[berned]

If the speed of light was much faster at the beginning of the universe than it is now, wouldn't that mean that our calculation of the age of the universe is WAY off? (i.e. the universe is much younger than previously thought?)

[Salman]

If the speed of light was much faster at the beginning of the universe than it is now, wouldn't that mean that our calculation of the age of the universe is WAY off? (i.e. the universe is much younger than previously thought?)

Or taking it in the other direction, this still doesn't mean it's possible to accelerate faster than light. The implication is that eventually nothing can move as the speed of light approaches zero.

[VadeRetro]

If the speed of light was much faster at the beginning of the universe than it is now, wouldn't that mean that our calculation of the age of the universe is WAY off? (i.e. the universe is much younger than previously thought?)

From the article:

Observations of the light from distant, superbright galaxies suggest that this "constant" was actually slightly smaller 10 billion years ago (New Scientist print edition, 11 May 2002).

Well, it's still at least ten billion years old, and if c has only lost a fraction of one percent in 10 billion years, it's hard to see how the universe can be WAY younger than previous estimantes would have it.

[vannrox]

"...If the speed of light was much faster at the beginning of the universe than it is now, wouldn't that mean that our calculation of the age of the universe is WAY off? (i.e. the universe is much younger than previously thought?)..."


Indeed...
.
Yes. If, for instance there would be evidence for an inversely exponential decrease in the speed of light, then once we had an idea of the magnitude of the variables, it would be possible to track the speed as a function of other physical parameters. My guess is that time would NOT come into being, as I am a firm believer that the concept of time is but a human construct. But that the physical states of space and matter attributes, on the quantum level would play a role.

This is a very exciting development, but unless it fits into the eleven dimensional universe explaniaton, I am at a loss to understand it.