Monday, August 24, 2020

COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT - expanding the Universe?

 -  2797  -  COSMOLOGICAL  CONSTANT  -  expanding the Universe?  The Universe is not only expanding its expansion is accelerating at an ever faster rate.  Now, science is resurrecting the cosmological constant in order to use Einstein’s equations to explain an accelerating expansion that began 5 billion years ago.  

---------------  2797  - COSMOLOGICAL  CONSTANT  -  expanding the Universe?

-   In 1917 Albert Einstein completed his equations for General Relativity and a new theory for gravity.  He recognized that a problem with his equations required the contraction or the expansion of the Universe but not the static condition that everyone thought existed at the time.  So, Albert added a “cosmological constant”, a factor in the equations that allowed the Universe to exactly balance and remain static.

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-  In 1929 Edwin Hubble proved to Albert that the remote galaxies were accelerating away from us.  The further away the faster galaxies receded.  The Universe was expanding, it was not static.  Albert said the cosmological constant was the greatest blunder of his life.

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-  Today, we are not so sure it was a blunder.  We know the Universe is not only expanding its expansion is accelerating at an ever faster rate.  Now, science is resurrecting the cosmological constant in order to use Einstein’s equations to explain an accelerating expansion that began 5 billion years ago. 

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-   Dark Energy, a form of anti-gravity, a repulsive force,  started becoming more dominate than Dark Matter, and all matter / energy that creates gravity, an attractive force, 5 billion years ago.  Gravity decreases with distance.  Dark Energy and anti-gravity are constant in all space. 

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-   Therefore, Dark Energy becomes more and more dominate as the Universe continues to expand.  Its rate of expansion gets faster and faster.  Science can rearrange Einstein’s equation and insert the cosmological constant back in and get this observed affect in the Cosmos.

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-  Einstein’s original idea in creating his equations was to define gravity so gravity and accelerated motion were equivalent.  Without an outside reference you can not tell the difference between acceleration and gravity.  Einstein’s equation had the Universe as static with no boundaries but curved back on itself like the surface of a balloon.  

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-  The cosmological constant term in the equation produced a cosmic repulsion on large scales enough that would just counteract gravitational attraction on large scales.  Without the cosmological constant in the equation there is no term to counteract gravity and the Universe would collapse on itself.  With the term small enough the Universe would expand but gravity simply continuously slows the expansion into infinity.

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-  Einstein’s original equation related the curvature of space to the distribution of matter and energy.  When he added the Constant he put it on the left side of the equation suggesting it was a property of space itself.  

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-  Today science wants to put the Constant on the right side of the equation and suggest that it represents a new form of energy density.  The Constant remains constant as space expands and eventually dominates gravity’s attraction that decreases with distance.

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-  Since 1998 evidence  from supernovae explosions have convinced astronomers that over the past 5,000,000,000 years the expansion of the Universe has been speeding up.  Supernovae explosion were dimmer than expected which meant they were further away than expected because the Universe was expanding faster than expected.

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-  Since 2000 the measurement of the angular size of the small variations in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation have convinced astronomers that the geometry of the Universe is flat.  It is not a positive curvature like the balloon shape as Einstein thought.  

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-  For the Universe to be geometrically flat the average matter / energy density must be equal to the Critical Density.  The “Critical Density” is where the balance occurs between expansion and contraction.  When astronomers measure all forms of matter / energy in the Universe they come up with only 5% of the amount needed.   We were missing 95% with what we could see. 

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-   When they add “Dark Matter’ they can get up to 27% of what is needed.  For the Universe to be flat and accelerating as it is there must be 73% Dark Energy, vacuum energy that is repelling gravity.  It is in the vacuum of space. 

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-   The problem now is how do we measure the weight of “nothing” when it makes up 73% of everything?

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-  So, what we are left with to date is a flat Universe dominated by positive vacuum energy that will expand the Universe forever at an ever increasing rate.  How do you explain this?

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-  Our knowledge usually develops in an atmosphere of creative confusion.  I, at least, have the confusion part right!

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 ---------------------   Monday, August 24, 2020  -------------------------

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