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Posted: 4/16/2003, 9:13 pm
by Corey
hmm.. just like the movie "The One"
Posted: 4/16/2003, 10:04 pm
by Narbus
christa lynn wrote:That was the first five minutes of my astronomy class. (Note: the punctuation I put is the punctuation he used.)
Because really, this one guy? He's got the inside scoop on how EVERYTHING works. Stephen Hawking doesn't know all of physics and astronomy, but your astro prof does, yessiree. Oh, and physics is a dead branch of science and we know everything about everything. Yep. That's the way it is. Yep.
Even if these parallel universes did, by some stretch of the imagination, exist we would not be able to travel there. The article claims they are beyond the range of our telescopes. The most distant thing known currently is a quasar at about 15 billion light years from us. Plus there's no way we could build a telescope that could go anywhere near the speed of light. (Btw, wormholes don't work either.)
Actually, the term "parallel" came from the idea that they exist "alongside" us, separated by the barrier of space. Einstein proposed that space is a mutable (can be molded) material, and gravity worked because bodies dent the material, like a ball being dropped on stretched fabric, so matter "rolls" down the slopes created. Blackholes are a tearing of that fabric, according to einstein.
So, if we find a way to punch through the fabric, we could get to other universes.
Dear everyone:
Question your teachers. They're not always all they're cracked up to be. Especially the ones who are convinced they know everything.
Sincerly,
Narbus
Posted: 4/16/2003, 10:19 pm
by Johnny
Facsinating

Posted: 4/17/2003, 5:57 am
by Axtech
I love having this board. I can't have conversations like these with my real life friends.
They just kept asking me stuff like:
"So... if there are infinite universes, with infinite possibilities, in one of them, I just killed you right here right now?" and I would say
"Yes. In infinite universes you just killed me. But in infinite others, you didn't."
And they'd respond with "That's impossible"
"Why?"
"Because... There's no way I would kill you right now. How could I do it?"
"Well, in infinite universes you would have a gun in your back right pocket, in infite others, you would have a gun in your back left pocket."
"But wouldn't I get caught with it?"
"Once again, in infinite universes, you did get caught. In infinite universes, you didn't. In infinite universes, the rules about gun control are different or even non-existant."
"That's stupid."
"Why?"
"Because it makes no sense."
At least here I get some intelligent feedback one way or the other.

Posted: 4/17/2003, 7:30 am
by starvingeyes
disclaimer: i know nothing about physics. i'm a humanities student.
i read in minds, machines and the multiverse that an 8(?) qubit quantum computer would require 10 x 10^500 atoms to do it's thing, and that there are only 10x10^80 atoms in the known universe, so if a quantum computer was built and was running at 8 qubits, it would prove the existence of the multiverse.
however, i could be miquoting.
Posted: 4/17/2003, 8:37 pm
by x.Silver.x
I'm young, I'm stupid, but i still wanna get my say in....
As well as there being "parallel" worlds or galaxies or whatever just like ours... i also like to think that there's places out there that are so far different from us that we can't even grasp them with our human brains.
Like we have solids, gases, liquids... physical properties... maybe these places have just... *STRETCHES MIND TO PAINFUL LIMITS*
things that are so TOTALLY different that... we can't even BEGIN to imagine what they would look like... er... if the places even have a "look"

