secrets in symmetry
28-Sep-13, 11:56
There's some discussion on another thread about the necessity (or otherwise) of creators of our Universe. This may not be as far out of reach as one might think.
Here are some comments by/about Professor Alan Guth of MIT (http://www.closertotruth.com/participant/Alan-Guth/42).
Guth, Alan
Alan is Professor of Physics, MIT. He is the originator of the now widely accepted cosmological model of the early universe, which he called Inflation and which seeks to explain how the universe came to be so uniform and why it began so close to the critical density. Inflation modifies the Big Bang theory by proposing that the expansion of the universe was propelled by a repulsive gravitational force. Here is how Alan describes it: “The inflationary universe theory is an add-on to the standard Big Bang theory, and basically what it adds on is a description of what drove the universe into expansion in the first place. In the classic version of the Big Bang theory, that expansion was put in as part of the initial assumptions, so there's no explanation for it whatever. The classical Big Bang theory was never really a theory of a bang; it was really a theory about the aftermath of a bang. Inflation provides a possible answer to the question of what made the universe bang, and now it looks like it's almost certainly the right answer.
Working with Professor Edward Farhi and others, Guth has explored the question of whether it is in principle possible to ignite inflation in a hypothetical laboratory, thereby creating a new universe. The answer is a definite maybe. They showed that it cannot be done classically, but with quantum tunneling it might be theoretically possible. The new universe, if it can be created, would not endanger our own universe. Instead it would slip through a wormhole and rapidly disconnect completely. Another intriguing feature of inflation is that almost all versions of inflation are eternal—once inflation starts, it never stops completely. Inflation has ended in our part of the universe, but very far away one expects that inflation is continuing, and will continue forever. Is it possible, then, that inflation is also eternal into the past? Recently Guth has worked with Alex Vilenkin and Arvind Borde to show that the inflating region of spacetime must have a past boundary, and that some new physics, perhaps a quantum theory of creation, would be needed to understand it.
Read more at the link above.
Perhaps each of us will be able to create our own personal universe at some time in the future. :cool:
Here are some comments by/about Professor Alan Guth of MIT (http://www.closertotruth.com/participant/Alan-Guth/42).
Guth, Alan
Alan is Professor of Physics, MIT. He is the originator of the now widely accepted cosmological model of the early universe, which he called Inflation and which seeks to explain how the universe came to be so uniform and why it began so close to the critical density. Inflation modifies the Big Bang theory by proposing that the expansion of the universe was propelled by a repulsive gravitational force. Here is how Alan describes it: “The inflationary universe theory is an add-on to the standard Big Bang theory, and basically what it adds on is a description of what drove the universe into expansion in the first place. In the classic version of the Big Bang theory, that expansion was put in as part of the initial assumptions, so there's no explanation for it whatever. The classical Big Bang theory was never really a theory of a bang; it was really a theory about the aftermath of a bang. Inflation provides a possible answer to the question of what made the universe bang, and now it looks like it's almost certainly the right answer.
Working with Professor Edward Farhi and others, Guth has explored the question of whether it is in principle possible to ignite inflation in a hypothetical laboratory, thereby creating a new universe. The answer is a definite maybe. They showed that it cannot be done classically, but with quantum tunneling it might be theoretically possible. The new universe, if it can be created, would not endanger our own universe. Instead it would slip through a wormhole and rapidly disconnect completely. Another intriguing feature of inflation is that almost all versions of inflation are eternal—once inflation starts, it never stops completely. Inflation has ended in our part of the universe, but very far away one expects that inflation is continuing, and will continue forever. Is it possible, then, that inflation is also eternal into the past? Recently Guth has worked with Alex Vilenkin and Arvind Borde to show that the inflating region of spacetime must have a past boundary, and that some new physics, perhaps a quantum theory of creation, would be needed to understand it.
Read more at the link above.
Perhaps each of us will be able to create our own personal universe at some time in the future. :cool: