General discussion
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May 23, 2011 at 3:23 pm #2209859
size of the Universe
Lockedby john.a.wills · about 12 years, 10 months ago
Claudius Ptolemy, whose Almagest was the standard astronomy text from his days till the end of the Middle Ages, when Copernicus, Galileo and Newton brought in a lot of upsetting stuff, stated that in comparison with the distance to the stars the Earth must be considered a point. The stars, in other words, are inaccesibly far away. But nowadays we have exponential notation. The Earth is 1.35 x 10^7 m in diameter, not a point, the Sun is 1.5 x 10^11 m away, and the nearest “fixed” star is 6 x 10^16 m away. So our notation makes the Universe more accessible than it was.
Furthermore, in the Middle Ages it was thought that things beneath the Moon were made of 4 or 5 elements whereas the heavenly bodies were made of something quite different. But nowadays we think that the heavenly bodies are made of the same 100-odd elements we know on Earth, with the possible exception of dark matter. So the Universe is not only smaller, it is homelier.Topic is locked -
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May 23, 2011 at 4:26 pm #2894223
Hmmm…
by boxfiddler · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
‘homelier’. What does that say for our eyes?
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May 23, 2011 at 7:55 pm #2894218
Maybe, "homey-er". (U.S. Eng.)
by seanferd · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Hmmm…
Comfortable, home-like, describing a domicile which would make a good home in the speaker’s opinion. As opposed to applying it to a person, which I have always found odd. (Perhaps meaning one who is so “plain” that he or she would never leave their parent’s home, or one who could be trusted to stay home by default, and not “run around”.
Weird is language.
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May 24, 2011 at 9:42 pm #2894106
In contrast, perhaps, to "Comely".
by ansugisalas · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Maybe, "homey-er". (U.S. Eng.)
“Come-hither-ly” Vs “Home-you-go-ly”
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May 23, 2011 at 8:19 pm #2894216
Interesting.
by seanferd · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
The stars not being plastered into a crystal sphere, all an equal distance* away, made conceptualizing the universe more difficult or less comfortable? I suppose it depends on one’s mindset.
*Theorized to be at a much smaller distance than the closest real stars.
What blows my mind is that one cannot observe or guess at the size of the universe. The greatest distance to which we can see is the same distance EM radiation has been able to travel since recombination. We may be able to “see” 13.5-14 billion light years out, but that in no way is the “edge” of the universe.
Sci-Fi may give people the impression that the stars themselves are more accessible now, but they really are not. As to grasping the distances involved, I suppose people are more or less inclined to believe they can do this just because measurements have been taken, and represented by usable numbers.
I wonder how many people exposed only to ancient cosmologies would find the universe to seem either smaller or larger once introduced to modern cosmology. It would probably interests psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists.
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May 23, 2011 at 9:12 pm #2894214
Not to mention
by santeewelding · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Interesting.
Being tripped up by “uni-“.
Yes. I speak twice.
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May 24, 2011 at 10:16 am #2894160
This, indeed, is a consideration.
by seanferd · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Not to mention
Both statements are worthy of consideration, in my thinking.
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May 23, 2011 at 10:09 pm #2894212
Less accessible, definitely…
by ansugisalas · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Interesting.
See, before it was taken for granted that God might move a person to the stars.
This is not now a universally held idea. -
May 23, 2011 at 10:23 pm #2894211
See
by santeewelding · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Interesting.
Who comes out of the woodwork when you talk of these things…
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May 24, 2011 at 1:38 am #2894198
Of course…
by ansugisalas · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to See
how else would those wormholes get into the wouldwork to begin with?
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May 1, 2012 at 9:18 am #2884780
crystal spheres?
by john.a.wills · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Interesting.
Ptolemy did not teach the doctrine of the crystal spheres; that was Aristotle (or someone earlier). Ptolemy thought the planets moved in cycles and epicycles.
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May 24, 2011 at 6:24 am #2894187
I would hate to see…
by jck · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
the worm that makes a hole in space-time. :-0
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May 24, 2011 at 10:17 am #2894159
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May 24, 2011 at 5:44 pm #2894118
That gets
by boxfiddler · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Heh.
one of those non-registering plus votes.
