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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, 08:58 PM | #106 |
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Two problems with this. First, how do you know ants don't know algebra or even have a better system of mathematical equations than we have. Two, science never claims to know everything. In fact they do the opposite. They say "hey we think this is the way it is and we invite you to prove us wrong in hopes that we get it right."
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03-18-2014, 09:30 PM | #107 | |
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03-18-2014, 10:20 PM | #108 |
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Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more. |
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03-18-2014, 10:22 PM | #109 | |
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Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more. |
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03-18-2014, 10:30 PM | #110 |
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03-18-2014, 10:35 PM | #111 |
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I would like to believe that we have a soul, but it isn't anything tangible that can be proven though. Like information and evidence of the Big Bang for example.
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03-18-2014, 10:40 PM | #112 |
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03-18-2014, 10:51 PM | #113 |
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03-18-2014, 11:10 PM | #114 |
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I understand the thought process behind religion, spirits/souls, etc, etc.
We are a species that is so far advanced that we have essentially "mastered" our existence in the sense that we don't really have much to truly fear other than ourselves. We are the dominant species on the planet. But, we've been here for just a fraction of time in relation to the age of our planet, let alone to age of the universe. Further more, we have this mindset as humans that we are special - there has to be some reason for our existence other than just pure luck. (sorry, but probably not) We, like every animal, are afraid to die. We say we aren't, but we are. We're afraid that when we die, it's just that - we're dead. We cease to exist. Our thoughts are gone. So, we have created this idea that there is a special afterlife just for us where we can continue to live forever. It sucks, but realistically, we're just like any other animal.
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03-18-2014, 11:16 PM | #115 | |
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03-19-2014, 12:00 AM | #116 | |
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The thought of being special though, is unique to humans, poetry, love (sex for pleasure not just procreation). The extras over and beyond just animalistic instincts to survive or live. Dogs have been companions to mankind since the written word, yet humans have dreamt and see the dreams fullfilled; air travel, internal combustion, jet propulsion, travel to the moon, see the ripples created by the birth of the universe on a telescope..... It's hard to accept some realities, but humans not having a special quality and are just like any other animal, not true. Does that mean any of the religions are right? I didn't say that.... |
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03-19-2014, 12:48 AM | #117 | |
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Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more. |
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03-19-2014, 01:14 AM | #118 |
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"What created the universe? What made the sparks?"--dumb ****s offended by the mirror suggestion, "Who created God?"
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"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln |
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03-19-2014, 01:17 AM | #119 |
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03-19-2014, 02:09 AM | #120 |
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If you want to get to the literal since, humans did. Allah, Christian God, Jewish God, Greek/Roman Gods, and The Flying Spaghetti Monster are examples of different perceptions and beliefs of a omnipresence .
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