In a lecture, hosted by Fairfax in May 2012, entitled – A Guide
to the Universe – Nobel laureate, Professor Brian Schmidt outlined his
early ambitions. He wanted, he said, to
do something ‘really big’ – and the biggest challenge he could imagine was
- Measuring the universes’ past so he
could understand its future!
Professor Schmidt is also reported to have
responded when asked the question – “
Where is the universe expending to?” – with the answer – “Into the future.”
Remarks such as this generate speculative thoughts; ideas of the ‘past’ and
‘future’ – of ‘beginnings’ and ‘endings’, are undeniably fertile ground for the
inquisitive mind.
This same type of
question has
arisen
in the past at Macarthur Astronomical Forum sessions, for
example – ‘where did the universe begin?’ To which the general response seems to be – ‘everywhere – all around us or that is a question that has no real answer.’ Such responses, in my humble view, may not be
quite correct!
Whilst a 2D or 3D vision of the universe is perhaps the more
common, (understandably) human view – I suggest, as Brian Schmidt indicated, the
4th dimension – TIME – is vital when clarifying remarks relating to
‘aspects of the origin of the universe.’
Therefore – rather than seeking a 'physical location’ – which would be
patently wrong – instead, the answer to - where
did the universe begin – should simply be – at least 14 billion light years ago.
Similarly – the debate persists regarding the ‘shape of the universe’. With a little research, one quickly discovers
a number of ‘possible models’ – often diagrammatically represented in mind-bending ‘Escheresk – matrix detail’ (see M.C.Escher).
Again though, in reality, it is not too
difficult to visualize a realistic cosmos model – taking all four dimensions into account – as
starting from a ‘point’ and growing or expanding exponentially over billions of
years into a ‘bell-like shape’. This bell-like structure is - one must remember - countless light years across.
Imagine,
if possible, looking down the bell of this ever-growing cosmic trumpet. Again – TIME – is an indispensable factor and an
essential element of this model.
From my simplistic point of view, one could take a 2D slice across this
trumpet-like representation of the universe at any point in the past 14 billion
years. The resulting ‘slice’ would reveal the exact state - stage – and extent of the universe at that exact point in ‘time’. Add and overlay slice
upon ever-widening slice over millennia and one eventually arrives at today’s complex
cosmic arrangement.
The only question remaining
then is – what lies ahead? Ahh –
more questions; more musings. Comments and other thoughts are always welcome ;-)
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