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May 28, 2011 at 9:25 pm #2893859
"The sleeper has awakened!" NT
by Wizard57M-TR · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Heh.
<{;-) no text, just grins
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May 24, 2011 at 11:23 am #2894146
And they ask
by ansugisalas · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to I would hate to see…
“If it were me?”
If it wormey, indeed! -
May 24, 2011 at 4:59 pm #2894123
I believe
by nexs · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to I would hate to see…
THIS is what you’re talking about.
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May 27, 2011 at 4:24 pm #2893903
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May 30, 2011 at 4:46 pm #2893698
Nah,
by charliespencer · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to I would hate to see…
what I’d hate to see it the worm that made a hole in my apple.
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June 3, 2011 at 6:43 pm #2891920
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May 24, 2011 at 3:17 pm #2894133
So John what is it you are trying to say here?
by hal 9000 · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
I’m not really sure maybe it’s just that our concept of God is so wrong and who we incorrectly perceive as our God is just some Pimply faced Juvenile Delinquent doing a low Level Science Experiment under their bed at home.
Naturally enough this spoty faced kid is no more aware of what it is he has done than we are of understanding why he did it. 😉
Col
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May 24, 2011 at 5:43 pm #2894119
You’ve been watching Star Trek: The Original Series again, haven’t you?
by boxfiddler · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to So John what is it you are trying to say here?
:^0
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May 24, 2011 at 10:20 pm #2894100
Who ME?
by hal 9000 · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to You’ve been watching Star Trek: The Original Series again, haven’t you?
0:-)
Actually I was starting to think we could restart
[b]The Evolution Lie[/b] but then the nightmare of it sunk in and I ran away screaming for mercy.
But then again after the Site Dedesign it may be worthwhile as you couldn’t possibly follow it. 😉
Col
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May 30, 2011 at 4:48 pm #2893697
With the current format
by charliespencer · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Who ME?
it could never again achieve its legendary size or level of vitriol. The reduced level depth and ‘Take Offlines’ would gut it.
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May 24, 2011 at 10:27 pm #2894099
He’s simply stating the obvious…
by ansugisalas · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to So John what is it you are trying to say here?
the universe is expanding into the big freeze because the pimply faced kid doesn’t want gays serving in the military… :p 😉
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May 25, 2011 at 8:41 am #2894070
But…
by jck · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to He’s simply stating the obvious…
what about cheese toast? tomato soup? The Stig? :-0
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May 25, 2011 at 2:48 pm #2894042
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May 26, 2011 at 5:32 am #2894017
Well of course…
by jck · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to The Stig?
White Stig? Original White, Sacked White, or New White Stig? :p
(yes, I watch UK Top Gear obsessively… 😉 )
Edit: I forgot…there’s also American, Big (lorry driving), African and German Stigs too :^0
I wonder if they’ll let new Stig take the Koenigsegg Agera R around Ehra-Lessien 😀
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May 1, 2012 at 6:45 am #2884803
Chinese Stig
by slayer_ · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Well of course…
Definitely the funniest.
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May 30, 2011 at 4:49 pm #2893696
Whassa ‘Stig’?
by charliespencer · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to But…
And what about platypus?
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May 30, 2011 at 5:49 pm #2893684
A Stig is a wild unknown beast
by hal 9000 · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Whassa ‘Stig’?
That drives cars fast and sometimes bends them in a big way so that the UK Media can complain bitterly about the idiots at Top Gear and their ways of doing things in a Most Unprofessional Media Type way.
A Platypus is a strange animal native to Australia that most people refused to believe was real till they had a living one in their hot little hands and even then they refused to believe what their eyes showed them.
Some to this day still believe that a platypus is the results of some Mad Genetic Engineering gone horribly wrong that was hidden from the public by the Government who is somehow involved in the Genetic Engineering to the determent of their people.
Confused yet?
Col :^0
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June 3, 2011 at 6:44 pm #2891919
I thought it was a Rutle.
by seanferd · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to A Stig is a wild unknown beast
You know; Stig, Dirk, Nasty, and Barry Wom.
