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Location: Midessa, Texas Home Yangzhou, Jiangsu temporarily
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Here is a question that I like to think about sometimes:
We observe a universe full of stuff. Stuff here is defined as matter, energy, anti-matter, dark matter, time, etc. etc. Basically everything.
What is the origin of stuff?
It seems there are a few possible answers.
1. There actually is no stuff and never has been. It is an illusion. This cannot be correct because if something, in this case me, can ask the question then at the very least the asker ,me, must exist. Also if it is an illusion then the illusion must exist and that would count as stuff. In addition a universe completely devoid of stuff would be just one possibility in an extremely large, maybe infinite, number of possibilities. It would be unlikely for a universe to be completely empty. Based on this, I think we can rule this option out.
2. There has always been stuff. This option doesn't seem very satisfying to me because there is no starting point. How can this be? If the past is infinite then how can we find ourselves in the present? Time must be measurable by some smallest amount, i.e. plank time. But if there are measurable units of time there must be some first unit at which the clock began in order for us to observe ourselves at some point on the continuum of time, i.e. the present. Maybe time is circular and by moving forward in time one can get to the past. But this still does not explain why we observe ourselves at a particular point on the circle of time. So again if time can be measured in units then there must have been an original starting unit, and if it isn't then how is it that we observe ourselves at a particular point in time.
3. There was nothing, then for some reason there was something. All the evidence so far seems to suggest that this is the correct explanation. But it introduces a new question, how can nothing give rise to something?
Have I missed something or made some error in my analysis here? I welcome everyone's comments.
Location: Midessa, Texas Home Yangzhou, Jiangsu temporarily
1,506 posts, read 4,281,434 times
Reputation: 992
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marodi
And that is the ultimate mystery of the universe.
Still, I find it easier to be in awe of the infinite universe (or spontaneous, depending on your belief) than to believe in some deity to make it.
I agree and "a deity made it" doesn't really answer my question because a deity would still quality as stuff by my definition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marodi
Side note: This should probably be in the science subforum.
Do you think so? I figured it would be ok here because I am not sure that science has an answer either (or rather the question maybe outside of the realm of science), so it would fall under philosophy. But if the mods want to move it, thats ok by me.
This is a very interesting question, and one I give a lot of thought to. The really interesting thing though is you get into something of an infinite regress of causes.
Maybe someday we will understand how matter can be created or similar. Unfortunately, I doubt it will be within my lifetime.
See I want to know what the universe is expanding into..
nothing? Basically.. whats outside the universe?
See picture for scientific map.
We don't even fully understand what is beyond our solar system (interstellar winds and the like). I doubt any time soon (few hundred years) will we understand what, if anything, is beyond the universe.
See I want to know what the universe is expanding into..
nothing? Basically.. whats outside the universe?
Absolute nothing..
It doesn't even exist.
Raw.. non-existence.
But then.. on the other hand..
Maybe.. it's imaginary..
Like potential energy.. existing in a neutral condition.
The problem for physics is.. this means it would be undetectable..:-(
However.. the good news is..
---
“The implications are rather obvious, an imaginary space-time dimension has to be defined along with the four real space-time dimensions to fully represent all physics parameters. This shall upgrade all physics units into a set of space-time dimensions, one with real and the other with imaginary, resulting into at least one complex 4 dimension space time. This requires no major change in physics, but from thereoff, ALL quantities have to be assumed to be complex values, that is, have BOTH REAL & IMAGINARY COMPONENTS of space-time.”
I once asked that question, but got no answer, in religious instruction in school. Who made that creator then? Someone or something must have created him..If you say a god or higher power was at the beginning of all the "stuff"in the universe..then you still have to answer that.
Like potential energy.. existing in a neutral condition.
The problem for physics is.. this means it would be undetectable..:-(
However.. the good news is..
---
“The implications are rather obvious, an imaginary space-time dimension has to be defined along with the four real space-time dimensions to fully represent all physics parameters. This shall upgrade all physics units into a set of space-time dimensions, one with real and the other with imaginary, resulting into at least one complex 4 dimension space time. This requires no major change in physics, but from thereoff, ALL quantities have to be assumed to be complex values, that is, have BOTH REAL & IMAGINARY COMPONENTS of space-time.”
Here is a question that I like to think about sometimes:
We observe a universe full of stuff. Stuff here is defined as matter, energy, anti-matter, dark matter, time, etc. etc. Basically everything.
What is the origin of stuff?
It seems there are a few possible answers.
1. There actually is no stuff and never has been. It is an illusion. This cannot be correct because if something, in this case me, can ask the question then at the very least the asker ,me, must exist. Also if it is an illusion then the illusion must exist and that would count as stuff. In addition a universe completely devoid of stuff would be just one possibility in an extremely large, maybe infinite, number of possibilities. It would be unlikely for a universe to be completely empty. Based on this, I think we can rule this option out.
2. There has always been stuff. This option doesn't seem very satisfying to me because there is no starting point. How can this be? If the past is infinite then how can we find ourselves in the present? Time must be measurable by some smallest amount, i.e. plank time. But if there are measurable units of time there must be some first unit at which the clock began in order for us to observe ourselves at some point on the continuum of time, i.e. the present. Maybe time is circular and by moving forward in time one can get to the past. But this still does not explain why we observe ourselves at a particular point on the circle of time. So again if time can be measured in units then there must have been an original starting unit, and if it isn't then how is it that we observe ourselves at a particular point in time.
3. There was nothing, then for some reason there was something. All the evidence so far seems to suggest that this is the correct explanation. But it introduces a new question, how can nothing give rise to something?
Have I missed something or made some error in my analysis here? I welcome everyone's comments.
The way i see the universe is in terms of being nothing. Erm how could i explain this? well think of the numbers 5,4,3,2,1,0,-1,-2,-3,-4,-5 Their averages amount to 0. An example of this is in a vacuum, a vacuum is not empty, it has virtual particles(and theoretical black hole or mini universes) poping in and out of existence but we perceive it as nothing because it is nothing on average.
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A Field of Potential and Imaginary Dimensions.
