A Universe of Secrets…
… We know nothing of how our universe will end up, and we don’t even know its full state at the moment… this universe is full of mystery… full of secrets.
What we think we know, is that everything came from an infinitesimal point in both [a] space and [a] time… we call this the Planck Space, which has a value of something like 1.616 x 10^-33 and the Planck Time (t_pi) of a very small 5.8 x 10^-44, and it is at this very small point which we have a Planck Density, given by the following formula:
d_pi=c^5/hG^2
And, the Planck Density is around 10^93 the density of water!! Now that is very dense. Whilst the Planck Time tpi=√(Gh/c^5) and the Planck Space 10-^33 makes a physical limit, it also allows for a temporal limit, and physics cannot answer for anything before this… So we are very blind T-1 seconds of Big Bang…
Was there anything to ponder?
Well, physics does give an answer… it simply explains that nothing existed before this point. There is one existing theory however, tied intrically to brane theory and superstring theory, which says that the universe existed for eons before big bang… possibly trillions of years! This theory is called the Ekpyrotic Theory, and whilst it is a very amusing theory, it’s not very well-accepted. In short, it says that our brane/universe existed like a frozen dimension until suddenly a collision from a passing brane smashed into ours, exiting energy all over again… this means that this could have happened quite a few times… but it can also give answers to why there seems to be an error in the vacuum of 122 magnitudes. This means there is far more energy than we ever contemplated using Quantum Mechanics.
After the program, ‘What the Bleep Do We Know,’ it stands to reason we don’t know very much. In a universe of infinite space and infinite possibilities, the scientist is left in awe. For instance, we still do not know what the wave function really is: We know it as some sort of ‘’statistical’’ invariance within all of matter. A single photon for instance will only be able to move through spacetime with some kind of wave function determining its value at any given moment.
One answer came about in 1926 – by Hugh Everett. He claimed that we should take the wave function seriously – and that if it was saying that a particle was showing up at any given time or place, then it was equally real before any collapse.
His theory states that the wave function was like a projection from another universe – in fact, an infinite amount of universes… and each time the wave produced these statistics, the universe split into as many possibilities as where required. Only thing is, is that the theory predicts some extremely ‘’unbelievable’’ occurrences. One way to see the improbable nature of the theory stated that if you flipped a coin 100 times, you would create something like 10^30, or exactly 1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376 universe-possibilities real! If we all stopped to do exactly the same thing, you can only imagine the amount of universes that would ‘’pop’’ into existence.
We have also had to develop new circumstances to fit a unique model of the universe. One of these circumstances is called ‘’The Inflationary Model.’’
When our model was first created, the universe was developed around the size of a blood cell. But this, as small as it may appear, was in fact far too big to reconcile the background temperatures… so in order to bring about some consistency they began the universe around the size of a proton – and then went through a rapid expansion phase – moving faster-than-light. It is said that inflation takes place from about 10^-30 seconds to about 10^-35 seconds after big bang.
Moving on, we also have problems reconciling why the universe has begun a type of accelerated expansion, where the distant universe has began to move away at speeds exceeding ‘’c’’ – 186,350 mph. Why this has happened, has been answered by saying that there is some type of antigravitational substance permeating spacetime – we call this stuff, exotic matter, and belongs in the class of an even more disturbing and mysterious set of matter called ‘’Dark Matter…’’
This stuff is meant to cover a massive 25-30% of all matter in the universe. They are meant to come in two categories: Hot and Cold Dark Matter. Hot Dark Matter moves at very high speeds, and therefore, Neutrino’s are meant to be a very good candidate, as they move a fraction short of ‘’c’’, whilst Cold varieties move much slower.
And again, moving on, we still do not know if our predictions on the physical reality are correct. Relativity of both types of General and Special are yet shrouded in mystery. Granted, much of the theory is bound by experimental verification, by an error in some cases of only 1%, there is still much about it which we cannot understand or prove. We know that gravity is matter. This much cannot be mistaken, and that matter is but a form of energy, given by Einstein’s famous E=Mc^2, we still cannot be sure of all the prediction made. One prediction, thought to be verified very soon without any complication, is Frame-Dragging.
Intuit alone tells one that this ‘’Frame-Dragging’’ malarkey is indeed real. We learn that space and time has a type of geometry:
G_ab=kT_ab
This equation is very important, where the Gab Einstein Tensor Factor, and the Stress Energy Tensor is given as and T_ab and k is a constant. This equation relates to the curvature of space and time, saying that stress energy is what causes the disturbance of spacetime.
The following equation which is an extension of the above equation connects matter with energy with the geometry of spacetime (on the left):
G^uv(-8 π G/c^2)T^uv
For all of these reasons, we know that there is a geometry in spacetime, and that matter is energy which is nothing but curvature and distortions… more so all of this is nothing but an acceleration through spacetime.
Nearly finished this short essay, what do we make of the future of our grand universe? Well, here is the rub: What future are we talking about?
If our universe is open (meaning it will never reach an end), then in about 10^14 years, the longest lived stars will have burnt out, using all their energies through thermonuclear runaway, and in about 10^20 years, our Galactic System will have decayed via gravitational waves. And then, much, much later in about 10^5000 years, all matter and energy will have fusioned or fissioned into iron by radioactive processes. By the time of about 10^7000 to ^8000 years our universe will be nothing but a soup of black holes and distorted time.
If our universe is closed, then we might expect some type of gravitational pull on the very fabric of spacetime. If there is a critical value on the ratio of spacetime with the density of mass-energy, then the universe will undergo a collapse, because it is unable to escape its own power of gravity. In this instance, we say that the arrows of space and time reverse, and everything will be shoved back into the gravitational singularity (a place where all coordinates are blown into unimaginable proportions – into infinity) where it had came from.
