Nigel Posted March 19, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 19, 2014 The concept of infinity and "nothing" baffled me in equal measures at school, and still does to be honest. I annoyed my Physics teacher by asking him so much about nothingness There is no such thing as nothing, both figuratively and literally. Even empty space has a quantum potential which can cause particles to randomly come into existence. Even empty space is 'something'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 19, 2014 Administrator Share Posted March 19, 2014 The concept of infinity and "nothing" baffled me in equal measures at school, and still does to be honest. I annoyed my Physics teacher by asking him so much about nothingness There is no such thing as nothing, both figuratively and literally. Even empty space has a quantum potential which can cause particles to randomly come into existence. Even empty space is 'something'! Actually, I've typed a fallacy there. The spontaneous creation of particles is not necessarily random, we just don't understand the mechanism which drives it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 19, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 19, 2014 Quantum fluctuation is an interesting phenomenon but by very definition there is 'something' there if a particle can appear, or even have the potential to appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 ...most likely am 11 or 12 dimensional brane. When you say "most likely", do you mean slightly more likely than the other options, or you believe that's more than likely the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 19, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) ...most likely am 11 or 12 dimensional brane. When you say "most likely", do you mean slightly more likely than the other options, or you believe that's more than likely the answer? M theory proposes 11 dimensions, string theory before that proposed 10. Edited March 19, 2014 by Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 One wonders how long it is before someone has their 'eureka' moment and stumbles on a Theory of Everything. I hope I live to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted March 19, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted March 19, 2014 One wonders how long it is before someone has their 'eureka' moment and stumbles on a Theory of Everything. I hope I live to see it. But it'll be 'just a theory'. Like evolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 19, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 19, 2014 One wonders how long it is before someone has their 'eureka' moment and stumbles on a Theory of Everything. I hope I live to see it. But it'll be 'just a theory'. Like evolution. True but it will be backed up by a lot of maths, which is as close to proof as we will ever get. The problem is a problem of scale. The laws that govern us may be played out on a much bigger scale than we will know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 M theory proposes 11 dimensions, string theory before that proposed 10. Yeah, I've seen that I'm interested in how much store people put in a theoretical science. In these areas, what you learn in year one of your degree can be out the window by the time you get your piece of paper. The Sun was going around the Earth for quite some time, and have you seen some of the early dinosaur reconstructions? Sure the scientific process has moved on, but these subjects have become more abstract and less provable. Glad the research is going on, and I'll read it with interest - but do I believe it's how it is? - Not likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCDAN Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 For me a universe starts with a Big Bang and ends with a big chill, not sure how that fits in with multiverses etc... We could be in the first iteration or the 1 millionth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Beware. "no matter how many instances of white swans we may have observed, this does not justify the conclusion that all swans are white" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 20, 2014 Administrator Share Posted March 20, 2014 Quantum fluctuation is an interesting phenomenon but by very definition there is 'something' there if a particle can appear, or even have the potential to appear. Which was why I said "there is no such thing as nothing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 20, 2014 Administrator Share Posted March 20, 2014 ...most likely am 11 or 12 dimensional brane. When you say "most likely", do you mean slightly more likely than the other options, or you believe that's more than likely the answer? It's the most likely fit based on what we know and hypothesise at this point. This may be different next year or even next week. Some of the maths requires 11 or 12 dimensions. My maths isn't strong ernough to follow, but the discrepancy is something to do with us not being able to understand time like dimensions. It's still entirely possible that there is only one universe. We have no idea how to test the multiverse theories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 20, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 20, 2014 M theory proposes 11 dimensions, string theory before that proposed 10. Yeah, I've seen that I'm interested in how much store people put in a theoretical science. In these areas, what you learn in year one of your degree can be out the window by the time you get your piece of paper. The Sun was going around the Earth for quite some time, and have you seen some of the early dinosaur reconstructions? Sure the scientific process has moved on, but these subjects have become more abstract and less provable. Glad the research is going on, and I'll read it with interest - but do I believe it's how it is? - Not likely. When you get to this level