Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Origin of life?
Message board moderation
Previous · 1 · 2
Author | Message |
---|---|
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
The two different conceptions of reality are those of general relativity and quantum field theory. How to reconcile the two is still a mystery. Tullio |
Clayton Rayne Send message Joined: 13 Jun 13 Posts: 99 Credit: 63,107 RAC: 0 |
I think I disagree. It is a tenant of faith in physics that somehow relativity and quantum theories have to be combined. But why should that so? Perhaps these two different depictions of reality are both correct and complete in and of themselves.. It is only the human desire for things to be neat and tidy that makes us think that there must be some grand theory that explains both. Experience teaches that the universe is neither neat nor tidy. Reminds me of the old Earth-center theory that depended on concentric crystal spheres to explain the movement of heavenly bodies. Each new discovery needing ever more complex mechanizations to keep the spheres in place. Today we have physicists comping up with ever-more complex mechanizations to somehow unite relativity and the quantum. But if both theories are fundamentally correct as they are, we are only responding to some need to keep the 'crystal spheres' spinning then physics is heading in the wrong direction. |
William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4 |
Yes, It is not earth shaking to realize that we have disparities at the very small and the somewhat large. Scientists have been trying to unify special relativity with Quantum theory for well over a hundred years. It can easily be seen that there is a difference with what is happening on the sub-atomic level and what we observe in both everyday and astronomical experience. For instance: the atom is overwhelmingly composed of free space; yet, my hand can't pass through my desktop. This we say is due to electrical charge repulsion. Both very different views of a common phenomenon. The world is composed of tiny "Things" with granular and quantized lumps of energy and I suspect of length. In time we will understand better, but: we can only make analogies to what we already know and think is correct. We may know How and What; but may never get to WHY. The uncaused cause would imply that things always existed without a beginning--what that is we may never know. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
|
OzzFan Send message Joined: 9 Apr 02 Posts: 15691 Credit: 84,761,841 RAC: 28 |
but may never get to WHY. Since when has spiritualism or religion ever had expertise in any field? |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
|
OzzFan Send message Joined: 9 Apr 02 Posts: 15691 Credit: 84,761,841 RAC: 28 |
but may never get to WHY. That's what I am asking, as are many others. The more people that ask that question, the better. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
but may never get to WHY. True... rOZZ Music Pictures |
bluealien Send message Joined: 18 Oct 07 Posts: 30 Credit: 216,250 RAC: 0 |
Logically our universe isn't infinite, - Olbers paradox. [url] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers'_paradox[/url] That said, your original point still stands 13 billion years is no small amount of time. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
Fixed that link for ye, bluealien :) rOZZ Music Pictures |
William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4 |
The real reason is that even at 100,000 miles diameter a star can be many trillions of miles away and would subtend an arc when viewed from Earth that would essentially be a singular point to our eye. Others are too far away to be seen. |
Gary Charpentier Send message Joined: 25 Dec 00 Posts: 30673 Credit: 53,134,872 RAC: 32 |
If the universe is static and populated by an infinite number of stars, any sight line from Earth must end at the (very bright) surface of a star, so the night sky should be completely bright. This contradicts the observed darkness of the night. Say what? What is wrong with the original is that is doesn't also state the infinite universe also has to be infinitely old or that light hasn't gotten to earth yet. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
I always thought the Universe wasn't infinite and that the observable Universe is about 46 billion light years in radius. [edit] Found an interesting link: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112787040/universe-not-infinite-after-all-021913/ rOZZ Music Pictures |
tullio Send message Joined: 9 Apr 04 Posts: 8797 Credit: 2,930,782 RAC: 1 |
I've read it but the Higgs boson's mass is not around 126 MeV but GeV. We at Test4Theory@home are still working to determine its spin, which should be zero according to the Standard Model. Tullio |
Larry Monske Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 281 Credit: 554,328 RAC: 0 |
The sad point what if we are the only beings that communicate with artificial machines. Other species will be different from us maybe the smartest and oldest beings be beyond any means to communicate by mear thoughts. They could be whales on a water world with no need for communication at all in space other than their own world. I cant belive that we are the only beings in the universe, that would be a sad thing. The human race couldnt populatye a new earth domewhere else. We need a million years of technology to gain the stars only if we dont blow ourselves up.We have to be more than an infestation on on the surface of a planet. |
Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
It would be truly sad and totally unbelieveable if it is true that the earth,out of the entire universe, is the only planet with "intelligent" life and once we have passed into history there would be no one left to ponder it's mysteries. Bob DeWoody My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
|
Clayton Rayne Send message Joined: 13 Jun 13 Posts: 99 Credit: 63,107 RAC: 0 |
From the late, great George Carlin: "If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little." |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
|
©2024 University of California
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.