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Stars Could Shine In Many Universes

Posted by kdawson on from the light-of-other-days dept.

A commonplace of cosmologists who argue the anthropic principle is the assumption that if any or a few of the constants of nature took on an even slightly different value, life could not have evolved — perhaps even stars and galaxies would not form. Science News reports on a new calculation showing that, to the contrary, star formation could happen in up to one-quarter of universes with different values of three important constants. "In fact, all universes can support the existence of stars, provided that the definition of star is interpreted broadly," said the researcher, Fred Adams. "...calculations suggest that, contrary to some previous claims, stars are not only common in our cosmos but are also ablaze in myriad other universes, where the laws of physics may be drastically different... Had Adams found that the range of parameters that allowed for stars was very small, that would have suggested that the laws of physics in our universe have been 'fine-tuned' to allow for star formation... Instead, Adams' study shows that our universe doesn't seem particularly special in that regard."

6 of 309 comments (clear)

  1. Zug zug by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I dont read slashdot for 2 days and I missed the fact that there are more than 1 universes... shit!

    1. Re:Zug zug by inzy · · Score: 4, Funny

      When I was small and liked to make shit up, I designed "flyingpigs theory" which has 1,235.656565 universes. So there. It's string theory, but with a more realistic name and a bigger number (so it must be better right?).

      there's a difference between theory and hypothesis.

      one has a grounding in reality, one can be made up by 10 year-olds and still be 'valid'

      guess which yours is

  2. Finally! by seanonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't wait to meet the evil me and see how I look with a pointy beard.

    1. Re:Finally! by whathappenedtomonday · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's because you wear a pointy beard.

      --
      I hope I didn't brain my damage.
  3. Re:This makes no sense! by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh stop it. In a parallel universe, this makes perfect sense.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  4. Re:there are other marble bags? by CaptainPatent · · Score: 4, Funny

    i thought "uni" meant one and only.

    doesn't "uni" mean one and only?

    Which is why I find your double post so delightfully ironic!

    --
    Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.