The complicated Science thread
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
Not quite, you're treating space as an absolute thing, but it's all relative. For the sake of this discussion, space itself didn't exist before the big bang. That means that matter didn't explode away from a point in space during the big bang, it was space itself which grew, and it grew much faster than the speed of light.
Imagine drawing a number of dots (matter) on the surface of a deflated balloon (space), 1cm apart. Now you inflate the balloon and the dots end up 5cm apart. The dots themselves haven't moved relative to the balloon or each other, but are now further apart as the balloon itself has expanded.
If you want another brain tickler, then try this. The size of the current universe cannot be explained by the age of the universe.
Or to build on that - it can't be explained without a certain theory called 'Inflation.'
Essentially, the speed of light being what it is, the universe is too big for the big bang to have happen X billion of years ago. The universe would either have to be older than it is, an our best observations say it isn't, or the speed of light isn't the fastest something can travel.
So as we know the observable universe size and special relativity sets the speed of light (the speed of light being in question thanks to some recent Neutrinos). Scientists reckon something called 'Inflation' happening very early on, very briefly and before we can measure it now. It's theory only, but happens to nicely answer a number of questions that we can't figure out from the evidence we know about and can find.
More on inflation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology)
To build on last nights post, gravity doesn't hold you to this planet. Acceleration does, which is also gravity. So don't think about gravity being a special force all of its own.
Also the whole bending of space-time point is the mass of the earth or the sun moving through space. The sun bends space time so much, that even though the earth only moves in a straight line, it follows the curve of the depression the Sun's mass makes. The Sun and the solar system in turn are effected by other solar systems, which in turn are affected by heavier objects, small galaxies and large galaxies. Think of the trampoline example again.
Btw - I have to thank this man for helping me understand all these points (most of which I'm borrowing). It's well worth getting for Christmas and a damned good mind mush making read.
Or to build on that - it can't be explained without a certain theory called 'Inflation.'
Essentially, the speed of light being what it is, the universe is too big for the big bang to have happen X billion of years ago. The universe would either have to be older than it is, an our best observations say it isn't, or the speed of light isn't the fastest something can travel.
So as we know the observable universe size and special relativity sets the speed of light (the speed of light being in question thanks to some recent Neutrinos). Scientists reckon something called 'Inflation' happening very early on, very briefly and before we can measure it now. It's theory only, but happens to nicely answer a number of questions that we can't figure out from the evidence we know about and can find.
More on inflation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology)
To build on last nights post, gravity doesn't hold you to this planet. Acceleration does, which is also gravity. So don't think about gravity being a special force all of its own.
Also the whole bending of space-time point is the mass of the earth or the sun moving through space. The sun bends space time so much, that even though the earth only moves in a straight line, it follows the curve of the depression the Sun's mass makes. The Sun and the solar system in turn are effected by other solar systems, which in turn are affected by heavier objects, small galaxies and large galaxies. Think of the trampoline example again.
Btw - I have to thank this man for helping me understand all these points (most of which I'm borrowing). It's well worth getting for Christmas and a damned good mind mush making read.
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Yeah this one has always amazed me too. Also the empty space inside of matter is really puzzling, i.e you could fit all the matter on earth inside a cigarette packet. That's bloody crazy!
Also what is that thing they do with photons where they shine a single photon through a slot and it breaks apart? Quantum Entanglment?
I really am a noob on the subject, as are most of us, but I do find it fascinating! Looks like I have some reading to do to catch up with you brain boxes lol
I love the double slot experiment, it shows how mental quantum physics is quite easily. It demonstrates quantum interference (entanglement is something different, more complicated and even more bonkers).
The principle is that you shine a light through two slits onto a screen. Logic would suggest you'd see two patches of light on the screen, perhaps overlapping depending on the distances used. However, what you actually see is light and dark stripes of light. If you imagine that light is a wave then this starts to make sense.
Imagine dropping two pebbles into a pond a distance apart. The waves from each will travel outward, and eventually meet the waves from the other. Where a peak meets a peak, or a trough meets a trough, they will essentially add together to give bigger waves. Where a peak meets a trough, they will cancel each other out and lead to a flat patch.
If you look at the light travelling out from each slit as a series of waves, they interfere with each other like the ripples on the water to create light and dark stripes on the screen.
There are some good diagrams of wave interference that make it a bit clearer here.
That all makes sense and isn't too alarming, right? I mean, we're taught at school that light is a wave.
What's fun is when you start firing particles (such as matter that actual, physical things we can see and touch are made of, or something smaller like photons) at the slits. What you see is the same interference pattern whereby you get stripes of particles hitting the screen. But that makes no sense, because they're particles and not waves. In fact, one of the principles of quantum physics is that particles and waves are just two ways for us to interpret the same thing, and describe how they behave in certain situations. Even matter behaves like a wave in certain situations.
Weirder still, is that if you put a particle detector at the slits so you can measure how many particles pass through each of the two slits, the interference pattern disappears. Observing the particles on their journey actually changes how they travel. Now we're getting really crazy
The most "popular" theory of what is happening is that every particle is taking every possible route from the source to the destination, of which there are an effectively infinite number, in different "dimensions". When something observable happens, this collapses and we end up back in one dimension. This is the basis of "quantum wave functions" and "wave function collapse".
Let me know if any of that is badly explained, because when you realise what it means, it's a pretty mind-blowing idea
This is utterly awesome some of these things Webby & jaik have bought up. I love all this stuff, and I now have brain fag!
A bit of a simpler thing for you:
This picture was taken from someone's garden, what a photo:
I still want to know why the core of Jupiter is a metallic hydrogen. Can someone explain how hydrogen is metallic!?
A bit of a simpler thing for you:
This picture was taken from someone's garden, what a photo:
I still want to know why the core of Jupiter is a metallic hydrogen. Can someone explain how hydrogen is metallic!?
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Paul
Platinum Member
And he be correct
This. :thumbup:
Been watching 'him' on Eden all day! Mostly with my mouth wide open LOL! :001_rolleyes:
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