Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

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mistermack
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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by mistermack » Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:49 am

Time and distance are normally considered to a local frame of reference, and that would be defined by how light behaves at that locality. It's a plank of relativity that there is no absolute reference frame for the Universe.
I seem to remember a recent announcement that someone had identified the reference frame in which the cosmic microwave background can be considered at rest, and as it pervades the whole of space, that it is indeed a special and absolute reference frame. And they worked out that we are moving at about 600km/sec relative to it.

And there are some celestial objects that are measured to be at rest, in the Universe, ie, relative to the CMBR. They even named the nearest one, I wish I could remember what it is.
But basically, it means that you can get a fix on that, and calculate the motion of anything else relative to it, and that's it's true motion in the Universe.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that. As I pointed out in my thread on gravity, space can be considered in motion under certain circumstances. Hence you get the phenomenon of curved space time, and the metric expansion of space, and inflation, in the early big bang era.

So you can get two objects moving at speeds higher than the speed of light, relative to each other. But only if they are separated by gigantic distances so that expansion of space comes into it.

https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-truly- ... e-Universe
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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by rainbow » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:17 am

The Earth is Flat, Space is Curved, the Speed of Light is Variable and Gravity is just a Theory.
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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by Brian Peacock » Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:31 pm

You sure know science good.
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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by Rum » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:54 pm

I picked up a copy of New Scientist today - and as it happens I decided to pay for an online subscription a bit later.

Anhyhoo - the main topic of the issue - they tend to have a lead item if you don't know the mag - was the turmoil that cosmology and theoretical physics is in at the moment with all sorts of off the wall theories trying to grapple with some of the issues discussed in this thread.

I didn't understand the theories that seemed to be getting to grips with the way the universe works previously, except in layperson's terms, but it is a relief to know I've not lost what limited intellectual powers I have of late as the newer mysteries have presented themselves.

They are almost as confused as I am..'cept more clever with it!

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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by mistermack » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:33 pm

You don't need to get clever, to be dumbstruck about science.
You don't need to read up on the very latest discoveries.

There's one factor that trumps even the size of the universe, or even multi universes, and that's infinity.
And it's not a new problem.
And I have a feeling that the greatest scientists could bang their heads against it for the next fourteen billion years, and still not get to the bottom of it.
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Re: Dumb astrophysics question for clever twats

Post by pErvinalia » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:20 pm

Infinity is a conspiracy.
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