Escape from the Universe 630
rleyton writes "Prospect Magazine is carrying an excellent article "Escape from the Universe": The universe is destined to end. Before it does, could an advanced civilisation escape via a "wormhole" into a parallel universe? The idea seems like science fiction, but it is consistent with the laws of physics and biology. Here's how to do it."
These people.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:These people.... (Score:2)
listen - there's a hell of a white castle next door; let's go.
- e.e. cummings
Depends on whose timer you're using + which season (Score:2)
Third season? Who the hell cares, isn't there a movie homage we can do? (Alt: depends on the whims of a brain-sucking colonel...)
Fourth or fifth season? Maybe, but you're not guaranteed to be the same person on the other end of the wormhole.
Re:These people.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Jesus (Belief) - Existed 2 thousand years ago.
Universe (Fact) - Existed for 13.7 Billion Years.
Re:These people.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Fact - The existence of Jesus Christ is generally accepted by all scholars.
Please note, I'm an athiest but let's not go around making wild claims unless we want to turn science into a faith-based belief system.
Re:These people.... (Score:3, Insightful)
I'll also give you that some dude, named 'Jesus' probably did exist circa 0AD, and was a really nice guy, and did some cool stuff that somehow got mangled in the storytelling, however he probably wasn't a supernatural being somehow linked to the fundamental nature of the universe.
However, and this is the main thrust of my point, it is FAR AND AWAY more likely that the universe is 13.7 Billi
Re:These people.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Points well taken.
There are a great many number of interpretations of Biblical writings depending on if you are Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. Some believe in completely literal translation of the Bible. This, I believe, is something in which you find great fault (correct me if I am wrong). I'm not out to change your views, but for what it's worth, there are plenty that don't think that way.
For example, I'm a member of a church in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) [elca.org]. Our particular interpretations are far more lenient, and do not at all suppose that concepts of evolution and science are mutually exclusive from Biblical teachings or faith. On the contrary, we believe God does indeed want us to use our intellect to understand these things.
Of course, the ELCA is considered far more "liberal" than just about any other Christian faith you may find in the US. We have no problems ordaining homosexuals for leadership positions in the church (given a vow of celibacy*), as well as women for the same. Can't say that for the Catholics or Baptists, to be sure.
This isn't meant to be a pro- or anti- religious post regarding any "Christian faith" in the US. I'm not out to change anybody's beliefs. Keep up the critical thinking! This was just meant to be somewhat informative. Hopefully you know something more than before you read my post.
Cheers,
--Kozz
* My politics are more liberal than this, also. I'm not homophobic by any stretch. This is a statement about the ELCA policies, not my own personal beliefs.
Re:These people.... (Score:3, Insightful)
When the library of alexandria was burned down, who knows all the information that was lost?
What happens when the sun expands and earth can no longer hold life? Who is going to still be around remembering these things?
I would say: Einstein ideas lived much longer than he did (as is the case with many famous people of the past 5 millenia). I would not say they are immortal.
Re:These people.... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:These people.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Athiests are, in my opinion religious: They believe there is no God. They are as firm in this conviction as any Christian/Hindu/Muslim, etc. is in his/her believe that there is a God. Any statement to the contrary invokes a reaction quite similar to what a Christian would have when his beliefs are argued against, and there is a fair (if not large) amount of intolerance towards those whose beliefs are not identical.
Agnosti
Re:These people.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:These people.... (Score:4, Informative)
Just a refresher on how we came up with the "big bang" notion: the things in the universe are spreading apart from one another in a very, very observable way. In fact, they're doing it faster and faster as time goes by. There is a lot of empty space, but it's sprinkled with lots of nice glowing objects that we can see and measure. You don't have to do much math to "rewind" the observed movement of those objects to see when everything that we can see would have been unimaginably close together and dense, and hence the age of the universe in which all of those things sit. As things get any closer or denser than that, there's really no point talking about time or distance, as you've reached an infinitely irreducable point, and the math shows that to have been roughly 13 billion years ago.
