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Q1: Did the beginning start with a "Big Bang?
The term "Big Bang" was coined by Fred Hoyle,
who was poking fun at it. For some reason it stuck, but the term tells us very little. Certainly the term is ironic since the theory says things were very compressed in the beginning ....small! Sound does not propagate in the presumed vacuum which was ahead of the leading wave of expansion. So any bang must have been small. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q2: What caused the beginning to happen?
The beginning, by definition, has no
preceding cause. If you mean what caused the second step to happen, then we could say, "The Beginning." Are you asking for physics? -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q3: If the so-called "Missing Mass" is found in our Universe, will this be sufficient to cause the "Big Crunch"?
No. The mere act of finding the missing mass is not that dangerous. No big crunch will result from merely finding it. See the answer to Q4 for more. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q4: Will our known Universe continue to expand and eventually die, or will it expand and grow?
That fate is not yet determined. The effect of
advancing consciousness has yet to be factored in. Physics enables matter and energy to come under control of consciousness gradually, as has occurred on Earth. In future, this can affect the entire universe, or consciousness can fall flat. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q5: Will man ever understand the true beginning?
Silly but interesting question. Man cannot even quite understand woman or himself yet. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q6: What is "Nothingness"?
What is it to you? Mainly, it is a place where
physics and geometry as we know them, are inoperative. Not merely different...but inoperative.-- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q7: Doesn't the background radiation, in the Universe, prove that there must have been a big bang?
Consciousness seems required in order to prove anything.
Background radiation has no consciousness. It is just a kind of Brownian motion, and is too primal to go through the steps in a rigorous proof. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q9: Is our Universe infinite and unbounded?
We cannot know if it is infinite unless we are all-knowing. This is not religious claptrap but
mathematically true. Infinity can be taken as the culmination of N+1 where N is any position or number... or infinity can be considered to be N + U where U = an unknown distance. Unless you travel everywhere, you cannot verify it. No theory of an infinite universe can be verified in realistic terms, nor disproven unless you find an actual edge. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q10: How is our known Universe shaped?
It has varying shapes in varying time contexts.
If diagrammed as a snapshot from a particular location, the time delay of light travel forms one kind of shape, such as a map of galactic clusters. Taken as a diagram of relativistic effects, its shape is more like a swirl of directional flows. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q11: Do the laws of nature, we have discovered, apply everywhere?
Certainly they apply everywhere to the best of our knowledge, or we would include any exceptions in the report of the laws. However, it is probable that our laws will undergo subtle changes as our equations are refined and observations are gathered requiring that operation. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q12: Does the whole (Cosmos) have a finite size or is it infinite?
About the same as Q9. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
Q13: If there was absolutely Nothing in the beginning, where did God come from?
Same place as Consciousness...If you can ask,
"What happened before that?" then you cannot have reached the beginning. Thus, it is necessary to find an event which by definition
would not have the possibility of a preceding cause. Sure, that's easier said than done.
But otherwise, seemingly infinite regression is possible. If you can ask,
"What happened before that?" then you cannot have reached the beginning. Thus, it is necessary to find an event which by definition
would not have the possibility of a preceding cause. Sure, that's easier said than done.
Twice. -- Mike Pearson, May 8, 2003
That's all you get for free.
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