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Cosmology

Cosmology is the area of physics that studies the universe in and of itself. Through the use of incredible and ingenious methods of experimentation, cosmologists attempt to discover how the universe began, how it is developing, and how or if it will end. Questions regarding the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, the cosmic background radiation, and the initial formation of the fundamental particles can be placed into this category.

776 Questions

Why does light not brighten a vacuum like space?

To brighten anything,light needs to reflect from that medium.Space has nothing,except some heavenly bodies.When light strikes a heavenly body, it probably brightens it.If their is nothing,how light can brighten it?

What will happen to the universe 10 to the 100 septillionth power years from now?

In this time, low estimate for the time until all objects exceeding the Planck mass collapse via quantum tunnelling into black holes, assuming no proton decay or virtual black holes. On this vast timescale, even ultra-stable iron stars are destroyed by quantum tunnelling events. First iron stars of sufficient mass will collapse via tunnelling into neutron stars. Subsequently neutron stars and any remaining iron stars collapse via tunnelling into black holes. The subsequent evaporation of each resulting black hole into sub-atomic particles (a process lasting roughly 10^100 years) is on these timescales instantaneous.

How was the earth made after the big bang?

The Earth was made long after the Big Bang, since the Big Bang occurred around 13.7 billion years ago and Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

Basically after the Big Bang, energy was converted into matter and the Universe was filled with clouds of hydrogen and helium gas. These clouds would coalesce through gravity to form galaxies and stars. One of these stars, our Sun, would form in the Milky Way galaxy. There would be a disk of gas and dust orbiting our Sun, from which Earth would form.

For more info see the related questions below

Does the dark matter emits light of other wavelengths?

No.

Dark matter emits no EM radiation that we can detect, and we can detect light from galaxies outside the Milky Way over 17 orders of magnitude. Specifically, from radio waves as long as 10 meters to gamma rays of over 1 GeV in energy. Since there is far more gravitational interaction between dark matter and baryonic matter (ie, the stuff we understand) than that occuring between baryons, then it would be truly bizarre that we could not detect any EM radiation coming from dark matter. If it were emitting EM radiation, then we should see more of it than we can see coming from baryonic matter. But we don't see anything. So either dark matter has no EM interaction (ie, no EM radiation) or its EM interaction is so weak and different than that for baryons.

Why is jimmy neutrons forehead so big?

In the animated show "Jimmy Neutron", the character's large forehead is simply an artistic choice made by the creators for a unique and visually distinctive design. It is meant to emphasize his intelligence and signal that he is a genius inventor.

What is deeper ocean trench or abyssal plain?

Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean. Abyssal plains are the flattest parts of the ocean, but not necessarily the deepest. For the record, Marianas Trench is the deepest trench in the world, located near the Philippines.

How is 'universe' defined in physics astronomy and cosmology?

The universe is the totality of intelligible, perceptible, and quantifiable reality that is the focus of human scientific research. It is a four-dimensional space-time continuum consisting of matter, energy, and forces. The universe consists of both inanimate matter (e.g. planets, stars, galaxies, asteroids, comets) and animate matter (e.g. plants, animals, humans, bacteria, fungi). The four fundamental forces in the universe are gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.

OR: The universe is everything, or the universe is everything around here -- thus, some talk about other universes. Sometimes the other universes are separated by distance, sometimes by time, sometimes by other imaginary conditions. The universe of real numbers does not include the square root of negative one -- another use of the word universe.

What is a semimajor axis of an ellipse?

The major axis is the diameter across the widest part. The semimajor axis is half that, and for a planet it's the average of the maximum and minimum distances from the Sun .

What are two forms of evidence used to support the big bang theory?

  1. Hubble constant (galactic red shifts)
  2. 3K microwave background radiation
  3. light element/isotope ratios (i.e. hydrogen, deuterium, helium, lithium)

What is the heaven and earth made out of?

If by "heaven" you mean outer space, it is made up of the same 90 elements or so that are found on Earth. However, in outer space there is also matter that is not made up of atoms - including black holes, dark matter, and dark energy.If by "heaven" you mean a metaphysical heaven, as in what expects us in the afterlife - well, nobody really knows.

Everything in the universe tends to slow down and fall apart what does this mean?

Perhaps you refer to the word "entropy"? The concept that everything tends to fall apart and an input of energy is required to maintain order and stability. This could be in reference to one of the Laws of Thermodynamics, or to cosmology, or psychology. Basically, stuff wants to fall apart. :)

Actually, it's not entirely accurate to say that "everything tends to slow down and fall apart". Although that may ultimately be the case, there's nothing to stop things speeding up and coming together in the meantime. Gravity, for instance, tends to speed up things and bring them together. Combine gravity with nuclear forces, and you get a hugely complex coming together of stuff - just look at the interior of your average G-type star.

What is the concept of the big bang?

Big Bang is a model of the universe which specially deals with the question that how the universe might have started.It mainly suggests that 13.798 billion years ago,all the matter in the universe was concentrated into a point of zero size,with infinite density,mass and spacetime curvature.The point suddenly exploded,releasing unimaginable amount of energy. The energy then might have transformed into mass, as particles could be created out of energy.During big bang,universe was infinitely hot.As the universe expanded, its temperature would have decreased to few million centigrades.At this temperature, the molecules lost their capability to overcome nuclear force,and would have started to form atoms and molecules.This process finally gave birth to several trillion molecules,which have been transferred evenly throughout the space available. By this process,the universe is thought to be originated.

