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17 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why do cosmologists assume that inflation began shortly after the Big Bang, rather than at the exact start?

Somehow, I have never come across an explanation of why cosmologists claim that the alleged inflation of the very early universe occurred not at the Big Bang, but very shortly afterwards (~10^-36 to ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 5,177
1 vote
1 answer
169 views

Do Einstein's ten field equations use 20 or 40 variables? (2 or 4 for each tensor equation?)

One site I came across says Einstein's 10 Field Equations use 20 variables, while another said 40. There are four variables in spacetime - three for space and one for time, right? But there are two ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 5,177
1 vote
0 answers
32 views

How can scientists deduce the number of types of neutrinos, or 'effective number', from Planck satellite data?

Is it related to the way they deduce the Hubble constant from Planck data? Would more types of oscillating and mixing neutrinos mean faster or slower expansion of the universe? Would a fourth mass ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 5,177
13 votes
4 answers
6k views

How can a black hole have a charge, or be charged?

So-called 'hairless' black holes (no-hair theory, or theorem?) , which is what real black holes are, can be described by just three characteristics: Mass, spin, and charge. It is easy enough to ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 5,177
2 votes
1 answer
849 views

What is the 'scale factor' equation for a dark-matter dominated universe?

The Friedmann equations can be solved exactly in presence of a perfect fluid with equation of state $${\displaystyle p=w\rho c^{2}} \qquad p=w\rho c^2$$ where ${\displaystyle p}$ is the pressure, ${\...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 5,177
-1 votes
2 answers
367 views

What covers the outside of the Universe? [closed]

Is the Universe a sphere with water or ice surrounding its' confinement? Are there any theories that imply the Universe being confined within a sphere of water/ice material?
Doberg's user avatar
  • 15