Universe, with Brian Cox

[SuperDucky]

It's the talking in emphatic whispers or whatever he does. There's something aaargh about it.

[servodude]

It's the talking in emphatic whispers or whatever he does. There's something aaargh about it.

Can't watch him since the "fookin clouds" video without thinking of it

[bungeejumper]

Can't watch him since the "fookin clouds" video without thinking of it

LOL, I hadn't heard of that one. Finally found it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhn8j7S4uKU .

BJ

[servodude]

Can't watch him since the "fookin clouds" video without thinking of it

LOL, I hadn't heard of that one. Finally found it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhn8j7S4uKU .

BJ

Can't say the word "vast" in our house since

[SteMiS]

Actually, finally, watched episode 5; The Big Bang: Before the Dawn (I haven't seen the others yet). I didn't think it was too bad. Delivery was a bit slow but I guess that's to be expected, pitching to an audience which generally doesn't have much of a detailed scientific background. However, interesting as it was, it left more questions than answers as far as I am concerned.

We start off with universe before the big bang. There was no matter. All that existed was space time and energy - ok, where does all this energy come from - second law of thermodynamics and all that? [To be honest I'm also having a bit of difficulty understanding energy without matter but I guess that's the residual Newtonian in me]
That energy caused space to stretch (known as inflation) - what caused that to happen? Assuming this universe hadn't suddenly been created (which would beg the question, from what?), it must have existed when inflation wasn't taking place, so something must have started the process.
Imagine a tiny insignificant speck of space that increases in size until it's about the size of a cavern - considering this happened in a few billion, billion, billion, billionths of a second (I think I counted Cox's billions correctly), there must have been a time before this process. So where did this 'speck' originate from and why did it start increasing in space.
Then inflation stops - why? I suppose could possibly accept that this was to do with the speck reaching a critical size and stealing all it's energy...maybe
And all the energy is dumped into this space - does this mean that the universe outside our space ceased to exist or did it just lose all it's energy?
This energy is transformed into matter - ok, e=mc2 and all that.

This all somewhat different from the previous view of the big bang but nonethless anyone want to offer any answers/views?

[pje16]

LOL, I hadn't heard of that one. Finally found it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhn8j7S4uKU .
BJ

very good well worth a watch
Thanks @bungeejumper
(make sure therre no kids around)

[mc2fool]

We start off with universe before the big bang. There was no matter. All that existed was space time and energy - ok, where does all this energy come from - second law of thermodynamics and all that?

Are you sure he said that, esp "before"? I'll have to watch it. But it's not clear to me from your description which model he's describing, the predominant two (I thought) being Hawking-Hartles "No Boundary" model or Hawking-Penrose's earlier (1960s) "Singularity" model.



The above from https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-debate-hawkings-idea-that-the-universe-had-no-beginning-20190606/ which is an interesting, albeit as always with these matters, head-scratching read.

In any case, as I understand it, we can never confidently know the very beginnings 'cos during the Planck epoch (0 - 10^-43 seconds) the four fundamental forces didn't exist as discrete forces, so the laws of physics as we observe them now didn't exist, and the whole period was mired in quantum happenings (although I understand no cats were involved. ) And, to top if off, "By the very nature of inflation, it wipes out any information that came before the final few moments [of it]". https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/big-bang-beginning-universe/ (also an interesting read).

I went on a course on String Theory a couple of years back ... if you think the origins of the universe are a head scratcher ...

Here's a video of animations of the No Boundary model. It explains nothing but is rather nice to watch, and is only 2m23s. I especially like the Self Creating Universe ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK-wFTnBhV8

[SteMiS]

We start off with universe before the big bang. There was no matter. All that existed was space time and energy - ok, where does all this energy come from - second law of thermodynamics and all that?

Are you sure he said that, esp "before"? I'll have to watch it.

Yeah, pretty sure.

No mention anymore of strands of dark matter holding the universe together though (which is where I came in). Physics moves so fast these days...

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Well ... here's Brian explaining the size of the universe in 7 minutes

Now that's 'kin fast

https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/how- ... e/p0b2dl5c

Of course the size of the universe hasn't changed has it? Space has?

Come on peeps ... Brian is allowed to get old like the rest of us, isn't he? He's as much a valued part of my past as Blue Peter, The Cub-Scouts, ELO, my first five speed bike, Jackanory, pantries, coal fires, internal ice on the windows in winter, fish & chips wrapped in newspapers, The Tomorrow People, John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Mary Peters, Muhammed Ali, Daley Thompson, Ester Rantzen, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abba, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Nigel Mansell, Freddy Mercury, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, woodchip wallpaper, gravel drives, allotments, wine bars, Ford Escorts MK III, Ford Capri's, mahogany furniture, petrol at less than £1 per gallon, first class stamps for 12p, colour TV's, Pac-Man, MASH & of course the simple fact that we were much younger.

