Here is a thought expirement. I have no data to back this, but that puts it on par with most other explanations.
As the universe expands, relativity predicted it would slow down. What we found was that it was accellerating. From this dark energy was dreamed up. What if it is actually slowing down? Here is my reasoning:
We know that the greater the gravity, the slower time passes. So really the more space is warped or stretched, the slower time will flow. So, as the universe expands space is stretched everywhere, and the rate at which time is passing would slow down with that. We are slaves to time, and so are our observations. So as we slow down, a constant rate of expansion would actually appear to us to be an accelleration.
QUOTE (Sicarius+Apr 6 2006, 02:15 AM)
What we found was that it was accelerating. From this dark energy was dreamed up. What if it is actually slowing down?
Your insight can be quite right, but the problem is, the mainstream science doesn't believes in Aether hypothesis, it means, it supposes, the empty vacuum is the space with flat curvature, with no mass/gravity field - it means, it cannot be curved by such way. Compare to my collapse of Universe hypothesis with connection of the Aether Wave Theory.
Concerning the so called red-shift expansion, lets try to bring up situation, the vacuum is forming the material of visible mass and we are inside, being formed by it! Such idea is compatible with the recent black hole model of Universe. Click to the pictures above to see an AVI animation.
Your insight can be quite right, but the problem is, the mainstream science doesn't believes in Aether hypothesis, it means, it supposes, the empty vacuum is the space with flat curvature, with no mass/gravity field - it means, it cannot be curved by such way. Compare to my collapse of Universe hypothesis with connection of the Aether Wave Theory.
Concerning the so called red-shift expansion, lets try to bring up situation, the vacuum is forming the material of visible mass and we are inside, being formed by it! Such idea is compatible with the recent black hole model of Universe. Click to the pictures above to see an AVI animation.
that sounds better than "dark energy is stretching space time" but I'm still not understanding why its flat? Someone please tell me----why flat? Aren't we on a membrane of some sort? What's below the membrane? What's above? And M theory? What the hell is that? Why cant there be 5 theories? Why did they throw them out? Five is a good number---five fingers---five geometrically.......perfect? shapes.....aren't there five shapes that are perfect or something? What is up with that? OK--don't laugh--but I'm thinking....the purpose of it all is for "charge" to become independent of slavery, independent of time, to be self feeding, containing its own renewable, infinite charge. Not to bring the bible in....just---that part about eternal life------i like that part----for myself---to think that after "this"----you don't exist----seems 
--------don't you hope we have a soul? Anyway, could the point be to break from slavery? What's that thing that traps electrons on a little island? I keep thinking electrons are just "will". What the heck is charge?!!!! Could a piezoelectric crystal be a habitat for eternal life? Maybe our soul is one electron in the charge of that crystal. ? Don't be mean in your replies OK---i don't have any geeks (love you guys) to talk to in the real world.
--------don't you hope we have a soul? Anyway, could the point be to break from slavery? What's that thing that traps electrons on a little island? I keep thinking electrons are just "will". What the heck is charge?!!!! Could a piezoelectric crystal be a habitat for eternal life? Maybe our soul is one electron in the charge of that crystal. ? Don't be mean in your replies OK---i don't have any geeks (love you guys) to talk to in the real world.
I have a new idea not related to this topic about the universe expanding; but i was thinking... why are scientists so interested about expanding outwards in the universe when they have yet to explore "up" and "down".
SUN...Mercury...Venus...Earth...Mars...Jupiter...Saturn...Uranus...Neptune..Pluto
(simple diagram of the universe)
Our scientists want to know what is beyond our universe from pluto and on.
Why do scientists try sending probes and satellites not beyond pluto but to see whats "above" or "below" the earth?
We think that our universe looks kinda like an egg (without shell). It has a center and our planets expand out and revolve around the center. What if our galaxy was shaped like a sphere? We would not know because we have been too busy going past pluto to discover what is around us. What if we discovered a quicker way to other galaxies by going up and down. What if....
SUN...Mercury...Venus...Earth...Mars...Jupiter...Saturn...Uranus...Neptune..Pluto
(simple diagram of the universe)
Our scientists want to know what is beyond our universe from pluto and on.
Why do scientists try sending probes and satellites not beyond pluto but to see whats "above" or "below" the earth?
