Millions of stars are born in a nearby galaxy(Image credit: ESA)
How was the universe created?
By Astrophysicist Paul Sutter
Short answer: We don’t really know how the universe was created, though most astrophysicists believe it started with the Big Bang.
Paul M. Sutter is a research professor in astrophysics at SUNY Stony Brook University and the Flatiron Institute in New York City. He regularly appears on TV and podcasts, including “Ask a Spaceman.” He is the author of two books, “Your Place in the Universe” and “How to Die in Space,” and is a regular contributor to Space.com, Live Science, and more. Paul received his PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011, and spent three years at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, followed by a research fellowship in Trieste, Italy.
Origins of the Universe 101 | National Geographic (youtube.com)
The question of who created the universe is a matter of debate and speculation. Some people believe that the universe was created by a divine being or a higher power, while others rely on scientific theories and evidence. One of the most widely accepted scientific theories is the big bang theory, which suggests that the universe began from a single primordial atom1. However, this theory does not explain who or what caused the big bang. Another scientific theory is that the universe is created on April 27, 4977 B.C., according to the calculations of Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician and astronomer2.
On April 27, 4977 B.C., the universe was created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets.
Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, in Weil der Stadt, Germany. As a university student, he studied the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’ theories of planetary ordering. Copernicus (1473-1543) believed that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system, a theory that contradicted the prevailing view of the era that the sun revolved around the earth.
In 1600, Kepler went to Prague to work for Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, the imperial mathematician to Rudolf II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Kepler’s main project was to investigate the orbit of Mars. When Brahe died the following year, Kepler took over his job and inherited Brahe’s extensive collection of astronomy data, which had been painstakingly observed by the naked eye. Over the next decade, Kepler learned about the work of Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who had invented a telescope with which he discovered lunar mountains and craters, the largest four satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, among other things. Kepler corresponded with Galileo and eventually obtained a telescope of his own and improved upon the design.
In 1609, Kepler published the first two of his three laws of planetary motion, which held that planets move around the sun in ellipses, not circles (as had been widely believed up to that time), and that planets speed up as they approach the sun and slow down as they move away. In 1619, he produced his third law, which used mathematical principles to relate the time a planet takes to orbit the sun to the average distance of the planet from the sun.
Kepler’s research was slow to gain widespread traction during his lifetime, but it later served as a key influence on the English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and his law of gravitational force. Additionally, Kepler did important work in the fields of optics, including demonstrating how the human eye works, and math. He died on November 15, 1630, in Regensburg, Germany. As for Kepler’s calculation about the universe’s birthday, scientists in the 20th century developed the Big Bang theory, which showed that his calculations were off by about 13.7 billion years.
However, this theory is based on Kepler’s assumptions and interpretations of biblical chronology, and is not supported by modern astronomy.
We know that we live in an expanding universe. That means the entire universe is getting bigger with every passing day. It also means that in the past our universe was smaller than it is today. Rewind that tape far enough, and the physics suggests our universe was once an infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point — a singularity.
Big Bang: How the Universe was created (bbc.com)
Most physicists think this point expanded out in the Big Bang, but because all known physics breaks down in the extreme conditions that prevailed in our universe’s infancy, it’s hard to say with confidence what happened in those earliest moments of the universe.
Going back in time
10 times the earth almost destroyed itself – Search Videos (bing.com)
For most of the history of the universe, it was dotted with similar celestial objects as are present now — they were just closer together. For example, when our universe was less than 380,000 years old, the volume of the universe was about a million times smaller than it is today, and it had an average temperature of around 10,000 kelvins. It was so hot and dense that it was a plasma, a state of matter where atoms are ripped apart into protons, neutrons and electrons.
However, we encounter plasmas in many other situations in space and on Earth, so we have a pretty good understanding of how they work. But the farther back we go, the more complex the physics become. When the universe was just a dozen minutes old, it was an intense soup of protons, neutrons, and electrons, still governed by the same physics that we use to understand nuclear bombs and nuclear reactors.