Doesn't matter what happened, if anything, before then. "Before" isn't even a workable concept under those circumstances... all dimensions, including time, are compressed beyond recognition or measurement. The point is, it's just a bigger one of those word problems from school math... "A train from New York is in Baltimore going 50 miles per hour at 2:00, and has been accelerating steadily since it started in New York at X miles per hour per minute... what time did it leave New York?" If elementary students can mentally picture the problem and solve it, then given the (much more complex) observations of the actual universe around us, the math describing when our Universal Train left The Big Bang is pretty hard to miss.
neat but.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:neat but.... (Score:3, Insightful)
With my luck... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:With my luck... (Score:5, Funny)
filled with studio executives and sycophantic DRM vendors.
Obligatory Hitchhiker's Guide (Score:5, Funny)
Stephen Baxter (Score:3, Informative)
an excellent read if you get the chance.
Greg Bear (Score:2)
End of Universe? (Score:2, Informative)
Isn't this a bit early? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Isn't this a bit early? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Isn't this a bit early? (Score:3, Insightful)
I reckon you're way off the mark.
With the tools we have at the moment and the way we're handling them, I reckon we've got 50-odd years at the outside...assuming there isn't some catastrophic event between now and then, that is.
Re:Isn't this a bit early? (Score:2)
Re:Isn't this a bit early? (Score:2)
Not that I believe in such things, but if you're going sci-fi, *go* sci-fi.
Re:Isn't this a bit early? (Score:2, Funny)
It's later than you think! (Score:3, Funny)
Because, you know... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Because, you know... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Because, you know... (Score:3, Funny)
antimatter (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:antimatter (Score:5, Funny)
No problem, it will just be an escape towards a really bright future.
Re:antimatter (Score:5, Funny)
Wait for it... (Score:2)
The I guess it won't...matter!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Ouch.
I think I damaged my spleen.
Oops, we did it again (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Oops, we did it again (Score:5, Informative)
http://prospectmagazine.co.uk/article_details.php? id=6701
Lifted at :
22:00 20/01/05
The universe is out of control, in a runaway acceleration. Eventually all intelligent life will face the final doom--the big freeze. An advanced civilisation must embark on the ultimate journey: fleeing to a parallel universe.
In Norse mythology, Ragnarok--the fate of the gods--begins when the earth is caught in the vice-like grip of a bone-chilling freeze. The heavens themselves freeze over, as the gods perish in great battles with evil serpents and murderous wolves. Eternal darkness settles over the bleak, frozen land as the sun and moon are both devoured. Odin, the father of all gods, finally falls to his death, and time itself comes to a halt.
Does this ancient tale foretell our future? Ever since the work of Edwin Hubble in the 1920s, scientists have known that the universe is expanding, but most have believed that the expansion was slowing as the universe aged. In 1998, astronomers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Australian National University calculated the expansion rate by studying dozens of powerful supernova explosions within distant galaxies, which can light up the entire universe. They could not believe their own data. Some unknown force was pushing the galaxies apart, causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. Brian Schmidt, one of the group leaders, said, "I was still shaking my head, but we had checked everything... I was very reluctant to tell people, because I truly thought that we were going to get massacred."
Physicists went scrambling back to their blackboards and realised that some "dark energy" of unknown origin, akin to Einstein's "cosmological constant," was acting as an anti-gravity force. Apparently, empty space itself contains enough repulsive dark energy to blow the universe apart. The more the universe expands, the more dark energy there is to make it expand even faster, leading to an exponential runaway mode.
In 2003, this astonishing result was confirmed by the WMAP (Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe) satellite. Orbiting at a million miles from earth, this satellite contains two telescopes capable of detecting the faint microwave radiation which bathes the universe. It is so sensitive that it is able to photograph in exquisite detail the afterglow of the microwave radiation left over from the big bang, which is still circulating the universe. The WMAP satellite, in effect, gave us "baby pictures" of the universe when it was a mere 380,000 years old.