I've slowed down in my old age ... I'm not confessing to that ... it's a theory ... but let's all of us grow old together, gracefully and let's celebrate our memories.

Brian's not so bad you know

AiY

[Redmires]

He's as much a valued part of my past as Blue Peter, The Cub-Scouts, ELO, my first five speed bike, Jackanory, pantries, coal fires, internal ice on the windows in winter, fish & chips wrapped in newspapers, The Tomorrow People, John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Mary Peters, Muhammed Ali, Daley Thompson, Ester Rantzen, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abba, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Nigel Mansell, Freddy Mercury, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, woodchip wallpaper, gravel drives, allotments, wine bars, Ford Escorts MK III, Ford Capri's, mahogany furniture, petrol at less than £1 per gallon, first class stamps for 12p, colour TV's, Pac-Man, MASH & of course the simple fact that we were much younger.

AiY

You missed 'Peppa Pig' off the list. Now if only there was some voice of authority to provide some insight into the cartoon character.

[XFool]

Come on peeps ... Brian is allowed to get old like the rest of us, isn't he? He's as much a valued part of my past as Blue Peter, The Cub-Scouts, ELO, my first five speed bike, Jackanory, pantries, coal fires, internal ice on the windows in winter, fish & chips wrapped in newspapers, The Tomorrow People, John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Mary Peters, Muhammed Ali, Daley Thompson, Ester Rantzen, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abba, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Nigel Mansell, Freddy Mercury, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, woodchip wallpaper, gravel drives, allotments, wine bars, Ford Escorts MK III, Ford Capri's, mahogany furniture, petrol at less than £1 per gallon, first class stamps for 12p, colour TV's, Pac-Man, MASH & of course the simple fact that we were much younger.

"pantries"? You too?

[servodude]

Come on peeps ... Brian is allowed to get old like the rest of us, isn't he? He's as much a valued part of my past as Blue Peter, The Cub-Scouts, ELO, my first five speed bike, Jackanory, pantries, coal fires, internal ice on the windows in winter, fish & chips wrapped in newspapers, The Tomorrow People, John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Mary Peters, Muhammed Ali, Daley Thompson, Ester Rantzen, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abba, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Nigel Mansell, Freddy Mercury, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, woodchip wallpaper, gravel drives, allotments, wine bars, Ford Escorts MK III, Ford Capri's, mahogany furniture, petrol at less than £1 per gallon, first class stamps for 12p, colour TV's, Pac-Man, MASH & of course the simple fact that we were much younger.

"pantries"? You too?

Did you have to read that twice also?

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Come on peeps ... Brian is allowed to get old like the rest of us, isn't he? He's as much a valued part of my past as Blue Peter, The Cub-Scouts, ELO, my first five speed bike, Jackanory, pantries, coal fires, internal ice on the windows in winter, fish & chips wrapped in newspapers, The Tomorrow People, John Wayne, Ronald Regan, Mary Peters, Muhammed Ali, Daley Thompson, Ester Rantzen, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abba, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Nigel Mansell, Freddy Mercury, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, woodchip wallpaper, gravel drives, allotments, wine bars, Ford Escorts MK III, Ford Capri's, mahogany furniture, petrol at less than £1 per gallon, first class stamps for 12p, colour TV's, Pac-Man, MASH & of course the simple fact that we were much younger.

"pantries"? You too?

Did you have to read that twice also?

Well I only wrote it once ... but I have to say Grandma's pantry was the place to go for a little snack. Buns for England, cakes that stayed on the shelf for twenty minutes and of course sausage rolls. And do you remember all the white frosting on top of the cakes? Where's that gone these days? I know ... it's dark matter. Buns today come in plastic cartons six at a time .. buns .. not cartons. They just don't taste as good as those on Grandma's pantry shelf though. Grandma's pantry was an exclusion to the universe. It was a place where time stood still as you reviewed the temptations in front of you. And it was free.

AiY

[servodude]

"pantries"? You too?

Did you have to read that twice also?

Well I only wrote it once ... but I have to say Grandma's pantry was the place to go for a little snack. Buns for England, cakes that stayed on the shelf for twenty minutes and of course sausage rolls. And do you remember all the white frosting on top of the cakes? Where's that gone these days? I know ... it's dark matter. Buns today come in plastic cartons six at a time .. buns .. not cartons. They just don't taste as good as those on Grandma's pantry shelf though. Grandma's pantry was an exclusion to the universe. It was a place where time stood still as you reviewed the temptations in front of you. And it was free.

AiY

Oh! I'm with you on the pantries all right, no argument here
- just missed the 'r' on the first skim read

cupboards you can hide in were an important part of the Sunday visit when all the adults were gathered like the Broons in the living room
- that left us the bedroom, the kitchen and the lobby press to evade the cousins - counting was done in the bathroom
- if you were lucky, and they'd let you, you could roll under the sideboard and have the added benefit of a couple of aunties in chairs to keep you hid

- sd