… We know nothing of how our universe will end up, and we don’t even know its full state at the moment… this universe is full of mystery… full of secrets.
What we think we know, is that everything came from an infinitesimal point in both [a] space and [a] time… we call this the Planck Space, which has a value of something like 1.616 x 10^-33 and the Planck Time (t_pi) of a very small 5.8 x 10^-44, and it is at this very small point which we have a Planck Density, given by the following formula:
d_pi=c^5/hG^2
And, the Planck Density is around 10^93 the density of water!! Now that is very dense. Whilst the Planck Time tpi=√(Gh/c^5) and the Planck Space 10-^33 makes a physical limit, it also allows for a temporal limit, and physics cannot answer for anything before this… So we are very blind T-1 seconds of Big Bang…
Was there anything to ponder?
Well, physics does give an answer… it simply explains that nothing existed before this point. There is one existing theory however, tied intrically to brane theory and superstring theory, which says that the universe existed for eons before big bang… possibly trillions of years! This theory is called the Ekpyrotic Theory, and whilst it is a very amusing theory, it’s not very well-accepted. In short, it says that our brane/universe existed like a frozen dimension until suddenly a collision from a passing brane smashed into ours, exiting energy all over again… this means that this could have happened quite a few times… but it can also give answers to why there seems to be an error in the vacuum of 122 magnitudes. This means there is far more energy than we ever contemplated using Quantum Mechanics.
After the program, ‘What the Bleep Do We Know,’ it stands to reason we don’t know very much. In a universe of infinite space and infinite possibilities, the scientist is left in awe. For instance, we still do not know what the wave function really is: We know it as some sort of ‘’statistical’’ invariance within all of matter. A single photon for instance will only be able to move through spacetime with some kind of wave function determining its value at any given moment.
One answer came about in 1926 – by Hugh Everett. He claimed that we should take the wave function seriously – and that if it was saying that a particle was showing up at any given time or place, then it was equally real before any collapse.
His theory states that the wave function was like a projection from another universe – in fact, an infinite amount of universes… and each time the wave produced these statistics, the universe split into as many possibilities as where required. Only thing is, is that the theory predicts some extremely ‘’unbelievable’’ occurrences. One way to see the improbable nature of the theory stated that if you flipped a coin 100 times, you would create something like 10^30, or exactly 1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376 universe-possibilities real! If we all stopped to do exactly the same thing, you can only imagine the amount of universes that would ‘’pop’’ into existence.
We have also had to develop new circumstances to fit a unique model of the universe. One of these circumstances is called ‘’The Inflationary Model.’’
When our model was first created, the universe was developed around the size of a blood cell. But this, as small as it may appear, was in fact far too big to reconcile the background temperatures… so in order to bring about some consistency they began the universe around the size of a proton – and then went through a rapid expansion phase – moving faster-than-light. It is said that inflation takes place from about 10^-30 seconds to about 10^-35 seconds after big bang.
Moving on, we also have problems reconciling why the universe has begun a type of accelerated expansion, where the distant universe has began to move away at speeds exceeding ‘’c’’ – 186,350 mph. Why this has happened, has been answered by saying that there is some type of antigravitational substance permeating spacetime – we call this stuff, exotic matter, and belongs in the class of an even more disturbing and mysterious set of matter called ‘’Dark Matter…’’
This stuff is meant to cover a massive 25-30% of all matter in the universe. They are meant to come in two categories: Hot and Cold Dark Matter. Hot Dark Matter moves at very high speeds, and therefore, Neutrino’s are meant to be a very good candidate, as they move a fraction short of ‘’c’’, whilst Cold varieties move much slower.
And again, moving on, we still do not know if our predictions on the physical reality are correct. Relativity of both types of General and Special are yet shrouded in mystery. Granted, much of the theory is bound by experimental verification, by an error in some cases of only 1%, there is still much about it which we cannot understand or prove. We know that gravity is matter. This much cannot be mistaken, and that matter is but a form of energy, given by Einstein’s famous E=Mc^2, we still cannot be sure of all the prediction made. One prediction, thought to be verified very soon without any complication, is Frame-Dragging.
Intuit alone tells one that this ‘’Frame-Dragging’’ malarkey is indeed real. We learn that space and time has a type of geometry:
G_ab=kT_ab
This equation is very important, where the Gab Einstein Tensor Factor, and the Stress Energy Tensor is given as and T_ab and k is a constant. This equation relates to the curvature of space and time, saying that stress energy is what causes the disturbance of spacetime.
The following equation which is an extension of the above equation connects matter with energy with the geometry of spacetime (on the left):
G^uv(-8 π G/c^2)T^uv
For all of these reasons, we know that there is a geometry in spacetime, and that matter is energy which is nothing but curvature and distortions… more so all of this is nothing but an acceleration through spacetime.
Nearly finished this short essay, what do we make of the future of our grand universe? Well, here is the rub: What future are we talking about?
If our universe is open (meaning it will never reach an end), then in about 10^14 years, the longest lived stars will have burnt out, using all their energies through thermonuclear runaway, and in about 10^20 years, our Galactic System will have decayed via gravitational waves. And then, much, much later in about 10^5000 years, all matter and energy will have fusioned or fissioned into iron by radioactive processes. By the time of about 10^7000 to ^8000 years our universe will be nothing but a soup of black holes and distorted time.
If our universe is closed, then we might expect some type of gravitational pull on the very fabric of spacetime. If there is a critical value on the ratio of spacetime with the density of mass-energy, then the universe will undergo a collapse, because it is unable to escape its own power of gravity. In this instance, we say that the arrows of space and time reverse, and everything will be shoved back into the gravitational singularity (a place where all coordinates are blown into unimaginable proportions – into infinity) where it had came from.