The WMAP satellite settled the long-standing question of the age of the universe: it is officially 13.7bn years old (to within 1 per cent accuracy). But more remarkably, the data showed that dark energy is not a fluke, but makes up 73 per cent of the matter and energy of the entire universe. To deepen the mystery, the data showed that 23 per cent of the universe consists of "dark matter," a bizarre form of matter which is invisible but still has weight. Hydrogen and helium make up 4 per cent, while the higher elements, you and I included, make up just 0.03 per cent. Dark energy and most of dark matter do not consist of atoms, which means that, contrary to what the ancient Greeks believed and what is taught in every chemistry course, most of the universe is not made of atoms at all.
As the universe expands, its energy content is diluted and temperatures eventually plunge to near absolute zero, where even atoms stop moving. One of the iron laws of physics is the second law of thermodynamics, which states that in the end everything runs down, that the total "entropy" (disorder or chaos) in the universe always increases. This means that iron rusts, our bodies age and crumble, empires fall, stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, and the universe itself will run down, as temperatures drop uniformly to near zero.
Charles Darwin was referring to this law when he wrote: "Beli
Re:Oops, we did it again (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, and they produce a wildly disproportionate number of the world's death metal bands.
Let me get this straight (Score:2)
--MarkusQ
Are we asking questions just to sound smart? (Score:3, Insightful)
No. Anything that is reacheable from our universe is, by definition, part of the universe. The concept of "escape" has no meaning in this context.
Re:Are we asking questions just to sound smart? (Score:3, Interesting)
OK, then redefine 'universe'. After all, an atom can't be split; that's what the word 'atom' means... Just come up with a new word for the larger structure, and don't worry too much about Greek derivations.
Re:Are we asking questions just to sound smart? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, the webserver is, at this exact point in time in this universe, unreachable. If your definition is assumed to be correct, that server is not part of this universe.
That would mean that the Slashdot Effect can blow a server to an alternate universe (or at least give it an alternate quantum state).
Soko
Re:Are we asking questions just to sound smart? (Score:3, Insightful)
Anything that is reacheable from our universe is, by definition, part of the universe. The concept of "escape" has no meaning in this context.
Well, we're playing with definitions here. By your definition of "universe," it's still possible to conceive that we could escape from our current "region" of the universe - which is dying - through a wormhole, to another "region" that is not so close to dying.
It just presupposes that maybe the "universe" is much bigger than we currently think, and there's a way
Definine "our universe" (Score:4, Informative)
As you can see, it's not easy [wikipedia.org] to come to agreement about what the term "our universe" actually means. A term this broad invites all manner of semantic arguments
How to do it: (Score:5, Funny)
2: Suck up thousands of galaxies into a toroidal naked singularity
3: Avoid any pesky humans throwing relativistic neutron stars around the universe
4: Hold off neutrino birds at all costs
5: Escape universe
Potential hazards: physical constants of new universe may not be what you expected. Beware of ultra-high gravity.
Re:How to do it: (Score:2, Funny)
1: Build a Great Attractor 2: Suck up thousands of galaxies into a toroidal naked singularity 3: Avoid any pesky humans throwing relativistic neutron stars around the universe 4: Hold off neutrino birds at all costs 5: Escape universe
PFFT! *hits the switch on his improbability drive*
Re:How to do it: (Score:2)
Re:How to do it: (Score:3, Informative)
Vacuum Diagrams [amazon.com] is a collection of short stories about a race called the Xeelee, and how humanity discovers them, moves to the stars and is nearly destroyed. The stories have an epic scope - several million years - but are quite entertaining. One of the most enjoyable reads I've ever had.
I'd describe what a 'great attractor' or 'neutrino birds' are, but that would give a way a lot of the story.
Re:How to do it: (Score:4, Informative)
Re:How to do it: (Score:3, Funny)
I believe this only happens if you cross the beams. Don't do that.
Ironic (Score:5, Funny)
MOD PARENT UP (Score:2)
Escape from the Basement (Score:5, Funny)
Under some theories, there is not just one parent's basement, but in fact many basements. In this "multi-basement" view, it would even be possible to travel from one basement to another.
The theory states that up the stairs and through the kitchen there are portals that lead to a realm given the mysterious sounding name of "Outside". And indeed, it is mysterious.