We think that our universe looks kinda like an egg (without shell). It has a center and our planets expand out and revolve around the center. What if our galaxy was shaped like a sphere? We would not know because we have been too busy going past pluto to discover what is around us. What if we discovered a quicker way to other galaxies by going up and down. What if....
Sicarius. I would have thought as the universe expanded, there would be more room between gravitational sources so it would naturally expand faster.
Time dilation through gravity is nonsense. Things have to work harder under heavy gravity which caused the slow down.
Time dilation through gravity is nonsense. Things have to work harder under heavy gravity which caused the slow down.
Hippoman24. There is little if anything above the plane of the solar system to make exploration worthwhile. The same with the galaxy in that there is material above and below what we see but it is of extremely low density, being just very fine gas and dust.
Travelling through space in any direction takes the same time.
Travelling through space in any direction takes the same time.
Hippoman24, You use the term "Universe" when you mean "Solar System" and then you use "Galaxy" when you mean "Solar System"
A Solar System, is like you described:
SUN...Mercury...Venus...Earth...Mars...Jupiter...Saturn...Uranus...Neptune..Pluto
(simple diagram of the Solar System)
Our FURTHEST two probes (Voyager 1 and Voyager 2) have not YET left the solar system.
A Galaxy is typically made of hundreds of Billions of these Solar Systems and ours, a spiral Galaxy, looks something like this:
Within our Galaxy, our nearest known stellar neighbor is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light years away.
In contrast, the nearest Galaxy to us is ~ 168,000 light years away (a dwarf Galaxy), the nearest major Galaxy is ~ 2 Million light years away.
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
To put these sizes in more human perspective (and your issue of getting to another star) imagine that everything was shrunk in distance and size such that our Sun is a grain of sand 1/100 cm in diameter
In that case the Earth is .0001 cm or roughly the size of a bacteria and is 1 cm from the Sun while Pluto is but 40 cm from the Sun the nearest star is 3 km away and our galaxy is 80,000 km wide.
STILL
Two sand grains at opposite ends of a football Field would fill the stadium with sand more densely than space is filled with stars.
AND the nearest Galaxy somewhat like our own, Andromeda Galaxy is 2,000,000 km away.
Arthur
A Solar System, is like you described:
SUN...Mercury...Venus...Earth...Mars...Jupiter...Saturn...Uranus...Neptune..Pluto
(simple diagram of the Solar System)
Our FURTHEST two probes (Voyager 1 and Voyager 2) have not YET left the solar system.
A Galaxy is typically made of hundreds of Billions of these Solar Systems and ours, a spiral Galaxy, looks something like this:
Within our Galaxy, our nearest known stellar neighbor is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light years away.
In contrast, the nearest Galaxy to us is ~ 168,000 light years away (a dwarf Galaxy), the nearest major Galaxy is ~ 2 Million light years away.
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
To put these sizes in more human perspective (and your issue of getting to another star) imagine that everything was shrunk in distance and size such that our Sun is a grain of sand 1/100 cm in diameter
In that case the Earth is .0001 cm or roughly the size of a bacteria and is 1 cm from the Sun while Pluto is but 40 cm from the Sun the nearest star is 3 km away and our galaxy is 80,000 km wide.
STILL
Two sand grains at opposite ends of a football Field would fill the stadium with sand more densely than space is filled with stars.
AND the nearest Galaxy somewhat like our own, Andromeda Galaxy is 2,000,000 km away.
Arthur
Herrumbre
Expanding Universe :
The expantion of universe is a logic concecuence of two forces actuating in the uni verse in the same direction in the same time , so nobody must be surpriced of this effect.We have the expansion of the Huble constant and the antigravity force
just recently discovered actuating both in the same direction.
What is surprising is to have been working until to day the universe mechanical
with only one force "'gravity",this is unimaginable.
This discovery make us to open our brain to watch the universe more inquiring
and see for instancy that matter don't have the energy to produce gravity.Only an energy with the capacity to be transformed into matter has the capacity to be trans
formed into gravity so matter and gravity are forms of the same energy , but an
tigravity can not be the same energy ,it has nevertheless the same characteristic
but contrary effects . With any doubt antigravity is a form of another energy.
In this way we have in the universe two energies in perfect balance with matter
responsible of the mechanic of the universe.This two energies and its effects we can see it in our planet earth.
.
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