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  1. Naked Science Forum
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  3. Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology
  4. Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
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Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?

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Offline RobC

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #300 on: 15/11/2019 10:15:12 »
Here's the answer --
https://www.quora.com/What-banged-at-The-Big-Bang
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Offline Bill S

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #301 on: 15/11/2019 18:43:31 »
Great link, Rob.  Let’s not nit-pick the story; it has a lot going for it.

This is worth a look, as well.
https://www.quora.com/What-existed-before-the-Big-Bang-1

 
Quote
Keep in mind, Nothingness does not exist in our universe, only in the Cosmos. Another way to define Nothingness is that it is an absence of Somethingness.

There’s enough in that quote, alone, to keep this thread going for another 300 posts, but it’s probably time to wind it up, before we are all so to speak, "snarked".

Time to consider some other laws.

Deutsch's Law
Every problem that is interesting is also soluble.

Quote from: Alan
So what?

Have we spent over 300 posts looking for a nonexistent solution?

Take heart, though:

Smolin's Second Law
In every period and every community there is something that everybody believes, but cannot justify. If you want to understand anything, you have to start by ignoring what everyone believes, and thinking for yourself.  (My bold).

If all else fails:

Davies' Second Law
Never let observation stand in the way of a good theory.
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Offline Colin2B

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #302 on: 16/11/2019 04:05:36 »
Quote from: Bill S on 15/11/2019 18:43:31
it’s probably time to wind it up, before we are all so to speak, "snarked".
I think you have already snarked yourself Bill  ;)

Quote from: Bill S on 15/11/2019 18:43:31
Quote from: Alan
So what?
Have we spent over 300 posts looking for a nonexistent solution?
No, just looking in the wrong place.
Physics isn’t really discoverable by this type of ‘analysis’, in fact it has often taken science down the wrong road for a long time eg Aristotle for almost 2000 years. Alan Guth, for example, has a very different approach through investigation of the behaviour of subatomic particles in extreme conditions and some specific problems, eg magnetic monopoles, which lead to a very radical approach to understanding the development of the early universe. Some of his ideas may seem strange to our classical minds - the universe appearing out of nothing, our timeline not being eternal (eternity = infinite time) - but they are grounded in some pretty solid physics. Not saying he is completely right, but at least it’s physics.
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Offline alancalverd

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #303 on: 16/11/2019 10:27:58 »
Quote from: Bill S on 15/11/2019 18:43:31
Have we spent over 300 posts looking for a nonexistent solution?
Obviously not. If there was a big bang, either nothing ever changed before it, in which case t< 0 is meaningless, or something did, in which case there is a solution which we have yet to find.

What I think we almost established is a common vocabulary that admits the possibility of the universe being infinite and the observable universe being a phenomenon within it. That is a sufficient framework for searching for solutions, the acid test of which is that they must yield the status quo for t > 0.
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Offline Bill S

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #304 on: 17/11/2019 13:12:36 »
Quote from: Colin
I think you have already snarked yourself Bill  ;)

It's a congenital condition, Colin.  Too late to do anything about it now; even if I wanted to.
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Offline Bill S

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Re: Was the Big Bang the beginning of the universe?
« Reply #305 on: 17/11/2019 13:22:57 »
Quote from: Alan
What I think we almost established is a common vocabulary that admits the possibility of the universe being infinite and the observable universe being a phenomenon within it.

That, in itself, is quite an achievement. 

Pete summed it up, years ago, #20:

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=53002.msg445072#msg445072

Quote from: Bill
1.  Is infinity a number?

Quote from: Pete
No. It's not a number. It's a concept/idea.


Quote from: Bill
2.  Is eternity a length of time?

Quote from: Pete
No. Just like eternity [infinity?] it's a concept. Think of it as infinite amount of time.

Mathematical infinities provide us with all we need to explore the physics of our Universe.  Maths and physics can even provide theories for how our Universe can be here.  What more could we need? Nothing.  What more might we want? Could be, that depends on how closely we want to look at infinity,  and how “snarked” we are.
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