Welcome to
Science a GoGo's
Discussion Forums
Please keep your postings on-topic or they will be moved to a galaxy far, far away.
Your use of this forum indicates your agreement to our terms of use.
So that we remain spam-free, please note that all posts by new users are moderated.


The Forums
General Science Talk        Not-Quite-Science        Climate Change Discussion        Physics Forum        Science Fiction

Who's Online Now
0 members (), 181 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Latest Posts
Top Posters(30 Days)
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,570
B
Bill S. Offline OP
Megastar
OP Offline
Megastar
B
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,570
In another thread I said I was trawling through my notes on the BB. The trouble with doing that is that it keeps throwing up more questions. Here's one of them.
Astronomers can see the same distance in every direction, so we have the right to regard ourselves as being at the centre of the detectably Universe.
However, experts, and to some extent logic, assure us that every other point in the Universe also has a right to see itself as being at the centre.
Does this mean that there is no point in the Universe from which it not possible to see an equal distance in every direction? If so, how could this be possible in a finite universe?


There never was nothing.
.
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,858
B
Megastar
Offline
Megastar
B
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,858
Bill S.
The reason that any place in the universe will give the appearance of being at the center is the shape of the universe. The usual analogy is a sphere. On a sphere you can travel in any direction in a straight line (a great circle) without ever reaching the 'end'. We aren't sure of the actual shape of the universe, but the same thing applies.

Bill Gill


C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,570
B
Bill S. Offline OP
Megastar
OP Offline
Megastar
B
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,570
In order to make the spherical analogy work spacetime would have to be sufficiently curved to result in a closed universe. My understanding is that this model is not "flavour of the month" in cosmological circles.

If our Universe is more-or-less flat, the situation must, surely, be different.


There never was nothing.

Link Copied to Clipboard
Newest Members
debbieevans, bkhj, jackk, Johnmattison, RacerGT
865 Registered Users
Sponsor

Science a GoGo's Home Page | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact UsokÂþ»­¾W
Features | News | Books | Physics | Space | Climate Change | Health | Technology | Natural World

Copyright © 1998 - 2016 Science a GoGo and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5