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Study Hints At Time Before Big Bang

canadian_right informs us that scientists from Caltech have found hints of a time before the Big Bang while studying the cosmic microwave background. Not only does the study hint at something pre-existing our universe, the researchers also postulate that everything we see was created as a bubble pinched off from a previously existing universe. This conjecture turns out to shed light on the mystery of the arrow of time. Quoting the BBC's account: "Their model suggests that new universes could be created spontaneously from apparently empty space. From inside the parent universe, the event would be surprisingly unspectacular. Describing the team's work at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in St Louis, Missouri, co-author Professor Sean Carroll explained that 'a universe could form inside this room and we'd never know.'"

18 of 408 comments (clear)

  1. first post from by fotoguzzi · · Score: 5, Funny

    new universe.

    --
    Their they're doing there hair.
    1. Re:first post from by Negatyfus · · Score: 4, Funny

      I find this post surprisingly unspectacular.

    2. Re:first post from by kdemetter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Finally , a place to park my car.

    3. Re:first post from by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I've heard the inflationary universe described as an expanding loaf of raisin bread, the raisins being galaxies and other spinny objects. So considering this new evidence, you might say that God pinched off a loaf.

  2. A Boon to all New Yorkers by Sierran · · Score: 3, Funny

    They need to get cracking on this. A universe from my closet? Fan*TAS*tic! My rent/sq. ft. is going down as I write...

    --
    A hero is someone who knows when to run away. I am a hero. -Trent the Uncatchable
  3. some people have said by jacquesm · · Score: 4, Funny

    that once we fully understand the universe it will be replaced with something even more complicated.

    Others argue that this has already happened...

    thhgttg

  4. Wow by mqduck · · Score: 4, Funny

    When I first read this, it sounded so strange that I was unable to conceive it in any meaningful way. Then I got really high. Now it seems self-evident. It may not be genuinely insightful, but it sure is fun.

    --
    Property is theft.
  5. I think you mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...String hypothesis.

    1. Re:I think you mean... by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

      The consensus in science amongst string theorists is that string theory is correct.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    2. Re:I think you mean... by asliarun · · Score: 4, Funny

      The consensus in science amongst string theorists is that string theory is correct. Apparently, they're the only ones that have branes.
    3. Re:I think you mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      But what do physicists have to say about it?

  6. Re:Membranes? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sounds like you are insane in the membrane.

  7. Re:I would now like to be a philology nazi. by simon_c_heath · · Score: 3, Funny

    Absolutley everything ever = Omniverse Not to be confused with Multiverse. Our pocket is but one Universe. ...and the open source version is Liniverse.
  8. Re:Object naming by kdemetter · · Score: 4, Funny

    More like :
    Universe newUniverse = new Universe(oldUniverse);

  9. Apparent Formula for Cosmological Success by FurtiveGlancer · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Engage in baseless conjecture about alternative, unproveable universes.
    2. Define new branch of mathematics that can support a complex multi-dimensional model reinforcing your baseless conjecture.
    3. Publish in academic journals and popular media.
    4. Lecture to gullible masses.
    5. Profit!

    6. Avoid performing any work beneficial to mankind. ~

    --
    Invenio via vel creo
  10. Re:What did you expect to see? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I always rationalised the Tardis in Doctor Who Why?
  11. I would also like to be a philology "nazi" by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Although the word "nazi" is now accepted to mean "a person who is fanatically dedicated to, or seeks to control, some activity, practice, etc." this is etymologically inaccurate. Outside of playful uses (such as "grammar nazi" or a TV serial's "soup nazi") the word "nazi" should be synonymous with "a member of the National Socialist German Workers Party," and we ought to come up with some intermediary term (like "asshole" if you feel like you require a more abusive term) to refer to this kind of pedantic overbearing we've found ourselves saddled with.

    Word definitions and connotations have a tendency to move around quite a bit. The word "stink" for example, was once a neutral term to describe something giving off a scent, and now has decidedly negative connotation, if not being outright denotative of giving off a bad odor. Similarly, nazi once meant the members of the political party that established a murderous and expansionist totalitarian regime in Germany. Now it used to describe someone who likes to pick on people's misuse of its vs. it's.

  12. Re:It doesn't mean that, though by Chyeld · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hinjo, he knows too much. Use the uranium apple.