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What will cause the rate of expansion of the universe to slow down?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
The expansion rate of the universe is determined by the mass of the things in the universe and the strength of the gravitational force. The universe would start to slow down if some new form of matter were to intervene which incresed the over all mass of the universe, or if there's some property of gravity that we don't know of, where at some threshold it actually becomes stronger.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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What is an accelerating universe?
An accelerating universe is a theory which describes and seeks to explain the increasing rate of the expansion of the universe.
How do you calculate dark energy?
Cosmological red-shift tells us that the space within our Universe is expanding. It is NOT that the matter within our Universe exploded; rather, SPACE ITSELF is growing bigger. Until about 1995, nobody knew of any entity, other than gravity, in our Universe that could alter the rate of expansion -- and gravity could only slow down this rate. The question was how much was gravity slowing this expansion. Several researchers worked to resolve this question. When Saul Parlemutter first calculated that the rate of expansion had actually increased over time (we're talking billion of years, mind you), he was sure he had made a dreadful mistake, and diligently searched for his error. After much effort, he finally concluded he had NOT made a mistake, and that the rate of expansion of the space in our Universe really IS increasing. So what IS the entity that is causing the rate of expansion to increase? We have NO IDEA!! That's why it's been given the name "dark energy." We know it's there because we can see its effects, but (for now) we don't know what it is. So how do we "calculate" dark energy? We simply compare the change in the rate of expansion that we SHOULD see (ie, what we would expect if dark energy didn't exist) -- and this rate should be very close to zero -- with the change that we do see. The difference is the amount of dark energy in our Universe.
Why is the universe expanding and what force is it expanding into is it anti gravity?
The initial expansion of the universe was caused by the Big Bang's explosion of matter. Just as explosions here on earth cause expansion, so it was then. The math today, however, shows that the universe should be compressing again, as the energy lost over time would then be overridden by gravitational forces pulling everything back together. I'm sorry to say there's no such thing in our universe as anti-gravity, though. The universe's fate is generally accepted to be expansion forever at an ever slowing rate. To answer as to why this occurs, dark energy and dark matter are the forces at work - not anti-gravity.
What supports the presence of dark energy?
The evidence that we live in an expanding, and not a static,Universe is as solid as the evidence that we live in on a round, and not a flat,planet. Gravity is the only force we know of that could slow down "Hubble" Expansion but, for many decades, we were unable to calculate how rapidly this slow-down of Hubble Expansion was occurring. It was QUITE a shock when we found that, over time, the rate of expansion was INCREASING over time. Again, this fact is as irrefutable as the fact thatour Earth is going around our Sun. Since we "define" dark energy as "whatever it is that is causing the rate of Hubble Expansion to increase over time," the fact that the rate is increasing is all the support that is needed.
The varying theories of the universe's eventual fate all depend on the universe's current?
The varying theories of the universe's eventual fate all depend on the universe's current rate of expansion. If it's slowing down, it may eventually fall back on itself, continuing to separate. Then it would just go on and on until you would have no visible galaxies, and ours would eventually be the only one we could see.
What is accelerating universe?
An accelerating universe is a theory which describes and seeks to explain the increasing rate of the expansion of the universe.
What is an accelerating universe?
An accelerating universe is a theory which describes and seeks to explain the increasing rate of the expansion of the universe.
What does knowing the rate at which the universe is expanding tell astronomers about the big bang?
If the rate of expansion were constant then astronomers could look at the current location of galaxies and, "by running the clock backwards", work out when they would have all been at one position.
What is most of the universe made of?
About 5% of our Universe consists of baryonic matter; ie, stuff we fully understand. Our Universe also contains about four times more mass in some form we DON'T understand, and that's why we call it "dark matter." And about 75% of the energy of the Universe consists of something that is causing the rate of expansion of our Universe to speed up. It can't be something with mass, because mass would cause the rate of expansion to slow down. So it has be some form of energy we just don't understand -- so, for now, we simply call it "dark energy." These two entities have nothing whatsoever in common other than the first word in the description we humans have given to them.
If the expansion of the universe was reversed it would shrink to a point in about?
If the contraction occurred at the same rate as the expansion has, then it would take about fifteen billion years.
Is the universe curve and for ever expanding?
