10/8/10

Wait a Minute, Wait a Minute...

Maybe someone can explain this to me.

If the Universe is 156 billion light years across...

And if the Universe is 13.7 billion years old...

And everything flew into existence from a single point in the Big Bang...

Does that mean that the galaxies at the outer reaches of the Universe traveled at 5.6 times the speed of light??

8 comments:

brett said...

You're not the first person to ask -- check this out. Or this. Alternately, just Google "big bang speed of light."

Anonymous said...

Hi Daniel.

I have one comment regarding your observations. The obvious answer is that either the Big Bang Theory is wrong or the Theory of Relativity is wrong, or both.

I also have one comment regarding the attemped answers to your observations. Remember: If you use big enough words, you can say black is white, up is down, and good is evil, and get applause from certain corners of the "scientific community."

-Dad

William Jackson said...

Hey Daniel.

I found an interesting article about this. I think it amounts to a sophisticated way to fudge on the problems you present regarding the Big Bang theory. But it does support the existence of "eternity," and I can just picture traveling through all the permutations of the "multiverse" in the company of its Creator!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101027-science-space-universe-end-of-time-multiverse-inflation/

High Power Rocketry said...

Thank you Brett for including the truth here. I am sorry to see that people with agendas are attempting to pressure a science student into forsaking science (!) and trying to imply that using big words means you are a fraud. The big bang theory is well documented, but still not complete. Relativity has been confirmed countless times, Dad, and every time you use GPS you are relying on it directly. Your statement here makes as much sense as I would if I were insisting that the Earth were flat.

That you use a computer and modern technology, developed by the science you hate, is massively ironic!

DTH Rocket said...

I know the theory of relativity is true, and heck, the Big Bang is probably true as well, but it sure didn't happen without Design.

My Dad is not pressuring me to forsake science, he wants me to pursue truth. That means... science! But there are a lot of untruths in science that need to be thought critically about. Your response is to just label someone who questions science as an idiot who hates it. That's not a good response. I am highly skeptical of many things in science, but that doesn't mean I hate all of science.

High Power Rocketry said...

The big bang theory MAY be true, I completely agree with that statement. I am also highly skeptical of every claim, no matter who makes it. But your father, with all due respect, did not bring up evidence against the theory or propose some other ideas, he just said that the obvious answer is that it (and the work of thousands of people over the past century) is wrong. And that big words mean someone is a liberal elite egghead. That is unfair and unscientific.

Questioning science happens every day - it is the peer review process. And the peer review process is what actually makes science scientific, not the classic hypothesis procedure conclusion that you learned in school. The big bang theory got it's name from a scientist who hated the idea and wanted to make fun of it. 50 years have passed since then, and the evidence is building up. Keep questioning things, but look in in the right place for your answer. Your question was a common one, as Brett said above, and actually has an easy (if shocking) answer. There is nothing that says that space-time cannot expand at greater than the speed of light. Matter and energy cannot move through space-time faster than light, however.

With all due respect, we are getting closer and closer to answering these questions about the Universe, and not a single answer has come from the bible:

"The intention of the Holy Spirit is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how the heavens go." - Galileo Galilei

Even a big word using atheist like me can appreciate when a highly religious person like Galileo knows when to keep science for science and religion for religion.

DTH Rocket said...

"Even a big word using atheist like me can appreciate when a highly religious person like Galileo knows when to keep science for science and religion for religion."

Mm.

But this is America and the person who does science for the glory of God is not doing anything wrong.

High Power Rocketry said...

You are doing a good job and should continue with confidence. Learning never hurt anyone, and "my side" wins when you know as much as possible about reality.

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