Monday, June 4, 2018
Cosmology
Here’s what we know: After an unknowable interval during which everything that ever was or will be was contained in a single inconceivably compact package, it fell apart and since then everything has been getting further and further from everything else. The tiniest things tend to clump together; the biggest things to break up. Basically, it’s all trying to turn into cold iron and then remain absolutely still, maybe forever. That’s it. We used to think that maybe there would come a time when everything would fall back together again. But the more we learn the less likely that seems.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Umm.
The current model du jour (lambda CDM) has anything galaxy size or smaller staying pretty much where it is, and anything bigger expanding at an increasing rate. It also says the farther away, the faster the rate of increase to the point where very distant objects are receding faster that the speed of light (apparently this is allowed by the general theory of relativity). This means the light currently being emitted/reflected by these objects will never reach Earth and presumably, in time, these objects will disappear from the sky. If everything bigger than a galaxy is expanding at an increasing rate, then eventually all these objects will cross this event horizon and vanish. This would then leave us alone in relative stasis with our neighbors. Presumably this does not mean these distant objects will cease to exist. Of course, this all assumes the gas bags keep burning.
Ultimately, it all proves we don't know, diddly. I think we need to play more music and eat good food.
Well, yeah, in the shorter term your model is pretty good. Long term, it's all Iron-56 unless there's such a thing as proton decay in which case everything really starts falling apart. Either way, the music and the food are probably the best we can do.
Post a Comment