Our Universe And The Theories About It.

Space and the theories about it just keep getting stranger. First modern man believed space was this never ending void which was full of heavenly bodies of different sorts. As we began to think about this we decided there was not enough matter to keep the universe together so we decided there must be matter we can’t see and aptly named it dark matter. We also noticed something strange was happening to some stars and even planets, they seemed to be having their material pulled off from them and into something invisible. We called these things black holes. We began to study quantum physics and some scientists believe there is a multiverse out there composed of many universes. Now a couple of new theories are coming out. The first says quantum physics has proven there are multiverses and what happens in them affects our universe. The second says maybe there is no dark matter and the thing holding the universe together is electricity.

As we examine all of these points we realize there is much to learn and we have to remember the way science works is by trial and error. Much of what we have been told could be in error. This has happened in the past and continues to happen today. When we talk about other universes and how they affect our universe I call this a premise built on a base of sand. Let me explain, this is really nothing more than a theory about an unproved theory. The unproved theory is the theory there are many different universes. I am not saying it is not true, just that we don’t really know if it is true. We then take this theory and make a theory about the theory. One scientist stated, "Any explanation of quantum phenomena is going to be weird, and standard quantum mechanics does not really offer any explanation at all--it just makes predictions for laboratory experiments." Obviously not all scientists agree with this statement. The multiverse is a tough proposition to prove. How would one know if they were even in a different universe unless perhaps they met themselves, but that could just as easily be attributed to time travel.

When we talk about dark matter we are again talking about something which has yet to be proved even though some scientists think they have proved it. Why is it we seem to think the only thing which could hold the universe together is matter? We are basing this on the fact we think gravity is needed to accomplish this or some other forces which we have found to exist, which could be entirely wrong. There might be some other force we don’t even know about yet which is responsible, or maybe no force is responsible. A physicist named Stephen Reucroft has published a paper which argues that electrostatic forces could be responsible for keeping the galaxies from falling apart. He says the center of a galaxy has a lot of activity and this would propel electrons and negatively charged particles toward the outer regions of the galaxies. The core would have a positive electrical charge and the outer parts of the galaxies would remain neutral. He was asked how much of a charge was required to hold a galaxy together and he says approximately 10^31 Coulombs at the core and an equal and opposite charge through the rest of the galaxy. To learn more about Coulombs you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Black holes are another mystery. We think we know about them, but think about this, if they exist and are black holes we could never see them unless we figure out some new technology which will allow us to look down their throat. The problem of their existence as been debated over and over and some very famous scientists still do not believe in them. It certainly looks like there is something mysterious in space, but it may not be what we think of as a black hole. Wouldn’t it be something if it was some sort of solid object which was so dark we thought it was a hole? Scientists think the gravity of a black hole is so strong no light can escape, but what if this is not what is going on? We have a huge problem when we talk about these things. We are like babies who are only a few month old. They realize when we put them in their cribs they are trapped, but they really don’t know why yet. They see things but have no idea what they are. We realize there is a universe with different objects in it, but we do not understand it entirely and maybe we never will.

Recently NASA held a meeting with included many different types of scientists and theologians and the there was a talk about the possibility of alien being about 100%. This was said not because anyone admitted seeing any aliens, but the reason was simply a mathematical one which states there are so many planets in our galaxy there has to be others with life on them. We look at life on earth as sort of risky. If anything happens to our planet we would all die. The reason for this is we have not yet become advanced enough to colonize other worlds, or so we are told. Not only is there going to be alien life found, but some of it may be almost as old as the creation of the universe itself. The reason for this is once a race has become advanced enough they are no longer bound to their planet and can spread out through the stars. There is also a chance life may exist in space. It would be very strange to us, but nothing is impossible.

Sometimes I wonder about the frenzy to find earth like exoplanets. We are told we do not have the technology to reach them yet and they are just too far away to detect life on them. We might not even be able to tell if life exists, it could be that different. Along with this we are finding out some of these planets might not exist even though they have been identified. Just recently scientists admitted in making a mistake which meant two exoplanets didn’t exist at all. I am not blaming the scientists and they bravely admitted their mistake. I am just saying maybe we are moving too fast in this direction and should be applying the funds in an area to improve space travel unless we have a secret space fleet and can reach the exoplanets we find.

As the theories about the universe get more exotic the chances of them being correct seem to be less. Theories built on theories seem to me to be premature to put it kindly. The best way to find out how space works is to get out into it and explore. This is why I am so supportive of the manned space program which seems to be in hibernation right now. If we want to know what a black hole really is we have to travel closer to it so we can study it. The theory of dark matter has always had problems and eventually it may be disproved, along with many other theories. Space is amazing, it is vast and it is waiting to be conquered.