it is obviously very hard for you and I to follow the maths that underpin the theories, we just have to place faith in those that can. We can rely on the fact that once an idea is proposed everyone else will try and disprove the idea, thus the longer it goes on the more rigorously it will have been tested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 20, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 20, 2014 ...most likely am 11 or 12 dimensional brane. When you say "most likely", do you mean slightly more likely than the other options, or you believe that's more than likely the answer? It's the most likely fit based on what we know and hypothesise at this point. This may be different next year or even next week. Some of the maths requires 11 or 12 dimensions. My maths isn't strong ernough to follow, but the discrepancy is something to do with us not being able to understand time like dimensions. It's still entirely possible that there is only one universe. We have no idea how to test the multiverse theories. Do you work in the field or do you just have an interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 20, 2014 Administrator Share Posted March 20, 2014 Do you work in the field or do you just have an interest? I have worked in the field, but only on the data processing side (secondary data store for the LHC).. I'm not a theorist. I worked at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory for a time and had access to some really good lectures as part of the job. Other than that it's just a general interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted March 20, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 20, 2014 Do you work in the field or do you just have an interest? I have worked in the field, but only on the data processing side (secondary data store for the LHC).. I'm not a theorist. I worked at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory for a time and had access to some really good lectures as part of the job. Other than that it's just a general interest. Thats SOME data to be processing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 If this is a bin dunne apologies. This is a cool little site, showing the scale of the universe. Made me feel fairly insignificant. http://htwins.net/scale2/lang.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 A man uses Minecraft to talk about light speed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted March 31, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) Would be pretty awesome if this were true.... http://guardianlv.com/2014/01/ageing-successfully-reversed-in-mice-human-trials-to-begin-next/ Aging Successfully Reversed in Mice; Human Trials to Begin Next Scientists have successfully reversed the aging process in mice according to a new study just released. Human trials are to begin next, possibly before the year is over. The study was published in the peer reviewed science journal Cell after researchers from both the U.S and Australia made the breakthrough discovery. Lead researcher David Sinclair of the University of New South Wales says he is hopeful that the outcome can be reproduced in human trials. A successful result in people would mean not just a slowing down of aging but a measurable reversal. The study showed that after administering a certain compound to the mice, muscle degeneration and diseases caused by aging were reversed. Sinclair says the study results exceeded his expectations, explaining: I’ve been studying aging at the molecular level now for nearly 20 years and I didn’t think I’d see a day when ageing could be reversed. I thought we’d be lucky to slow it down a little bit. The mice had more energy, their muscles were as though they’d be exercising and it was able to mimic the benefits of diet and exercise just within a week. We think that should be able to keep people healthier for longer and keep them from getting diseases of ageing. The compound the mice ate resulted in their muscles becoming very toned, as if they’d been exercising. Inflammation, a key factor in many disease processes, was drastically reduced. Insulin resistance also declined dramatically and the mice had much more energy overall. Researchers say that what happened to the mice could be compared to a 60 year old person suddenly having the muscle tone and energy of someone in his or her 20s. What’s more, say the researchers, these stunning results were realized within just one week’s time. The compound raises the level of a naturally occurring substance in the human body called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. This substance decreases as people age, although those who follow a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise do not suffer the same level of reduction in the substance as do people who do not exercise. This may explain why people who remain fit into their senior years often enjoy better health than others. Scientists who participated in the study say that poor communication between mitochondria and the cell nucleus is to blame for the aging process. The compound the researchers have developed cause the cells to be able to “talk” to each other again. They compared the relationship between the nucleus and the mitochondria to a married couple; by the time the couple has been married for 20 years, “communication breaks down” and they don’t talk to each other as much. Just like a marriage, this relationship and communication within it can be repaired, say the researchers. Aging has successfully been reversed in mice, but Sinclair says he needs to raise more money before he can commit to a date when trials may begin in humans. The results of this initial study in mice are very promising and may pave the way for similar results in humans. Edited March 31, 2014 by PieFacE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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