Speed of Light

Quote from ShoeshineBoy:

...in classic inflationary big bang theory, does the universe initially expand at a speed > c? From reading about it, I got the impression that it did or almost that they were not certain how it expanded so rapidly. (As you can tell, I'd love to see the speed of light barrier blown away.)
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Yes. A very small instant of time after the creation, for a very brief instant.

BTW, note that Einstein's Theory of Relativity does not say that nothing can travel faster than light, only that if something is traveling slower than light, it cannot _accelerate_ past it. If it is already going faster than light, that is not a problem. Also note that at the heart of the discussion is the notion that it is _information_ that cannot travel faster than light, which leads to Apect's EPR verification...

nitro
 
In 1982 a remarkable event took place. At the University of Paris a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. You did not hear about it on the evening news. In fact, unless you are in the habit of reading scientific journals you probably have never even heard Aspect's name, though there are some who believe his discovery may change the face of science.

Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It doesn't matter whether they are 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart....
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Aspect's verification of the EPR "paradox" is, in my mind, the most astonishing discovery in the history of the world. IMHO, there is no deeper insight in all of science, and understanding the mechanism by which the Universe performs this feat will change the history of mankind to a level seen _at_least_ in Science Fiction stories like Star Trek...

To me, it says that understanding of the way the Universe _truly_ works still awaits us about 1000 years in the future.

nitro
 
Thanks for the posts guys. I never dreamed one simple question could get this much good stuff, although a lot of it blows my mind.

The mind as a hologram is fascinating. I remember some years back reading a book by Penrose (one of the co-discovers with Hawking of the "Space/Time Theory of Relativity") arguing that the brain was MUCH too complex/powerful to function by our current understanding.

And I think the human brain stores way more than 5 encyclopedias worth of information in it as well. If you've ever watched a child learn to use a spoon, the neuron signal patterns for that alone would fill a few pages. Add to basic physical movements things like subtle interpretation and observations of human speech/movement and you've got 5 encyclopedias by the time someone is two years old!
 
Also, I clicked on GG's link and my browser couldn't open it. I don't know whether it was Amazon or what. But can someone put down the title/author?
 
Read The Elegant Universe..........and then maybe Hyperspace........then after those 2 pm me and I will tell you what else is good and not so good.
 
Quote from ShoeshineBoy:

Also, I clicked on GG's link and my browser couldn't open it. I don't know whether it was Amazon or what. But can someone put down the title/author?
More...

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
by Brian Greene

nitro
 
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