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03-17-2014, 05:14 PM | |
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Scientists find cosmic ripples from birth of universe
Scientists find cosmic ripples from birth of universe
Published March 17, 2014 Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the first direct evidence of the astonishing expansion of the universe in the instant following the Big Bang -- the scientific explanation for the birth of the universe some 13.8 billion years ago. Scientists believe that the universe exploded from a tiny speck and hurled itself out in all directions in the fraction of a second that followed, beginning just 10 to the minus 35 seconds (roughly one trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second) after the universe's birth. Matter ultimately coalesced hundreds of millions of years later into planets, stars, and ultimately us. And like ripples from a ball kicked into a pond, that Big Bang-fueled expansion caused ripples in the ancient light from that event, light which remains imprinted in the skies in a leftover glow called the cosmic microwave background. Scientists still don’t know who kicked the ball. But if confirmed, the newfound ripples would be amazing proof of what has long been mere theory about what happened in those first millionths of a second. “The implications for this detection stagger the mind,” said Jamie Bock, professor of physics at Caltech, laboratory senior research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and project co-leader. “We are measuring a signal that comes from the dawn of time.” "It would be the most important discovery since the discovery, I think, that the expansion of the universe is accelerating," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who is not a member of the study team, told Space.com. He compared the finding to a 1998 observation that opened the window on mysterious dark energy and won three researchers the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. The groundbreaking results came from observations by BICEP2, a telescope at the South Pole, of the cosmic microwave background -- a faint glow left over from the Big Bang. Beginning a fraction of a fraction of a second after the universe's birth, according to the current theory, space-time expanded incredibly rapidly, ballooning outward faster than the speed of light. The afterglow from that expansion is called the cosmic microwave background, and tiny fluctuations in it provide clues to conditions in the early universe. For example, small differences in temperature across the sky show where parts of the universe were denser, eventually condensing into galaxies and galactic clusters. Since the cosmic microwave background is a form of light, it exhibits all the properties of light, including polarization. On Earth, sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere and becomes polarized, which is why polarized sunglasses help reduce glare. In space, the cosmic microwave background was scattered by atoms and electrons and became polarized too. “Our team hunted for a special type of polarization called ‘B-modes,’ which represents a twisting or ‘curl’ pattern in the polarized orientations of the ancient light,” said Bock. The team presented their work at a press conference Monda at Harvard -- the discovery of that characteristic pattern of polarization in the skies, which they called proof of the gravitational waves across the primordial sky. “This work offers new insights into some of our most basic questions: Why do we exist? How did the universe begin? These results are not only a smoking gun for inflation, they also tell us when inflation took place and how powerful the process was,” Harvard theorist Avi Loeb said. |
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03-18-2014, 07:13 PM | #91 |
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03-18-2014, 07:15 PM | #92 |
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Why do science stories have to turn into religion arguments? The universe is really cool. I think that's what should be taken from this thread.
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03-18-2014, 07:19 PM | #93 |
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Absolutely. I'm still not sure why it matters how the universe evolves. What matters is the universe is incredible.
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03-18-2014, 07:19 PM | #94 | |
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Quote:
Only bigger or smaller. The entire universe really isn't big if there is mega multiverse that could be in a cluster of MMVs. In a different number of levels of dimensions. With every point and in the universe being connected And the the theory that the total number of minds in the universe being one-Erwin Shrodenger. THE greatest minds ever Tesla and Einstein, both knew that there is.......something..something conscious, something niether big or tiny in the sky, but omnipresent, and a part of us all. ALL of this is here for whatever we are or it is to exist on a phsical plane IMO. For what I don't know. But like you said. It is absolutely no more far fetched than to think that somebody wrecked a truck full of paint and left Il Giudizio Universale on the pavement...no way. |
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03-18-2014, 07:20 PM | #95 |
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Because some see it as a threat to their faith?
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03-18-2014, 07:24 PM | #96 |
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03-18-2014, 07:26 PM | #97 |
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^
Anyone that feels threatened by something as simple as a discussion about the universe should have their faith examined. I think the reason these things start is because one smart comment bashing one side or the other turns into something like this |
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03-18-2014, 07:27 PM | #98 |
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You've got a pic of a Royals player in your sig. Nobody can question your faith ever.
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03-18-2014, 07:27 PM | #99 |
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03-18-2014, 08:37 PM | #100 |
Keep doubting J MFing Houston
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03-18-2014, 08:38 PM | #101 | |
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Quote:
(pun intended)
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03-18-2014, 08:53 PM | #102 |
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This thread sums up why the midwest sucks and why our country is far behind others in science and mathematics.
Science and religion are not mutually exclusive. The big difference that I see is exactly what you saw with Nye vs Ham. You give Nye evidence and you can change his mind. You give Ham evidence and he points to a book written thousands of years ago and refuses to accept your evidence.
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03-18-2014, 08:54 PM | #103 |
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Yep, like God teaching algebra to ants, ants wanna know, just not smart enough. Throw in the fact people have a spirit or soul? Science cant begin to touch that.
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03-18-2014, 08:57 PM | #104 |
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Ants have no concept of algebra or knowledge or anything that you and I think about. An ant acts on instinct - it doesn't have the necessary tools for higher-thinking.
Where's the proof of a spirit or a soul? Near-death experiences (white light, seeing grandma) can be explained by DMT.
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03-18-2014, 08:58 PM | #105 |
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Ugh
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