Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NoSacredCow on September 3, 2010 at 3:29pm

entropy is the reason why "god" can no longer even summon up a simple burning bush... ;p

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on September 3, 2010 at 3:55pm

Nice!

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Permalink Reply by willailla on September 3, 2010 at 6:39pm

The universe exists. That’s all anyone really knows for sure.

--an oscillating or cyclic universe still doesn’t answer the question as to how and when the universe began.

--with a force strong enough to shrink the universe into the size of a dime wherefore comes that stronger force to make it expand again? It's a cop out to postulate a new physics to cover ones ignorance by saying it is created by shrinkage, then, an old physics returns with expansion. This is mere mysticism posing as science.

How can there be a singularity that contains the whole universe surrounded by Einstein's curved nothingness beyond? And if the universe is infinite in time and space, singularity is impossible.

Bobby Vee’s Big Bounce Theory:

"Like a rubber ball, baby, that’s all that I am to you...
and, like a rubber ball, I’ll come bouncing back to you."

Houston, we have a problem:

"Another main objection to [the theory] is that a Big Bounce would reverse entropy by
resetting the state of the universe, violating the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Also, the collapse into a singularity would destroy most of the information in the previous universe.

"...the big bang singularity is the single point from which the entire universe is supposed to
have sprung. It is, in fact, the major sticking point in the big bang theory.” --because, again,
singularity violates the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics physics.

An “explanation of any given state of the Universe does not address the larger cosmic
question: why is there a succession of states of the Universe? Leibniz, for instance, claimed
that we cannot find in the parts of a thing a sufficient explanation of the whole. It is one thing
to explain why a particular member of a series exists, it is another to explain the existence of
the whole series itself.”.....”Each state of the universe might have an explanation in an earlier
state, plus laws of nature, but that does not tell us why there are any states at all (whether for
infinite or finite time).”

"According to some oscillatory universe theorists, the Big Bang was simply the beginning of
a period of expansion that followed a period of contraction. In this view, one could talk of a
Big Crunch followed by a Big Bang, or more simply, a Big Bounce. This suggests that we
might be living in the first of all universes, but are equally likely to be living in the 2
billionth universe (or any of an infinite other sequential universes."

“To partially grasp this understanding the philosopher must first realise that nothing or nothing equals the absence of any thing including the absence of absence itself. One theory shows that the universe was created from the expansion of heat energy, but the Something from Nothing argument shows that the energy could not have ever existed at all nor could it have come into existence from nothing.”

Some physicists try to get around this conundrum by postulating a non-nothingness that is
nothing. Again mysticism posing as science....”Our new definition of nothing will now read:
nothing is an infinite void, nothing else can exist except for the universe that is
contained within it.”

“...how can a Universe be contained by something that doesn’t exist (the outside of the
Universe), let alone expand into a non-existent place, which is the commonly accepted notion?”

For those who have an insatiable need to go insane read further:

http://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Where%20universe%20from.htm

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Permalink Reply by NoSacredCow on September 3, 2010 at 7:26pm

Alfred E. Neuman had it right when he said, "What, me worry?"

That especially applies to the beginning of the beginning of the beginning ad infinitum...

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Permalink Reply by willailla on September 3, 2010 at 7:43pm

That picture reminds me of George Bush?

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Permalink Reply by Michael on September 5, 2010 at 10:47pm

I don't think the Republicans appreciated that parallel.

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Permalink Reply by Wesley on September 3, 2010 at 11:54pm

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/a_cyclic_universe/

"The ekpyrotic and cyclic models were inspired by the idea, suggested by string theory, that our three-dimensional world is a surface or “brane” embedded in a space (with an extra spatial dimension) separated by a microscopic distance from a second similar brane. A weak, spring-like force holds the two branes together and causes them to smash into one another and bounce apart, perhaps at regular intervals. Each collision is another big bang that produces hot matter and radiation. The branes expand after each collision and the hot matter and radiation spread out. This matter is what ultimately gives rise to galaxies, stars, and planets. The cyclic picture neatly incorporates the mysterious dark matter and dark energy observed in our universe, as well. Dark matter forms at the same time as ordinary matter when the two branes collide. Visible matter is produced on our brane, but invisible or dark matter is produced on the other brane, a leading reason for why we never visibly see it."

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Permalink Reply by Dave on September 3, 2010 at 6:44pm

My head was in the right space, i am surprised that with such little knowledge that i could reason against it with logic! He used the argument of entropy against evolution and i was confused as to what entropy was and he explained it and i was so lost as to how it affected our planet and such. Thanks for all the great answers and explanations.

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Permalink Reply by Allen Sneed on September 3, 2010 at 11:09pm

An easy way to think about entropy is this: To do work, or to build complexity, one must add energy to the system. To build a chair, I must do work, which requires energy. I get my energy from food, which was ultimately made by plants. Plants got their energy from the sun. Eventually, the sun will burn out (kind of) and lose all of its energy. When that happens, the entire solar system will fall into disorder, or entropy. But as long as we have the sun providing energy for the system, we can do work, or build complexity.

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Permalink Reply by Mario Rodgers on September 5, 2010 at 10:20pm

Google searching "low entropy big bang" brings up a lot of interesting stuff.

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