... wow am i making any sense?
I think i should stop now... i got a bit out... okay....
Posted: 4/17/2003, 8:38 pm
by nelison
It does make sense
it's like saying anything and everything can exist. There really is no limit (lol aka infinite)
Posted: 4/17/2003, 8:49 pm
by happening fish
Infinity can have parameters, though. Perhaps there is an infinite combination of the molecules we are aware of.
Posted: 4/17/2003, 10:40 pm
by Narbus
starving eyes wrote:disclaimer: i know nothing about physics. i'm a humanities student.
i read in minds, machines and the multiverse that an 8(?) qubit quantum computer would require 10 x 10^500 atoms to do it's thing, and that there are only 10x10^80 atoms in the known universe, so if a quantum computer was built and was running at 8 qubits, it would prove the existence of the multiverse.
however, i could be miquoting.
Hmm...not entirely sure about this. My main skepticism comes from the idea we know how many atoms are in this universe. Since we don't even know for sure how big the universe is, or how stuff works after it goes through a black hole, and on and on and on, I really doubt we've pinpointed the number of atoms in any way. A source of some kind would be helplful here.
happeninfish wrote:Infinity can have parameters, though. Perhaps there is an infinite combination of the molecules we are aware of.
Not really. Infinity has no parameters in any real sense of the word. That's what makes it infinity.
If you'd like a demonstration, then I'll just point out that there are different "values" of infinity, ie infinity != infinity
(!= means "does not equal")
Posted: 4/17/2003, 11:50 pm
by Odin
I'm too lazy to read the article right now. But I do know something about infinate universes. I learned this from my friend who's taking a "Freedom Determinism and Responsibility" class, and he asked me: If we live in an indeterministic universe, since with the nature of the infinate universe is uncertain, then can we have free will?"
I will answer this after I get some rest.
Posted: 4/18/2003, 8:51 am
by happening fish
Narbus wrote:happeninfish wrote:Infinity can have parameters, though. Perhaps there is an infinite combination of the molecules we are aware of.
Not really. Infinity has no parameters in any real sense of the word. That's what makes it infinity.
I think what I meant by infinity being able to operate within certain parameters would be like, "Johnny has an infinite number of popsicles." Sure there are infinite popsicles, but they are
all still popsicles. Did that make any sense?
Posted: 4/18/2003, 10:24 am
by x.Silver.x
Ya, i get what you're saying with the whole popsicle thing... that's a good point... although it's still kinda hard to get my brain around the whole idea...
kinda like "Johnny" is standing inside a big popsicle-making factory and the machine keeps pumping out popsicles and it'll never stop...
But then on the other hand... i dont really believe that anything physical in this world can be "infinite". Nothing Lasts Forever... that's what i think.

Posted: 4/18/2003, 12:17 pm
by I AM ME
but anyways, Christa, whoeer comes up with these articles are also college educated people, they may well know moe then your prof, they are suggesting theories that could become tomorow 5 rules of astro, remeber i'm sure at one time tehre's was prof's stressing how the world was flat and we would be foolish to ever try sailing to far
Posted: 4/18/2003, 2:56 pm
by Narbus
happeninfish wrote:I think what I meant by infinity being able to operate within certain parameters would be like, "Johnny has an infinite number of popsicles." Sure there are infinite popsicles, but they are all still popsicles. Did that make any sense?
Yeah, makes sense. Kinda.
Reply: Of course, eventually, infinite
anything will tend to get...weird. Like the popsicle that is in every way, shape, and form an exact duplicate of my dog, complete with barking and chasing squirrels, but it's still a popsicle. With an infinite pool to draw from, it's possible.
This would be how infinity tends to poopoo on parameters.
Posted: 4/18/2003, 3:21 pm
by Corey
but if we have a set standard for what a popsicle is... then eventually you will reach a point where it no longer fits the description of a popsicle. Therefore the number of popsicles that could exist would have to be finite.
Lets say you have 20 letters. There are only so many ways you can arrange those letters. 20! actually.
If we could prove there are only a finite number of atoms that exist or ever will exist, then everything else that will ever exist would also have to be finite.
However, we cannot prove this, and thusly, the theory of infinite universes holds.
Posted: 4/18/2003, 3:48 pm
by Axtech
Corey wrote:but if we have a set standard for what a popsicle is... then eventually you will reach a point where it no longer fits the description of a popsicle. Therefore the number of popsicles that could exist would have to be finite.
You could still have infinite popsicles that fit into the parameters. They don't all have to be different. There would be infinite identicle popsicles, as well as infinite popsicles that aren't the same as the standard or "original" popsicle (with universes, this would be ours, because it's where we are and gives us a point to start).
Posted: 4/18/2003, 3:54 pm
by Corey
i'm sorry. Yes you can have an infinite NUMBER of popsicles, but not an infinite number of VARIATIONS.
Posted: 4/18/2003, 5:01 pm
by Narbus
Heh...actually I'm still right.
Infinity does not play by the standard rules. It's non-euclidian, illogical, whatever you want to call it. It's larger and smaller than itself, and when dealing with infinity, A != A.
So even with an infinite number of blue popsicles, you'll have one that barks, yet is still exactly the same as all the rest.
Infinity doesn't play well with others.
If you try and limit it to certain values, then it either ignores them (while following them, actually) or else you just don't have infinity anymore.