Questions tagged [cosmology]
The study of the large-scale structure, history, and future of the universe. Cosmology is about asking and answering questions about the "big picture" - the extent, origin, and fate of everything we know.
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Cosmology - an expansion of all length scales
From the link Is non-mainstream physics appropriate for this site?
"a question that proposes a new concept or paradigm, but asks for evaluation of that concept within the framework of current (...
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Why isn't an infinite, flat, nonexpanding universe filled with a uniform matter distribution a solution to Einstein's equation?
In Newtonian gravity, an infinite volume filled with a uniform distribution of mass would be in perfect equilibrium. At every point, the gravitational forces contributed by masses in one direction ...
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How can it be that the beginning universe had a high temperature and a low entropy at the same time?
The Big Bang theory assumes that our universe started from a very/infinitely dense and extremely/infinitely hot state. But on the other side, it is often claimed that our universe must have been ...
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Why was the universe in an extraordinarily low-entropy state right after the big bang?
Let me start by saying that I have no scientific background whatsoever. I am very interested in science though and I'm currently enjoying Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos. I'm at chapter 7 and ...
Kristof Claes
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Is the total energy of the universe constant?
If total energy is conserved just transformed and never newly created, is there a sum of all energies that is constant? Why is it probably not that easy?
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What does it mean that the universe is "infinite"?
This question is about cosmology and general relativity.
I understand the difference between the universe and the observable universe. What I am not really clear about is what is meant when I read ...
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At what speed does our universe expand?
Conceivably it expands with the speed of light. I do not know, but curious, if there is an answer. At what velocity, does our universe expand?
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Given that matter cannot escape a black hole, how did the big bang produce the universe we see today?
Extrapolation of the expansion of the Universe backwards in time using general relativity yields an infinite density and temperature at a finite time in the past.
If the matter contained within our ...
Daniel X Moore
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Is the Big Bang defined as before or after Inflation?
Is the Big Bang defined as before or after Inflation? Seems like a simple enough question to answer right? And if just yesterday I were to encounter this, I'd have given a definite answer. But I've ...
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How did the universe shift from "dark matter dominated" to "dark energy dominated"?
In order to get dark energy to dominate, wouldn't you first need another form of energy to push the expansion until dark energy could dominate? Otherwise I don't understand how the universe could ...
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Redshifted Photon Energy
A photon emitted from a receding source (Doppler redshift) has less energy when detected at an observer's location. Please explain the energy loss from the perspective of energy conservation.
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Why do neutrino oscillations imply nonzero neutrino masses?
Neutrinos can pass from one family to another (that is, change in flavor) in a process known as neutrino oscillation. The oscillation between the different families occurs randomly, and the likelihood ...
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Assuming that the Cosmological Principle is correct, does this imply that the universe possess an empirically privileged reference frame?
OK...before everyone blasts this with references to the relativistic invariance of the physical laws, time dilation, etc let me add some context. Also, I am an amateur with an interest in physics, so ...
user31580
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If everything in the universe doubled in size overnight, would it be noticeable?
By my understanding, if everything doubled in size, such as the Sun and the Earth, and because the space in between them (which is nothing) can't expand, would the gravities greatly change and the ...
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What is the theoretical limit for farthest we can see back in time and distance?
13.2 billion years ago the universe was rather small, having started only half a billion years ago. Today, with the help of Hubble Space Telescope, we are able to capture the light of galaxies emitted ...
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