I think that's an important point. The probability of the cosmos presenting us with some optical illusion or other cannot be underestimated. Even the voyager spacecraft leaving the solar system provided us with unexpected data concerning the composition of interstellar space. We really don't know that much beyond that, simply because we are unable to travel these distances and have a look for ourselves. We're left with circumstantial evidence and deduction.
Nevertheless, the idea that this gascloud was somehow isolated over time and simply took very long to produce stars is very plausible. But I wonder how many possible other explanations one can come up with, without violating the general principles of physics we hold true today.
For instance: Light elements are abundantly present, heavy ones are rare. This doesn't mean that the heavy ones were never there in larger numbers. Some process may have sifted them out. Maybe if circumstances caused the gas cloud to accelerate in one direction, the heavier elements simply got left behind over time.
This talk of langrangian points and thrust by small particles made me think of launching a spacecraft straight at the sun.
It would deploy a solar sail to slow it down and eventually make it hover at the point where the sun's gravity would be offset by the force created by the solar wind on the sail.
The sail would have to be able to expand and contract, compensating for the fluctuations in solar wind force.
Such crafts would not need to orbit the sun and you could put them almost anywhere. In fact, you could launch them in almost any direction within the solar system and establish the equilibrium between solar wind and gravity.
And why not provide them with an ion engine? Imagine if the sun went out, the things would simply plummet to their doom otherwise and all the hard work would have been for nothing.
"Something strange happened on the sun last week: all the sunspots vanished. This is a sign, say forecasters, that solar minimum is coming sooner than expected."
What would really be strange, is if there was no such thing as a deviation from the statistical average. Where actual single events are concerned, deviation from the average is more the rule than the exception.
To "expect" the average to happen and to call it strange when it doesn't, is actually not very logical.
"This is the only model that gives us some meaningful way to do experiments on earth to find the force that gives rise to dark energy. We can do this using existing neutrino experiments."
At least this theory could possibly be proven or disproven right here on earth. That's what's nice about it.
Where it comes to hunting for clues concerning the evolution of the universe's expansion rate, or black holes/singularities (Now there's a gem of a postulated "particle"), you can freely conjecture with little chance of ever being proven empirically wrong (or right), as long as you account for whatever bits of information we're able to gather from 10.000(000.000) light years away.
"...blame the 60% of the electorate who can't be bothered to vote."
Do you mean that in stead of by 40 million votes, an identical system gets reaffirmed and the same person elected, but this time by an all redeeming 100 million votes?
God, being omnipotent:
Can exist
Can not exist
Can perhaps exist
And all of the above simultaneously
Before, during and after any aliens have been found.
Such seems crystal clear.
["If one happens to find oneself a long way up the narrow end of the horn, things indeed look very strange, with two very small dimensions,At an extreme enough point, you would be able to see the back of your own head"]
Considering the notion of a force in one direction requiring an equal force pointed in the opposite direction, it's feasible that such a trumpet comes into being with an anti-trumpet pointing out in the "opposite" direction.
Travelling to this other trumpet through the narrow parts of both, would come at the price of having to look yourself in the ass for aeons, considering the length of the universe. Be warned, one needs to consider these things before boldly going..
[If we ever found some sense in which A!=A then every single thing we thought we knew about math would be in doubt.]
Considering that a mathematical proof for A=A is not really possible, there seems to be quite some sense in A!=A. In other words, every thing we know about maths is inherently in doubt, at least from a mathematical point of view. A = A being the axiom that gives rise to mathematics, preceding it, but not really being a part of it.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that's an important point. The probability of the cosmos presenting us with some optical illusion or other cannot be underestimated. Even the voyager spacecraft leaving the solar system provided us with unexpected data concerning the composition of interstellar space. We really don't know that much beyond that, simply because we are unable to travel these distances and have a look for ourselves. We're left with circumstantial evidence and deduction.
Nevertheless, the idea that this gascloud was somehow isolated over time and simply took very long to produce stars is very plausible. But I wonder how many possible other explanations one can come up with, without violating the general principles of physics we hold true today.
For instance: Light elements are abundantly present, heavy ones are rare. This doesn't mean that the heavy ones were never there in larger numbers. Some process may have sifted them out. Maybe if circumstances caused the gas cloud to accelerate in one direction, the heavier elements simply got left behind over time.
I guess an infrared image from space could have provided an idea of the temperatures there
Such crafts would not need to orbit the sun and you could put them almost anywhere. In fact, you could launch them in almost any direction within the solar system and establish the equilibrium between solar wind and gravity.
And why not provide them with an ion engine? Imagine if the sun went out, the things would simply plummet to their doom otherwise and all the hard work would have been for nothing.
What would really be strange, is if there was no such thing as a deviation from the statistical average. Where actual single events are concerned, deviation from the average is more the rule than the exception.
To "expect" the average to happen and to call it strange when it doesn't, is actually not very logical.
It couldn't possibly be anything else. Had they picked something more rare to count, all the kids would drop it after ten minutes.
Since a contrail is probably visible at any moment on 99.9% of U.S. territory, the danger of youthful boredom is cunningly averted!
At least this theory could possibly be proven or disproven right here on earth. That's what's nice about it.
Where it comes to hunting for clues concerning the evolution of the universe's expansion rate, or black holes/singularities (Now there's a gem of a postulated "particle"), you can freely conjecture with little chance of ever being proven empirically wrong (or right), as long as you account for whatever bits of information we're able to gather from 10.000(000.000) light years away.
Do you mean that in stead of by 40 million votes, an identical system gets reaffirmed and the same person elected, but this time by an all redeeming 100 million votes?
God, being omnipotent: Can exist Can not exist Can perhaps exist And all of the above simultaneously Before, during and after any aliens have been found. Such seems crystal clear.
["If one happens to find oneself a long way up the narrow end of the horn, things indeed look very strange, with two very small dimensions,At an extreme enough point, you would be able to see the back of your own head"] Considering the notion of a force in one direction requiring an equal force pointed in the opposite direction, it's feasible that such a trumpet comes into being with an anti-trumpet pointing out in the "opposite" direction. Travelling to this other trumpet through the narrow parts of both, would come at the price of having to look yourself in the ass for aeons, considering the length of the universe. Be warned, one needs to consider these things before boldly going..
[If we ever found some sense in which A!=A then every single thing we thought we knew about math would be in doubt.] Considering that a mathematical proof for A=A is not really possible, there seems to be quite some sense in A!=A. In other words, every thing we know about maths is inherently in doubt, at least from a mathematical point of view. A = A being the axiom that gives rise to mathematics, preceding it, but not really being a part of it.