Posted on 03/22/2005 12:53:13 PM PST by faq
ROME (Reuters) - A small group of physicists are battling what they see as the cosmological equivalent to the bogeyman: an enormous dark force, that nobody has ever seen, driving galaxies apart.
Conventional wisdom holds that the mysterious force, called "dark energy," may make up 70 percent of the universe, and could be the determining factor in whether it is eventually destroyed billions of years from now. But Italian and American cosmologists are offering a controversial alternative to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe. They say it's not dark energy, but an overlooked after-effect of the "Big Bang" -- which cosmologists believe gave birth to the universe.
"No mysterious dark energy is required," said Antonio Riotto at Italy's National Nuclear Physics Institute in Padova.
"If dark energy were the size that theories predict ... it would have prevented the existence of everything we know in our cosmos," he told Reuters.
- snip -
Kolb and the Italians say the universe's accelerating expansion is the result of long ripples in the fabric of space-time created by the big bang, during an "inflation" phase of rapid expansion of the universe, which have not been properly accounted for since they stretch beyond the observable universe.
"These long wavelength swells grow with time and give an extra expansion to the universe," Kolb said.
Not all cosmologists are buying into the theory, which will be poured-over following its submission this month to the journal Physical Review Letters.
"Their paper is going to get enormous scrutiny, and my own guess is that in the end, they'll be wrong," said cosmologist Michael Turner at the University of Chicago, who coined the term "dark energy," and published a paper with Kolb in 1990.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
LOL and a funny bump!
So it is not my imagination that 'time' passes more quickly now; than it did a few years ago?
Hawking Radiation is named after Stephen Hawking. Other than that I really don't know. When I posted this thread I was hoping someone would hit a science ping list and we could get some of their comments and observations.
Ja, got the "Hawking" part. I knew who claimed it, I just never remember the "g"
The only "mystery" is how the Eurinals are going to blame Bush!
Ping. I thought this was kind of an interesting article, don't know if you have seen it.
Flatulence from cosmic cows. Dark matter/energy makes my head hurt.
No, and if you wait long enough, it's going to start reversing. Before that happens, though, there will be that moment where "time stands still", which you will recognize as the moment right after the police car has pulled you off on the shoulder and you're waiting for the trooper to hurry up and get the ticket over with.
But I digress.
!sdrawkcab og t'nac emiT !yzarc s'tahT
Been there. . .last week; but yes. . not only did time stand still; I thought my time was up. . ..
I had a premonition you were going to say that.
A "compare later with article from last year, later" BUMP
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.