Thursday 28 March 2019

Elof Nilsson

Poul Anderson, Tau Zero, CHAPTER 4.

Elof Nilsson, astronomer on the Leonora Christine bound for Beta Virginis thirty two light years away:

is from Uppsala;
refers to Grona Lund;
made observations that proved the oscillating universe (p. 42) -

- which, in our timeline, has been disproved. Cosmic expansion is accelerating.

Observations
References to Sweden and Stockholm continue as the ship leaves the Solar System.

This casual reference to the oscillating universe will be very important later - a very long time later.

7 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

It is interesting that the oscillating universe theory has now been more or less disproven. It brings up the question of what will HAPPEN at the very END of the universe? Will there be merely be dead, heatless, matter for all eternity? Or will there still be, somehow, a new monobloc and universe taking form? And how did our current universe take form if it should not be existing at all?

Sean

Keith Halperin said...

I'm more attracted to the "Big Rip Theory" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rip), though I expect the expansion will go on forever or until a quantum fluctuation creates a new universe Unlikely, but (if I recall properly) in 10EXP500 years it could happen. Who knows?

See the Wikipedia articles on:
Future of an expanding universe,
Heat death of the universe,
Timeline of the far future, and
Ultimate fate of the universe

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
I think that, if our universe expands indefinitely, then it will become quiescent but others can begin and expand elsewhere.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Keith and Paul!

But if the Big Rip was how the universe began, how is that truly different from the Big Bang hypothesis? And what can cause a dead, quiescent universe to somehow, somewhere, see a new universe starting?

Note: I have yet to look up the Big Rip.

Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
I think that a new universe would start in a different space-time than that of the dead universe.
Paul.

Anonymous said...

@ Paul: "...then it will become quiescent but others can begin and expand elsewhere." That's what people often want me to do...

Cheers,
Keith

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Keith,
Well, hang in there!
Paul.