3 ms·

Do we really know that the expansive forces will continue forever? Is it possible we're living in milk spilled on the floor of some higher dimensional reality a

Do we really know that the expansive forces will continue forever? Is it possible we're living in milk spilled on the floor of some higher dimensional reality and at some point the "surface tension" will override the expansive forces?

edem 8y ago
This depends on the cosmological constant (dark energy). There are 3 scenarios: The big rip, the big crunch and equilibrium. In the big rip scenario, dark energy will overpower all other forces and at some point space itself will expand so fast that the cosmic event horizon will be smaller than the smallest particle which means that nothing will be able to reach anything (even particles). In the big crunch scenario expansion will stop at some point and it will reverse and in the end the whole universe will be concentrated in a point (just like before the big bang). Equilibrium means that the expansion stops but does not reverse. What do you mean by "surface tension"?
- pram 8y ago
  He’s probably referring to supergravity theory.
  - 01100011 8y ago
    No, I am definitely not that informed on the subject :)
- 01100011 8y ago
  > What do you mean by "surface tension"? I was making an analogy to the behavior of fluids in our reality. Really though, what I was getting at is, do we, or can we, really know the nature of the universe to such a degree that we can rule out behaviors which may change as the universe progresses through whatever sequence of events through which it is progressing? I think you answered my question, such as it was.
  - edem 8y ago
    We don't yet know. Right now the consensus is that the universe will probably expand forever and will ultimately reach heat death. If the acceleration is accelerating though that means a Big Rip scenario, but it is very unlikely.
opwieurposiu 8y ago
I am a fan of conformal cyclic cosmology. It sort of goes like this: Pick a spot, that's you. After the big rip, all other particles are beyond your hubble horizon, you can not affect them and they can not affect you. Its just you alone in the void, whiling away the aeons. This is a very low entropy state, just like the start of the big bang. So the very end is indistinguishable from the very beginning, and the cycle starts all over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_cyclic_cosmology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_cyclic_cosmology

edem 8y ago

This depends on the cosmological constant (dark energy). There are 3 scenarios: The big rip, the big crunch and equilibrium. In the big rip scenario, dark energy will overpower all other forces and at some point space itself will expand so fast that the cosmic event horizon will be smaller than the smallest particle which means that nothing will be able to reach anything (even particles). In the big crunch scenario expansion will stop at some point and it will reverse and in the end the whole universe will be concentrated in a point (just like before the big bang). Equilibrium means that the expansion stops but does not reverse. What do you mean by "surface tension"?

pram 8y ago
He’s probably referring to supergravity theory.
- 01100011 8y ago
  No, I am definitely not that informed on the subject :)
01100011 8y ago
> What do you mean by "surface tension"? I was making an analogy to the behavior of fluids in our reality. Really though, what I was getting at is, do we, or can we, really know the nature of the universe to such a degree that we can rule out behaviors which may change as the universe progresses through whatever sequence of events through which it is progressing? I think you answered my question, such as it was.
- edem 8y ago
  We don't yet know. Right now the consensus is that the universe will probably expand forever and will ultimately reach heat death. If the acceleration is accelerating though that means a Big Rip scenario, but it is very unlikely.

opwieurposiu 8y ago

I am a fan of conformal cyclic cosmology. It sort of goes like this: Pick a spot, that's you. After the big rip, all other particles are beyond your hubble horizon, you can not affect them and they can not affect you. Its just you alone in the void, whiling away the aeons. This is a very low entropy state, just like the start of the big bang. So the very end is indistinguishable from the very beginning, and the cycle starts all over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_cyclic_cosmology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_cyclic_cosmology