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May 1, 2012 at 6:47 am #2884801
That same description works for the Stig
by slayer_ · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to A Stig is a wild unknown beast
The Stig is a strange animal native to Europe that most people refused to believe was real till they had a living one in their hot little hands and even then they refused to believe what their eyes showed them.
Some to this day still believe that the Stig is the result of some Mad Genetic Engineering gone horribly wrong that was hidden from the public by the Government who is somehow involved in the Genetic Engineering to the determent of their people.
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May 5, 2012 at 8:43 am #2884611
The platypus
by nicknielsen · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to A Stig is a wild unknown beast
constitutes absolute proof that [God / The Creator / The All-Father / Mother Nature / The Earth Mother / Your deity of choice] has a sense of humor…
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May 28, 2011 at 9:16 am #2893868
Size of the universe is approximately an arm’s length, around me
by delbertpgh · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
Beyond that, everything gets vague and unessential.
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May 28, 2011 at 10:34 pm #2893857
It gets vague and unessential
by santeewelding · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Size of the universe is approximately an arm’s length, around me
Beyond the breath you breathe, and the thoughts you think, neverminding your arm.
Thou art the Universe.
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May 29, 2011 at 6:55 pm #2893808
OH I see
by hal 9000 · about 12 years, 10 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
The base code of the universe is
[i][b][u]26 06 2010[/i][/b][/u]
And it’s big incredibly big so big that it’s incomprehensible and ridiculous.
OH and the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything is
[b][i][u]42.[/b][/i][/u]
You can Thank Douglas Adams and the follow up Script writers of Doctor Who for your answer. See Dr Who is the answer to every possible question that could ever be asked.
Understand now? 😉
Col
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April 30, 2012 at 6:55 pm #2884816
Sticking with the Inflation theory. . .
by jim’s brain · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
If inflation is the force that created our universe from the Big Bang would it not stand to reason that we are still travelling in an outward motion and not at a constant coordinate in space? With this being said the universe is enlarging every second of every day, therefore there is no end to it. Ever expanding like the ripples in a pond when a stone is cast into it.
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May 1, 2012 at 9:20 am #2884778
11 months’ hiatus, then
by john.a.wills · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
a new set of comments. I wonder what caused that. I also wonder why the actual water cooler is empty. Maybe there is a connection.
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May 5, 2012 at 8:47 am #2885322
Maybe it’s related to
by nicknielsen · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to 11 months’ hiatus, then
the mass exodus of TR peers after the rollout of the last site changes. (I refuse to call it an “upgrade”.)
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May 8, 2012 at 8:26 am #2885183
I used to check this place every day, get trapped in a discussion weekly
by delbertpgh · about 11 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Maybe it’s related to
No more. It’s grown dull, and the people who care enough to write something interesting don’t come by any more. And it’s not just because, like Santee, they’re dead; this discussion forum has become a bore to use.
Actually, the primary reason I would visit this site was for the off-topic discussions. I think TR may have gotten in its head to discourage them. If so, their strategy was a success.
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May 8, 2012 at 8:46 pm #2885148
Word.
by seanferd · about 11 years, 10 months ago
In reply to I used to check this place every day, get trapped in a discussion weekly
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May 9, 2012 at 11:39 am #2885108
The latest site redesign
by nicknielsen · about 11 years, 10 months ago
In reply to I used to check this place every day, get trapped in a discussion weekly
made it almost impossible to track subscribed discussions or to know who had made the most recent post in a discussion from the Discussions page.
In less than a month, the regulars were pretty much gone and the WC essentially empty
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May 1, 2012 at 11:27 am #2884774
It is what you make of it.
by mjd420nova · about 11 years, 11 months ago
In reply to size of the Universe
Whereever you go, there you are. I’ve got average size arms but others seem to have a larger universe, because of their arm length. Being that the time space boundary is impassable, we are stuck with what we can see. Understanding the universe and its rules are just as complex as understanding the atom and the rules that govern them. Stuck between a rock and an empty space.
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