"We know virtually nothing about 'Outside'," said a prominent geek theorist whose name I'm too lazy to make up. "The theory states that one could travel through 'Outside' to any other place in the known basements, but we aren't sure how that is possible. Certainly it would be a place of astounding energy. While still purely theory, one of my colleagues sent me an IM claiming that he actually saw this energy shining through the windows of the kitchen when he went upstairs to get lunch."
While agreeing with the general theory, several researchers say that Outside provides no hope to the geek facing the destruction of his basement. The incredible energy of Outside, they say, would fry a geek in an instant. One said clearly fabricated claims that some geeks had already travelled Outside and returned was proof that the theory was the realm of crackpots.
"There are certainly difficulties involved in traveling Outside," said that same geek from before, "but we've found nothing insurmountable as of yet. I've calculated that the energy of Outside waxes and wanes in approximately twelve hour cycles and travel would be possible during the low portion of the cycle. Frankly, I think these theoretical problems will be overcome. I'd be much more concerned about the practical implications of traveling to other basements, such as: if there are no parents in these new basements, who will pay rent and fill the fridge? What if there is no Chinese or pizza delivery? These are the issues engineers will have to face as they travel to new worlds beyond the kitchen."
While all geeks we spoke with admitted that it is far too early to draw any conclusions, many said that this new field of research should give geeks everywhere hope.
The Plot of Greg Egan's Diaspora (Score:2, Interesting)
Not Egan's best (th
duh... (Score:3, Funny)
The short answer: Find worm hole. Jump into said wormhole. Escape universe. I mean, this is pretty basic stuff here.
---gralem
Re:duh... (Score:2)
Parallell internet (Score:2)
Re:Parallell internet (Score:2)
Meanwhile on Earth... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Meanwhile on Earth... (Score:3, Insightful)
Because there is no money in it!
WooHoo! Where do collect my prize money?
Re:Meanwhile on Earth... (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, why bother sending all those probes to learn about the Universe when we all could be busy farming to produce more food. Bring down those buildings and rear more cattle so that can can feed everyone.
Get over it. Just because there is a section of underprivileged population does not mean you do not work on other things. Civilization is a cumulative point of achievement of everything that's happened before it - unless you can provide for that, you're not going to progress.
This is my third universe.... (Score:3, Funny)
And don't get me started on those noisy pulsars or horrid black holes! I can't think of anything that sucks as much as black holes!
Re:This is my third universe.... (Score:3, Funny)
Life was much better in the quark-gluon era. It was warm back then, with none of these howling great voids of nothing. I'm just hanging around watching Eta Carinae in the hope that it'll explode and I can catch some nice warm neutrinos to keep out the bitter cold...
Whoever decided to press the button on the Inflation Device really needs kicking
Re:This is my third universe.... (Score:2)
Why don't we worry about escape Earth first (Score:3, Insightful)
There will be cataclysms on Earth, and in our solar system long before, which we need to avoid. Hell we don't even have a decent early warning system for large meteors, let alone a workable action plan against being wiped out by one.
This isn't like trying to fly before you can walk. This is more like sperm in a testicle trying to plan for when it becomes an Olympic athelete!
But Who Will Get.. (Score:2, Funny)
Something to think about... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Something to think about... (Score:5, Funny)
Fractions of Infinity (Score:3, Insightful)
Now cut it in half, cut one of its halfs in half, and cut one of those quarters in half.
How big are the smallest two sections you have? Infinitly big. Or, to be precise, 1/8 infinity.
Similar math is what keeps wormholes from happening all over the place. With infinite space then, yes, we would have an infinite number of wormholes. But their ratio wouldn't necessarily change from the effect if we had, oh, a finite space.
Re:Something to think about... (Score:3, Insightful)
There just might be.. Oh, not an infinite number, but one of those really, really big numbers, followed by lots and lots of zeros.
Oh, and the wormholes are small. Really small. Mind-bogglingly small. About a Planck length. And they don't go very far. Probably not to another universe.
