Do We Live In a Giant Cosmic Bubble? 344
Khemisty writes "Earth may be trapped in an abnormal bubble of space-time that is particularly void of matter. Scientists say this condition could account for the apparent acceleration of the universe's expansion, for which dark energy currently is the leading explanation.
Until now, there has been no good way to choose between dark energy or the void explanation, but a new study outlines a potential test of the bubble scenario.
If we were in an unusually sparse area of the universe, then things could look farther away than they really are and there would be no need to rely on dark energy as an explanation for certain astronomical observations.
'If we lived in a very large under-density, then the space-time itself wouldn't be accelerating,' said researcher Timothy Clifton of Oxford University in England. 'It would just be that the observations, if interpreted in the usual way, would look like they were.'"
I know I do (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Being special (Score:5, Funny)
Man you ain't kidding. Take a look at the Capitol Hill region of space. That is one ultra dense region of hot air, that isn't just warping space-time this is a region of space where the wildest of idea's are warped into reality.
Large Hadron Collider can help us (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe the Large Hadron Collider can help us with this. The scientists can try to recreate this as well - after they fix the magnet issues.
That's the result of the last LHC (Score:1, Funny)
See, that didn't turn out so badly.
Are we in some kind a time loop / time DILATION... (Score:3, Funny)
Are we in some kind a time loop / time DILATION FIELD. If we are we should use the ZPM powering it for other stuff.
Re:Bubble? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Say what? (Score:2, Funny)
One of my Favorite episodes from all the Star Treks. Best part was that the time bubble around the planet prevented the inhabitants from communicating or interacting with the galaxy, their SETI program was ultimately a failure and they didn't understand why.
Re:Being special (Score:2, Funny)
. So therefore, the universe should appear to have different properties in different directions. Has anybody seen that?
Oh, but it does indeed! haven't you noticed that the universe is at daylight here but at night in China?
Re:I know I do (Score:5, Funny)
Dark Matter (Score:4, Funny)
Capitol Hill region of space. That is one ultra dense region of hot air
Actually, that particular region of the universe consists of dark matter. It's an enormous pile of it, brown in color, steaming and giving off fetid odors that would knock a buzzard off a shit-wagon*. The region is full of it and amazingly, endless numbers of primitive little life-forms actually burrow themselves into it and suck nutrition from it.
* We miss you, George.
Management (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe it's a warp bubble... (Score:2, Funny)
Dr. Crusher: "Here's a question you shouldn't be able to answer: Computer, what is the nature of the universe?"
Computer: "The universe is a spheroid region seven hundred and five meters in diameter."
Re:Being special (Score:2, Funny)
Obvious Answer (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I know I do (Score:5, Funny)
6000 years ago, god farted in a Cosmic Bathtub.
Re:Bubble? (Score:5, Funny)
Why does the first thing that comes to mind after reading just this headline, make me think of that one episode on Star Trek Voyager
Wow, our minds just totally work differently. I thought of J-Lo's ass.
Re:The anthropic cop-out (Score:5, Funny)
I've always preferred the misanthropic principle, myself. "We see the universe the way we do because people are idiots."
Drink beer! (Score:3, Funny)
> what can we do with this new knowledge other than escape the bubble to realize our true freedom?
We can finally say that beer is the true meaning of the universe. This finding confirms what beer drinkers around the world have suspected for years: our universe is just a bubble in a giant glass of beer! In the beginning, the beer was flat. Then suddenly the bottle was opened, and the lowered pressure lowered carbon dioxide's solubility and enabled creation of bubbles. As the primordial beer gas accumulated in our bubble, gravity appeared (the surrounding universe is made of light beer, which does not bend space as much as the regular beer) and caused the carbon dioxide to coalesce into stars and planets, and eventually into people. Our bubble is expanding now, and floating upward in the glass. Eventually it will reach the top and become a part of the giant cosmic head, at which point we shall all be judged for our actions and be doomed to either sink back in the glass, or to fly up into the cosmos with the angels. Yup, dude, this is some heavy stuff! But don't worry, the more beer you drink, the better you understand it!
Our region of space has less mass...... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Are we in some kind a time loop / time DILATION (Score:3, Funny)
Are we in some kind a time loop / time DILATION FIELD. If we are we should use the ZPM powering it for other stuff.
Yes, and then put our hands on our hips and do the pelvic thrust.
Re:Being special (Score:3, Funny)
It wouldn't surprise me at all. One-in-a-million chances crop up nine times out of ten.
Re:Bubble? (Score:1, Funny)
Somehow she would use that in your divorce proceedings and you would lose your senate race.
Re:Management Would it SUCK or... (Score:4, Funny)
I don't know, but it'll probably cost a lot more than 700 billion dollars to bail the universe out.
Re:Occam's Razor? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I know I do (Score:5, Funny)