If we look back even earlier than that, however, things get really sketchy.
When we try to make sense of the universe when it was less than a second old, we have no theory of physics that can cope with the insanely high temperatures and pressures the universe experienced. All of our theories of physics break down, and we have no understanding of how particles, forces and fields operate in those conditions.
Birthing the singularity
Physicists can chart the growth of the cosmos using Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which connects the content of the cosmos to its history of expansion. But Einstein’s theory contains a fatal flaw. If we follow general relativity to its ultimate conclusion, then at a finite time in the past our entire universe was crammed into a single, infinitely dense point. This is known as the Big Bang singularity.
The singularity is often framed as the “beginning” of the universe: But it’s not a beginning at all. Mathematically, the singularity at the Big Bang isn’t telling us that the universe began there. Instead, it’s telling us that general relativity itself has broken down, and has lost its predictive and explanatory power.
Physicists have long known that general relativity is incomplete. It cannot explain gravity at high strength or at small scales, known as quantum gravity. In other words, to fully understand the earliest moments of the universe, we need new physics.
A question for the ages
Where is the center of the universe? (msn.com)
Sadly, we currently lack such physics. We have several candidates for quantum gravity, like string theory and loop quantum gravity, but these theories have not been fully developed, let alone tested. But if either of those theories are correct, they can tell us interesting things about the early universe.
In the case of loop quantum gravity, the singularity is replaced with a finite-size chunk of space-time. In string theory, meanwhile, our universe originates from a “landscape” of possible universes. It’s also possible that our Big Bang exists as just one of an infinite series of universes, multiplying without end in a multiverse. Only further advances in theoretical physics will help sort out the murkiness of these possible ideas.
But there’s another problem: We may never know what caused the Big Bang. In its earliest moments, even our very conceptions of time and space break down. At such extreme scales, normal, everyday concepts like “beginning” and “before” may not even make sense.
Is man causing climate change – Search Videos (bing.com)
The consensus among scientists is that human activities are indeed causing climate change. The primary human activity affecting the amount and rate of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine state that today’s global warming is different from past warming periods and is driven by human activities1. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also emphasizes that human-induced climate change is causing widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people.
To address this, reducing emissions and taking action to adapt to climate change are crucial steps that need to be taken to mitigate the risks and impacts associated with a warming planet2.
The increase in carbon dioxide levels from pre-industrial levels of 280 parts per million to more than 410 parts per million today is mostly due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas1. This rapid increase in greenhouse gases is the main reason for the rise in global average temperature, which has been about 1.8°F (1.0°C) since the late nineteenth century3.
The scientific community doesn’t all agree on the core causes of climate change, and according to climate expert Willie Soon, humanity should look beyond Earth to find the source.
Many people think that it is “rising carbon dioxide that is the main factor … that affects climate change, and that is wholly untrue,” scientist Willie Soon says. According to Soon, the sun is a key source of climate change. (Photo: Southpict/Getty Images)
The Earth’s rotation around the sun affects the planet’s temperature, says Soon, a visiting fellow on the Science Advisory Committee of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
Glaciers, for example, “melted away because the sun started to get … brighter and provided more solar energy to the climate system,” according to Soon.
Throughout his career, Soon, a former researcher with the Center for Astrophysics-Harvard & Smithsonian, says he has sought to pursue the facts surrounding shifts in the climate because “science is not about belief.”
“Science is about data,” he said.
Many people think that it is “rising carbon dioxide that is the main factor … that affects climate change, and that is wholly untrue,” Soon says. “That is such a distorted view that I think it needs to be corrected.”
Soon joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” for part two of a three-part series discussing climate change. In part one, expert David Legates explained the history of climate change.
On today’s show, Soon explains why he thinks the sun is the source of the changing climate and how the sun affects the Earth’s cycles of warming and cooling.