Why is the steady state theory wrong?

The Steady State Hypothesis fails to explain the existence of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation; or to adequately explain the ratio of hydrogen to helium in all parts of our Universe. Big Bang Cosmology successfully explains the existence, isotropy, and spectrum of the CMBR, as well as the universal ratio of hydrogen to helium.

In addition, if our Universe has been in an eternal steady state, then we would see

1) quasars at all distances from us. We don't; we only see them far away.

2) white dwarf stars older than 12 billion years. Again, we don't.

3) more abundant decay products of long-life isotopes. We don't; the ratios never show any age of such isotopes greater than about 10 billion years.

What do you call a link between universes?

An interuniversal Einsten Rosen bridge. Interuniversal wormhole for short.

Does the universe care?

As best can be determined, the Universe (as a whole) does not have consciousness. As such, the Universe lacks a capacity to feel any emotion, or to act upon any emotion it might be "feeling." In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is more likely that our Universe does not care. Our natural world most definitely does not develop in any way consistent with caring for anything.

As an aside, I do a lot of hiking; and one of the wiser things I heard as I began to do long hikes is, "Nature doesn't care." Basically, it means that it is best to assume that the natural world we experience will NOT alter itself based simply on how much we are suffering, nor on any degree to which we don't "deserve" to suffer. It is thus a waste of psychological energy to bemoan that it is "unfair" for you to suffer while in nature, simply because our natural world does not act in a way that shows any degree of caring.

What are 3 sources of proof for the Big Bang Theory?

1. Redshift of Galaxies

The redshift of distant galaxies means that the Universe is probably expanding. If we then go back far enough in time, everything must have been squashed together into a tiny dot. The rapid eruption from this tiny dot was the Big Bang.

2. Microwave Background

Very early in its history, the whole Universe was very hot. As it expanded, this heat left behind a "glow" that fills the entire Universe. The Big Bang theory not only predicts that this glow should exist, but that it should be visible as microwaves - part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

This is the Cosmic Microwave Background which has been accurately measured by orbiting detectors, and is very good evidence that the Big Bang theory is correct.

3. Mixture of Elements

As the Universe expanded and cooled down, some of the elements that we see today were created. The Big Bang theory predicts how much of each element should have been made in the early universe, and what we see in very distant galaxies and old stars is just right.

You cannot look in new stars, like the Sun, for this evidence, because they contain elements that were created in previous generations of stars. As such, the composition of new stars will be very different from the composition of stars that existed 7 billion years ago, shortly after the Big Bang.

4. Looking back in time

The main alternative to the Big Bang theory of the Universe is called the Steady State theory. In this theory, the Universe does not change very much with time.

Remember that because light takes a long time to travel across the Universe, when we look at very distant galaxies, we are also looking back in time.

From this we can see that galaxies a long time ago were quite different from those today, showing that the Universe has changed. This fits better with the Big Bang theory than the Steady State theory.

How do you protect against dark energy?

Ignore it. Parents tell children "there is no such thing as ghosts" not because there are no ghosts, but because disbelief takes power from the disanimate.

If you can't ignore it bring light. Seriously - most little kids instinctively know this. Light a match or a candle, turn on a flashlight, flip on the headlights, flip a switch. If no external light is possible turn on the interior light of compassion.

Memorize a prayer, and repeat it to steady your mind and heart.

The Buddhist prayer of loving kindness:

May I be free from fear. May I be free from suffering.

May I be happy. May I be filled with loving kindness.

May you be free from fear. May you be free from suffering.

May you be happy. May you be filled with loving kindness.

May all beings be free from fear. May all beings be free from suffering.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be filled with loving kindness.

or

The prayer of St Francis

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Finally, if all else fails, cry. Tears are the original holy water.

What percentage of thorium is in the universe?

Thorium constitutes about 4E-8% of the visible baryonic matter of the universe by mass. Visible baryonic matter is about 4.9% of the total mass of the universe, as per the latest estimates. So the mass-percentage of thorium in the universe would be 4E-8 x 0.049 = ... very little.

Which theory is supported by the evidence of cosmic microwave backround radiation?

The evidence of cosmic microwave background radiation supports the Big Bang theory.

Can Christians believe in the big bang?

The very first verse of the entire Bible (the book of the Christian faith), is Genesis 1:1- "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth." This clearly states that God made the universe, contradicting completely the Big Bang. Therefore, if a man stated he was a Christian and then also said he believed in the Big Bang, THEN he would foolish, as he would be contradicting his faith. So in the end, no. If a "Christian" said he believed in both, he would be wrong.

What does the big bang theory explain about the size of the universe?

Not much, really. Our Universe MIGHT be significantly larger than what we can see -- that portion of our Universe we call the "observable Universe" -- or it might be infinite. No conclusion can be made about the size of our Universe based on the fact of the Big Bang.

How the rocket travells outside the earth?

Issac Newton's 3rd Law of Motion. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

A working rocket ejects a small amount of exaust at a very high velocity. The "equal and opposite reaction" is that the rocket moves in the opposite direction although at less speed than the exaust because the rocket "weighs" more.

Yes, it is "rocket science" but it is fairly painless.

I feel i should add that this answer could be "marked wrong" for many reasons but it is the best i can do without dragging Calculus and Mechanics into it.

Most vocational education colleges provide courses in "O Level" Physics that will explain this and many other wonderful things.