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Science

DetlefK

(16,423 posts)

3. ??? There either was a beginning of time or there wasn't. You can't have both.

Reply to Speck Tater (Reply #1)

Sat Mar 31, 2012, 06:28 PM

Mar 2012

The problem is the Weak Interaction: The universe can't be infinitely old, because stars turn hydrogen into other elements and we still have a lot of interstellar hydrogen around.

And then there's the finite speed of light which causes regions of separated causality, conserving entropy on a cosmological scale and preventing time from running backwards. If the speed of light were infinite, there were a 1:gazillion chance for the whole universe to accidently become young again, which would cause a neverending cycle of the universe aging and rejuvenating.

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Highlight:

Mysteries of "The Redshift Desert" --Why Do Galaxies in the Early Universe Appear Old? [View all] n2doc Mar 2012 OP

Although shunned by the herd, there are still viable alternatives to the Big Bang theory. Speck Tater Mar 2012 #1

??? There either was a beginning of time or there wasn't. You can't have both. DetlefK Mar 2012 #3

Steady State hypothesized the continuous creation of new hydrogen Speck Tater Mar 2012 #7

Explain the CMB. laconicsax Mar 2012 #9

Yup. That's why steady state in its current form has been discredited. Speck Tater Apr 2012 #10

Idle speculation isn't how progress is made. laconicsax Apr 2012 #11

Two things. Speck Tater Apr 2012 #12

All of the advances by those you quote built on the work of others. laconicsax Apr 2012 #13

What was that famous quote? Speck Tater Apr 2012 #14

And yet, Copernicus didn't idly speculate. laconicsax Apr 2012 #15

Ah, so your real quibble is with the word "idle". Speck Tater Apr 2012 #16

I'm I the only one who believes redshift can be affected by compressed and/or expanded space? tridim Mar 2012 #2

Compressing space won't help DetlefK Mar 2012 #4

Who said the Universe is flat on a cosological scale? tridim Mar 2012 #5

Light isn't sound; space isn't air longship Mar 2012 #6

The WMAP experiment did. laconicsax Mar 2012 #8