[extropy-chat] The Simulation Argument

[Mike Lorrey]

--- John K Clark <jonkc at att.net> wrote:

> "Rick" <aperick at centurytel.net>
> 
> > Someone correct me if this is wrong, but shouldn't 13.8 billion LE
> distant
> > and 180 degrees apart, *for us*, mean that those two galaxies are
> > practically bumping shoulders?
> 
> No, it would mean they are 27.6 light years distant from each other
> and
> forever unobservable from each other.  We being in the middle can see
> both.

Not 'are', 'were'. That was 13.8 billion years ago when those photons
were sent out. Those galaxies are now 27.6 billion LY away from us, and
more than 54 billion ly apart from each other.

How, you ask, did that happen if everything is only 14 billion years
old? Because the speed of light is defined by its velocity relative to
local space. If space itself is expanding faster than light speed, the
stuff in it could be dead still relative to other local stuff and still
be going like a bat outta hell.

> 
> > The big bang did not happen centered on our location, nor any other
> > location we can point to
> 
> Exactly, it happened to all of space at the same time.

However, as all that space is what defines the bounds of the universe,
the 'expansion' still has real validity as it is a measure of how fast
space is expanding. Things did not just suddenly start off billions of
light years away from each other. Because there is no 'boundary' to
space (you wind up curving back around the other side if you go fast
enough in one direction), every point in space is properly considered
the 'center' of the big bang. Every point, however, is fleeing from
every other point almost as fast as they possibly can.


=====
Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! 
http://my.yahoo.com