The shape of the Universe is yet being investigated - it is not known for sure what its shape on a large scale is.As for the expansion, our current knowledge is that the Universe is not only expanding, but that the rate of expansion is increasing (it is expanding faster than in the past). It may be reasonable to assume that this trend will continue in the future, but it would also be a little premature to be completely sure.The shape of the Universe is yet being investigated - it is not known for sure what its shape on a large scale is.As for the expansion, our current knowledge is that the Universe is not only expanding, but that the rate of expansion is increasing (it is expanding faster than in the past). It may be reasonable to assume that this trend will continue in the future, but it would also be a little premature to be completely sure.The shape of the Universe is yet being investigated - it is not known for sure what its shape on a large scale is.As for the expansion, our current knowledge is that the Universe is not only expanding, but that the rate of expansion is increasing (it is expanding faster than in the past). It may be reasonable to assume that this trend will continue in the future, but it would also be a little premature to be completely sure.The shape of the Universe is yet being investigated - it is not known for sure what its shape on a large scale is.As for the expansion, our current knowledge is that the Universe is not only expanding, but that the rate of expansion is increasing (it is expanding faster than in the past). It may be reasonable to assume that this trend will continue in the future, but it would also be a little premature to be completely sure.
Does everything get warmer due to the increase in the rate of expansion of the universe because time is happening faster?
Not by any measurable amount.
How do you calculate dark energy?
Cosmological red-shift tells us that the space within our Universe is expanding. It is NOT that the matter within our Universe exploded; rather, SPACE ITSELF is growing bigger. Until about 1995, nobody knew of any entity, other than gravity, in our Universe that could alter the rate of expansion -- and gravity could only slow down this rate. The question was how much was gravity slowing this expansion. Several researchers worked to resolve this question. When Saul Parlemutter first calculated that the rate of expansion had actually increased over time (we're talking billion of years, mind you), he was sure he had made a dreadful mistake, and diligently searched for his error. After much effort, he finally concluded he had NOT made a mistake, and that the rate of expansion of the space in our Universe really IS increasing. So what IS the entity that is causing the rate of expansion to increase? We have NO IDEA!! That's why it's been given the name "dark energy." We know it's there because we can see its effects, but (for now) we don't know what it is. So how do we "calculate" dark energy? We simply compare the change in the rate of expansion that we SHOULD see (ie, what we would expect if dark energy didn't exist) -- and this rate should be very close to zero -- with the change that we do see. The difference is the amount of dark energy in our Universe.
Why is the universe expanding and what force is it expanding into is it anti gravity?
The initial expansion of the universe was caused by the Big Bang's explosion of matter. Just as explosions here on earth cause expansion, so it was then. The math today, however, shows that the universe should be compressing again, as the energy lost over time would then be overridden by gravitational forces pulling everything back together. I'm sorry to say there's no such thing in our universe as anti-gravity, though. The universe's fate is generally accepted to be expansion forever at an ever slowing rate. To answer as to why this occurs, dark energy and dark matter are the forces at work - not anti-gravity.
What supports the presence of dark energy?
The evidence that we live in an expanding, and not a static,Universe is as solid as the evidence that we live in on a round, and not a flat,planet. Gravity is the only force we know of that could slow down "Hubble" Expansion but, for many decades, we were unable to calculate how rapidly this slow-down of Hubble Expansion was occurring. It was QUITE a shock when we found that, over time, the rate of expansion was INCREASING over time. Again, this fact is as irrefutable as the fact thatour Earth is going around our Sun. Since we "define" dark energy as "whatever it is that is causing the rate of Hubble Expansion to increase over time," the fact that the rate is increasing is all the support that is needed.
What force do scientists such as Saul Perlmutter believe is counteracting gravity and allowing the universe to accelerate the rate of its expansion?
Dark energy is the term to refer to the force that is causing an expansion of the universe to accelerate. It is estimated that the universe is 68.3 percent dark energy, 26.8 percent dark matter, and 4.9 percent ordinary matter.
The varying theories of the universe's eventual fate all depend on the universe's current?
The varying theories of the universe's eventual fate all depend on the universe's current rate of expansion. If it's slowing down, it may eventually fall back on itself, continuing to separate. Then it would just go on and on until you would have no visible galaxies, and ours would eventually be the only one we could see.
