I think I've sorted the computer problem that has kept me off line for a while.
Good to see that Bill is still posting great links about our ancestors. I have some catching up to do.
I'm not really suggesting a revival of the Steady State, but one of its proposals crept into my thinking about gravity. I'm not posting this in "New Theories" as it is neither new, nor a theory.
For clarity I follow (roughly) John Gribbin’s. terminology in which:
Universe = that which started with the Big Bang; universe = any other universe we might hypothesize and cosmos = everything that exists, or could possibly exist.
I use infinite/eternal in the sense in which these terms are normally used by scientists, although I suspect that this is often an oversimplification.
The Universe started with the Big Bang, and is a finite part of an infinite cosmos.
The cosmos contains a balance of what we perceive as “ordinary” matter and dark matter. The BB constituted a fluctuation which disrupted the balance of ordinary/dark matter.
The nascent Universe was composed (almost?) entirely of the raw material for ordinary matter.
The steady state theory; if I remember correctly; proposed that the necessary rate of creation of new matter would be about one H atom per m^3 per 10^9 years, and that this would facilitate the expansion of the Universe.
Could it be that, as the Universe expands, dark matter is “leaking” into it at roughly that rate, and is responsible for the observed acceleration of expansion?
If dark matter is entering the Universe at a rate equivalent to one H atom per m^3 per 10^9 years, it might remain undetected until gravity pulls it into clumps around ordinary matter, when its gravitational influence is detectable.
