Warning: file_get_contents(/home/www/settings/mirror_forum_db_enable_sql): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/html/content/Forum/functions.php on line 8
I was in the midst of a lecture about black holes, with contraction/expansion being discussed, and had some clunky layman revelation that the expansion period following a Big Bang is what our universe is in the midst of (along with all the other universes that are posited, expanding in their own way) and, one day, it will begin to contract until there is nothingness and then another Big Bang.
And then it will begin all over again....
Oh, and I'm also thinking of the old story of how fish are in water, but don't really recognize that. They see other fish, plants, etc., but not the medium. I'm guessing that 85% of our universe is analogous to that water, except we're calling it Dark Matter. We don't recognize that we're floating in it, unless we're somehow able to not be in it.
Only ~5% is ordinary matter that we observe...I think the rest are spirits.
JK, but maybe not?
Location: At the dude ranch / above the sea Gender:
Posted:
Jun 24, 2025 - 8:05am
black321 wrote:
The Big Bang may not have been the beginning of the universe, according to a theory of cosmology that suggests the universe can âbounceâ between phases of contraction and expansion. If that theory is true, then it could have profound implications about the nature of the cosmos, including two of its most mysterious components: black holes and dark matter.
I was in the midst of a lecture about black holes, with contraction/expansion being discussed, and had some clunky layman revelation that the expansion period following a Big Bang is what our universe is in the midst of (along with all the other universes that are posited, expanding in their own way) and, one day, it will begin to contract until there is nothingness and then another Big Bang.
And then it will begin all over again....
Oh, and I'm also thinking of the old story of how fish are in water, but don't really recognize that. They see other fish, plants, etc., but not the medium. I'm guessing that 85% of our universe is analogous to that water, except we're calling it Dark Matter. We don't recognize that we're floating in it, unless we're somehow able to not be in it.
The Big Bang may not have been the beginning of the universe, according to a theory of cosmology that suggests the universe can âbounceâ between phases of contraction and expansion. If that theory is true, then it could have profound implications about the nature of the cosmos, including two of its most mysterious components: black holes and dark matter.
I gave up on church a long time ago, but seeing this far out, this far back in time, always makes me think of god. Is my life, is this world, is the universe so big it couldnât be accidental? Does something like this take the place of a burning bush in terms of giving us a message that there is a creator?
My friend, a planetary scientist, deals with explorations like this and I tried once to ask him if it gave him some complex but logical version of religion, but I was cut off by a loud, probably threatened friend who insisted on traditional stuff like the handed down word of god, etc. Took over the conversation and Iâve regretted not pushing it past that - but didnât want to hurt my traditionally religious friend.
But, as we see the depth of space - and the time that it implies - and move from that to the idea that your kidney tubules have areas the control the content of your urine and if they donât work right you die - and so, can it all be a coincidence that it all came together on such a massive AND microscopic scale in order to have a universe AND mankindâ¦
Iâve had three martoonis at this point, but I think you get what Iâm talking about.
I come from a mixed background. My mum was as devout as they come and my Dad absolutely appalled by the church (due to his religious Dad beating all his kids with the bible) but I have to give them both great credit for never ever letting that come between them. So I grew up totally free to choose which path to go down. I ended up following Dad. What he had though, was an enormous sense of wonder and love for nature. If he'd not had a family to look after, I am pretty sure he would have lived in the wild.
For me there are two absolutely unfathomable things that I will never get my head around that make me just sit back (hopefully with a martooni):
1. That there is a universe of such scale and complexity popping out of some quantum fluctuation
2. That we aware of it, i.e. consciousness
I honestly think the only half-way appropriate response is silence or song.
I gave up on church a long time ago, but seeing this far out, this far back in time, always makes me think of god. Is my life, is this world, is the universe so big it couldnât be accidental? Does something like this take the place of a burning bush in terms of giving us a message that there is a creator?
My friend, a planetary scientist, deals with explorations like this and I tried once to ask him if it gave him some complex but logical version of religion, but I was cut off by a loud, probably threatened friend who insisted on traditional stuff like the handed down word of god, etc. Took over the conversation and Iâve regretted not pushing it past that - but didnât want to hurt my traditionally religious friend.
But, as we see the depth of space - and the time that it implies - and move from that to the idea that your kidney tubules have areas the control the content of your urine and if they donât work right you die - and so, can it all be a coincidence that it all came together on such a massive AND microscopic scale in order to have a universe AND mankindâ¦
Iâve had three martoonis at this point, but I think you get what Iâm talking about.
I looked for the conjunction of Venus and Mars last night but I could only vaguely make out venus. The moon was really weird though. It looked as if there were two moons and made my eyes blurry and unfocused. I'll check again tonight but we always have bad luck with astronomical events.
I looked for the conjunction of Venus and Mars last night but I could only vaguely make out venus. The moon was really weird though. It looked as if there were two moons and made my eyes blurry and unfocused. I'll check again tonight but we always have bad luck with astronomical events.
Yeah, it's not enough for humanity to trash the planet; let's fuck up local space while we're at it.
pretty sure there are quite a few countries working on approval to use ground based lasers to nudge space debris into the void
among other things
NASA has this
The Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN)is a quarterly publication of the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. The ODQN publishes some of the latest events in orbital debris research, offers orbital debris news and statistics, and presents project reviews and meeting reports, as well as upcoming events. Illustrating graphs, charts, photographs, and drawings support the articles and provide a detailed understanding of the topics. Each issue is available as a downloadable PDF file.
FTA: In 1978, NASA scientist Donald Kessler published a landmark paper on the potential impacts of space junk collisions in Earth's orbit. He predicted a grim future in which a chain of collisions could send an impenetrable wave of debris out across low-Earth orbit, rendering the rest of the universe out of reach to humanity for decades.
Yeah, it's not enough for humanity to trash the planet; let's fuck up local space while we're at it.
FTA: In 1978, NASA scientist Donald Kessler published a landmark paper on the potential impacts of space junk collisions in Earth's orbit. He predicted a grim future in which a chain of collisions could send an impenetrable wave of debris out across low-Earth orbit, rendering the rest of the universe out of reach to humanity for decades.