Re:Something to think about... (Score:2)
Re:Something to think about... (Score:3, Informative)
Keep in mind that there are there are different "sizes" of infinity ("proof" below). If you accept this, you can accept that having an infinite number of universes and an infinite number of universe bridging wormholes, does not imply an infinite number of wormholes in each universe.
Notes
1) Using a digitalization argument you can show that the number of whole numbers is "countably infinite" while the number of real numbers (fractional numbers) is "uncountably infinite". And t
Re:Something to think about... (Score:3, Insightful)
Ok let's say you have 1 object, and there's a 100% chance it's an object that's going to open up a wormhole into your universe. Now make it 2 and 50% (independent events). Now make it 4 and 25%, now make it a billion with a chance of 1/billion. Now make it an infinite number of objects, each with an infinitesimal chance of opening up a wormhole in your universe. What does this number approach? (Hint: Not infinity)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I'll wait (Score:4, Funny)
I'll wait until "Escaping your Universe for Dummies" comes out... that's always easy to read.
A few thoughts (Score:2)
Also, who's to say that the laws of Physics to which we are accustomed are universal (no pun intendeded)? I've met theorists who suspect that our laws of Physics are a by-product of the formation of our own universe, and the reason we don't see too many others is that they often form with a set of physical rules that are
Do you think that in a parallel universe... (Score:2)
well (Score:2)
I'm just gonna make reservations at Milliways... (Score:5, Funny)
Just let me know ... (Score:2)
Good Grief! (Score:2)
Of course... (Score:2)
I call this an excercise in... (Score:2)
"Mental Masturbation", nothing more. What else can you possibly get from this? An interesting read but nothing I can really wrap my brain around in there if you know what I mean.
Earlier Story (Score:2, Informative)
www.owlsden.com/moroha [owlsden.com]
Don't mean to crash the party but... (Score:5, Informative)
Quote:
(Emphasis mine)
Re:Don't mean to crash the party but... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Don't mean to crash the party but... (Score:3, Informative)
It's true (well, for a given value of "true"), but black holes aren't the same things as wormholes. Wormholes are a quantum concept (in the sense that they're really really small) where you get to travel between different bits of spacetime by taking shortcuts. Did I say they're really really small? We're talking mind-boggling sub-sub-sub-atomic here.
Black holes are just huge chunks of mass (
Re:Don't mean to crash the party but... (Score:5, Informative)
So, one way to look at it is, if you jump into a black hole you'll be transformed into the tiny vibrating strings that make up subatomic particles according to String Theory, then those strings will be flung off in randomly over time in the form of Hawking radiation.
That would be a cool thing to do with your corpse, much like having your body cremated and your ashes scattered.
Laws of Biology ? (Score:2, Insightful)
What pray tell are the "laws of biology" and how do they have ANYTHING to do with wormholes?
Antimatter (Score:2)
Visit to a Strange Universe (Score:5, Funny)
Now why would I want to do that? With my luck, I'd wind up in a universe where we had President George W. Bush, instead of Al Gore beginning his second term.
Yeesh. What a terrifying concept
Re:Visit to a Strange Universe (Score:5, Funny)
Wouldn't that be better than this one?
I mean, President Clinton wasn't that bad, even if her husband was a bit of a jerk.
notes? (Score:2, Funny)
is escape necessary? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm afraid I've grown rather attached to this universe.
escapism (Score:3, Informative)
Read the whole article (Score:3, Funny)
Re:but.. (Score:2)
A please, think before you post. If you even remotely think the US government is tyrannical, you are seriously mislead. According to dictionary.com:
First.. the president has plenty of restrictions and two, the
Re:Only one universe (Score:2)
Re:Stringtheory... (Score:2)
That's so 80's get with the times, the current theories revolve around bubbles and strings and technical stuff like that.
Re:Yeah Right (Score:3, Funny)
We will definately not be still alive by the time the universe ends.
Did Netcraft confirm that?
Re:Done. (Score:3, Interesting)
If you're an SF fan, FWIW, this recommendation is from an owner of a SF-specialized literary agency and the son of a SF writer popular from the 50's... 70's or so. If the idea of creation-spanning is interesting to you, then read this book; you are very unlikely to regret i