Astronomers Detect First Split-Second of the Universe (WMAP & CMB)

LiveScience.com on yahoo ^ | 3/16/06 | Ker Than

[NormsRevenge]

.. a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble, grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible universe ..

wow

[RS]

Cool - so everything got pushed around a few billion times faster then the speed of light.

Warp Drive here we come !

[P-40]

grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible universe ..

That happens after marriage a lot also...

[Dialup Llama]

.. a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble, grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible universe ..

As in, "Let there be light?"

[Boundless]

> .. a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble,
> grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger
> than the visible universe ..

Which implies that the speed of light speed limit is a
property of the evolved universe, and not the nothingness
that preceded it. A fairly startling postulation. Gotta
wonder how much energy went out of sight forever at the
time.

Assuming any of this hypothesis is correct, of course,
and considering that base cosomology has changed radically
just during my lifetime, I give this theory about 7 years.

[Grim]

The new WMAP observations ... reveal what the universe was like in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.

The important question is: What happened in the second BEFORE the Big Bang?

[JOAT]

Scientists were also able to conclude that the universe is composed of about 4 percent real matter, about 23 percent dark matter, and about 73 percent dark energy. Nobody actually nows what dark matter or dark energy are, however.

This is what is known in the business as a S.W.A.G.

[muawiyah]

Let me try that one "Joe, the leader of the pseudoscience faction, reached out and gently pushed the button.".

[CarrotAndStick]

As in, "Let there be light?"

Based on the extent the universe expanded 'in a trillionth of a second' as per the article, the light would have taken years to catch up.

[Willie Green]

Nobody actually nows what dark matter or dark energy are, however.

That's not true.

[RightWhale]

There is another thread.

That being said, it is refreshing to see excellent results from WMAP and the promise of even better.

[Ichneumon]

Which implies that the speed of light speed limit is a property of the evolved universe, and not the nothingness that preceded it.

Actually, no. The speed of light is a limitation on how quickly things can travel *through* space (which is almost every kind of motion we work with for all practical purposes), but it's not a limitation on how fast space itself can *expand*, carrying things with it. The "motion" described in the passage you quoted is of the latter type, not the former.

[Ichneumon]

[.. a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble, grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible universe ..]

As in, "Let there be light?"

Actually, light as we know it wasn't possible for the first N seconds (I'm too lazy to look it up right now) of the Universe's life, that only became possible after the Universe had expanded far enough that it was no longer opaque.

[Cobra64]

Where did the marble come from?

[F.J. Mitchell]

"The important question is: What happened in the second BEFORE the big bang?"

Elementary Dr Watson: A match was struck and a very short fuse was ignited.

[F.J. Mitchell]

From toys R US of course.

[DouglasKC]

"During this growth spurt, a tiny region, likely no larger than a marble, grew in a trillionth of a second to become larger than the visible universe," said WMAP researcher David Spergel, also from Princeton University.

Science believes that the entire universe evolved from the size of a marble to bigger than the universe in a trillionth of a second, yet they have a tough time believing that the Genesis account took 6 days.

[cliff630]

Yes, it is puzzling.

Light travels @ 186+ thousand miles per second.
So, the explosion generated a sphere whose radius was
thousands of times larger than 186,214 miles at the
end of T+one second.

Poor Albert E. What about Mc squared???

[RightWhale]

What happened in the second BEFORE the Big Bang?

There was no second before the BB.