[ExI] The tools humanity will need for living in the year 1 trillion

[Stuart LaForge]

Sabrina Ballard wrote:

> After poking around the internet for a while, it seems that these
> galaxies are "moving" faster than light not because they actually exceed
> the speed of light in any way, but rather because space is expanding
> between them and us at a rate faster than the speed of light. So it is not
> the matter or energy which is exceeding the speed of light, but rather the
> "medium"
> (space-time) is expanding in such a way that we are being separated at a
> speed which exceeds the speed of light. So technically, the speed of light
>  is not "broken" in any way.
>
> I think of most of you on the list as being much smarter than myself. Do
> I
> get the gist of it? Or can someone explain it to me more clearly or point
> me to good resourses?

You do get the gist of the geometric "block time" view of the expansion of
4-D space-time which is like a static picture from outside of time. Like
what a 5-D being might see.

There are however more nuanced models to help you understand. You can also
visualize what is going on from within time by thinking of space as a very
peculiar "fluid"  that flows over time. Dark energy is a source of that
fluid,  like a faucet, and gravity is a sink for the fluid like a drain.

Imagine galaxies as being like rubber duckies in an infinite-sized tub
being filled with water faster than it is being drained away. Now imagine
the rubber duckies being driven apart by currents in the water even though
none of them can actually swim.

You can think of the speed of light limit as applying to things having
mass moving through space but not to things that are just caught in the
currents of "flowing" space. That being said, even though space-flow can
move things away from you faster than light, nature still censors
information from those things from reaching you once they start to exceed
c.

In other words, an event horizon is formed and you can no longer get
updates as to what happens to those areas where space is flowing away from
you faster than light. They are effectively outside your patch of the
universe.

> I really should get a Maths degree.

If the degree is worth the expense to you, then sure, like if you plan to
use math professionally. If you just want to understand without needing to
prove that you understand to anyone, then you can just watch PBS
Space-Time on You Tube for the basics and if you want more in-depth
details you can just watch physics and math lectures from universities all
over the world. It's all there on You Tube for free, if you want it.


Stuart LaForge