativity basically states that space itself is effected by gravity. It's hard to explain with words so allow me to use a picture.
-----\-------/-------\------------/
------\-----/---------\----------/
-------\_o_/----------\---------/
-----------------------\-------/
------------------------\-----/
-------------------------\_0_/
With the above you can see a net. The heavier (in this case the larger o represents a heavier piece of mass) mass creates a larger whole, or depression. This is exactly how space works, masses not only attract other masses, they suck space into themselves. So the placement of different masses shapes space to how heavy the mass is. This is how black holes and heavy objects actually have the ability to bend light, because their gravity bends space, thus bending the path light is required to take. And because of it my theory can work.
The Theory:
The short version of this story is basically the idea that the universe is not simply moving out in one direction, that direction being outward of the source of the big bang. What it is doing is spinning, rotating from the center of origin, or the big bang point. If you understand what that means then good. If you don't, then once again allow me to explain.
Centripetal Force:
Centripetal force is the force that causes an object to spin in a circle, now what happens if we apply this to the universe then we get a pretty interesting result. When something is spinning, there is a force causing it to want to move away from the point it is spinning around. For example if you take a ball and spin it around on a string, the string will tighten as the ball gains momentum. And I swear if you cut that string that ball is going to fly outwards away from the circle. Basically the object wants to go outward, which is exactly why there would be tension in the string. Now apply this to space and you'll realize that there would all of a sudden be a urge for the universe to expand outwards (we getting somewhere?). So these objects, if under a centripetal force would have a desire to move outwards. But what explains the accelerating? This requires a bit of an explanation, and an understanding of general relativity. Now imagine that the walls of space time are not only effected by the objects contained within them, but those objects have a similar effect on space itself. Basically I'm saying what if space has properties of matter, and it's not just some random barrier. Because of this the matter that is spinning is not just going alone, it is dragging space along with it, the forces that caused it to spin would also effect space itself as well. As a result space time itself would be rotating, and if the objects aren't dragging it along, then it would be the other way around, where space drags objects in this circle. In which case the idea explains itself quite well, but rather than make a lecture about that as well I'll relate it to something everyone knows quite well. Pizza.
Pizza Doe Explanation:
Rather than using the ball on a string idea I can use something that makes a bit more sense to explain this. Imagine your a baker with a slab of pizza doe, and you need to make it into a very, very, very thin pizza. Oh yeah, also imagine there's no gravity in your bakery aside from the pizza doe itself, and that your somehow alive in a vacuum. So you give the pizza a good spin, and then watch what happens. As you spin the pizza around and around in your hands you notice it gets thinner and thinner as it goes around. Why? Centripetal Force. But after a while you'll begin to notice this pizza is getting both terribly thin and terribly long, your also going to start noticing that the pizza is stretching out faster and faster. Why is this? Well as the pizza doe gets stretched out, the texture of the doe starts becoming weaker. The strength that once held the doe together is fading. (if you actually try this you'll get the same result) So as a result less force is required to get the doe to stretch, as it has much less resistance than it once did. However if the same amount of force is continuesly applied then the pizza will expand faster. This basically covers how the universe is expanding at an increased rate. As the force that binds space time together gets weaker, the force required for it to expand becomes less, but under the same amount of force that expansion will accelerate. However, at a certain point the doe will no longer have to strength to hold itself together against the forces that are pulling it apart.
So What Does That Imply:
Nothing intentionally. I'm just trying to provide an explanation for why the universe accelerates. But if you want me to get all dooms day then I might as well. What this implies is that the new end of the universe could very well be a point where space just begins to break apart under the strain of force enacting on it. At that point I have no idea what would happen, theoretically it could be nothing. However what lies outside of space time very well might not be friendly. But hell, I think thats a lot cooler than the big crunch idea. Much more mystique.
One Vital Flaw:
There is one error that I have considered in this theory, and the error if true makes it impossible to one extent. As I said before, in order for this theory to work space time needs to have properties of matter. And like in the example when the pizza doe was spun, it became thin. So this theory works for the X and Z axises, but not for the Y. Because instead of moving away from us, for a temporary period of time objects would be getting closer as the universe began to thin out like the pizza doe. However over a period of time, once the universe became thin enough it would still appear that all objects would be moving away. So it's actually a question of what point in this spinning cycle we are. If we're late in then this would actually work, as we currently see everything moving away. However if we're still early on, then this theory is a no go.
Another Explanation Of Acceleration Through Spinning That Gets Rid Of The Flaw:
The original idea that I came up with did not state that space was expanding because of the centripetal force on the objects. Basically the idea constitutes that as the objects rotate, the force making them expand remains a constant. However as they get farther away their momentum would increase relative to their position and distance from the center. Because of this they would want to move away from the source faster en light of their increased momentum as their distance increased. So relative to anythings position, things would be moving away from them. Many of you might say that "the mass of the objects traveling around this aether would slow each other down because of their gravitational pull on each other". Not exactly so however. Because everything is spinning at once, relative to our position it appears as if nothing is spinning. The only thing that one can see is that objects are moving away. As a result we have no idea how fast everything could be spinning, if we're traveling at say half the speed of light around a given point then the momentum of each object would increase drastically. So much so that gravity could pull objects towards other objects, but not stop the spinning. This is also because the object that is attracting the other object is moving as well, so in the end both objects will continue their rotation. (I hope you understood that) In other words we can look at it like the earth and the moon. Just because the gravity of the earth makes the moon orbit around it, the moon is still moving with the earth around the sun. Both theories would work. However I started with the one I did for the simple reason that it's easier to explain than this one. However this one lacks the vital flaw of the first and makes it more practical.
Ok that's basically it. Keep in mind that I'm not some big fancy pants astrophysicists. I know basic physics and formulas and I'm pretty much working on my own background knowledge here. So feel free to tear this apart as much as possible. I'll try to answer any questions on it. Oh, and one more request. Please don't reply unless you have something intelligent to say. :shake:
Whew that took a while.