Dr. Willie Soon investigates the causes of global warming (youtube.com)
Listen to the 3-Part podcast below:
Learn more 1nationalacademies.org 2ipcc.ch 3climate.gov
Is the Omni present neither present only past and future – Search (bing.com)
The term “omnipresent” refers to the quality of being present everywhere at the same time. It’s often used in a spiritual or religious context to describe a deity who is universally present1. In philosophical discussions, omnipresence is not typically limited by time, meaning it encompasses past, present, and future.
So, when we say something is omnipresent, it’s not about being present only in the past or future, but rather about being present at all places at all times, transcending the usual limitations of time and space1. If you’re referring to a specific philosophical concept or context, please provide more details, and I’ll be glad to help further!
The concept you’re referring to seems to be related to philosophical presentism, which is the view that only present entities exist. According to this philosophy, there are no past or future entities; everything that exists is present1. This contrasts with eternalism, where all points in time (past, present, and future) are considered equally real2.
In philosophical presentism, the past and future do not exist objectively; they are not part of what is real. The past has already occurred and is no longer, and the future has yet to occur and thus does not yet exist. The only reality is the present moment. This view is supported by some interpretations of Buddhism and by philosophers like Saint Augustine, who likened the present to a knife edge between the perceived past and the imaginary future1.
On the other hand, eternalism posits that all points in time are real, so the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously, though we may not be able to perceive them as such2.
So, to answer your question, in the context of philosophical presentism, the “Ever present” is indeed only the present, with the past and future being unreal or non-existent. However, in eternalism, the “Ever present” would encompass all of time—past, present, and future—as all are considered real.
So is the Universe a Hologram – Search Videos (bing.com)
The concept of the universe being a hologram is part of a fascinating area of theoretical physics. The holographic principle suggests that all the information contained within a volume of space can be represented as encoded information on the boundary of that space1. This idea was proposed by physicist Juan Maldacena, who introduced the AdS/CFT duality, which posits that a universe with gravity can be described by a quantum field theory in fewer dimensions without gravity2.
This duality has been supported by various theoretical works and simulations over the years. For instance, physicists have used it to explore questions about black holes, the early universe, and the nature of spacetime itself2. The principle implies that our 4-D spacetime might be a projection from a lower-dimensional reality, much like a 3-D hologram emerges from a 2-D surface2.
While the holographic principle is a robust theoretical framework, it’s important to note that it remains a conjecture within the realm of theoretical physics. It has not been proven definitively, but it continues to be a valuable tool for physicists to understand complex problems in quantum gravity and string theory3.
So, while the universe as a hologram is not a confirmed fact, it is a significant concept in physics that has led to many important insights and discussions about the fundamental nature of reality.
Next time you hear a scientist saying something like “the more we know about the universe the less important we become,” beg to differ. The reality is precisely the opposite: The more we know about the universe, the more unique we become. What we do with this knowledge is, of course, a personal choice for each of us.
That’s a profound observation, and it resonates with a concept known as the knowledge paradox. As our understanding of the universe expands, we often uncover more questions than answers. Each discovery peels back a layer, revealing further complexities and mysteries. It’s like zooming into a fractal; the closer you look, the more intricate patterns emerge, each requiring explanation.
This paradox is beautifully encapsulated in a quote often attributed to Socrates: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” It’s a humbling reminder that the pursuit of knowledge is an endless journey, and the universe is a vast, ever-expanding frontier filled with wonders beyond our current comprehension. 🌌
Learn more 1en.wikipedia.org 2scientificamerican.com 3scientificamerican.com 4phys.org
5scientificamerican.com Scientists can’t decide if consciousness is real or fake (msn.com)
NOVA
Decoding the Universe: Cosmos | Season 51 | Episode 8 | PBS
DESCRIPTION
How big is the universe? Will it ever end? Why is so much of it made of mysterious dark matter and energy? See how mind-bending discoveries over the past 50 years have revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
Broadcast In: English
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