Question: During the Big Crunch, would time also contract?
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Maybe a breif definition would be good:
In cosmology, the Big Crunch is a hypothesized collapse of the universe upon itself after its expansion eventually stops —a counterpart to the Big Bang.
If the gravitational attraction of all the matter within the observable horizon is high enough, it could slow the expansion of the universe, and then reverse it. The universe would then contract, with about the same duration as the expansion. Eventually, all matter and energy would be compressed back into a gravitational singularity. It is meaningless to ask what would happen after this, because time would end in this singularity.
In cosmology, the Big Crunch is a hypothesized collapse of the universe upon itself after its expansion eventually stops —a counterpart to the Big Bang.
If the gravitational attraction of all the matter within the observable horizon is high enough, it could slow the expansion of the universe, and then reverse it. The universe would then contract, with about the same duration as the expansion. Eventually, all matter and energy would be compressed back into a gravitational singularity. It is meaningless to ask what would happen after this, because time would end in this singularity.
Yeah, that's the cool thing about the theory. It's not widely accepted by scientists currently, mainly because there is new evidence that shows that the universe is not slowing down but in fact it is accelerating. Most believe that the universe will continue to expand for infinity, a much less appealing theory imo. But the thoery was widely accepted for some time and there still is evidence that supports it. I've always liked the idea of our universe infinitely expanding/collapsing, with endless possibilities. Something I've mentioned a few times on this site.
But my question is what exactly would occur during the collapse. Would time itself contract?
But my question is what exactly would occur during the collapse. Would time itself contract?
I don't think time would contract cause time is just a way for us to catagorize things and organize things so that we can understand it better and make order of things that don't have order.
I've thought about the same things, but I think time would essentially be the same until everything died and contracted to the point where there would be another big bang. Scientists can't really say cause that's the type of shit you can't predict because nobody can get to the edge of the universe to the point where you are constantly at where it is expanding to/from. Very interesting idea though, I could see it being a possibility, but I can't see a way to prove that there could in fact be a contraction of the universe...Unless researchers/scientists found clues that it was already happening. That's just my two cents...
I've thought about the same things, but I think time would essentially be the same until everything died and contracted to the point where there would be another big bang. Scientists can't really say cause that's the type of shit you can't predict because nobody can get to the edge of the universe to the point where you are constantly at where it is expanding to/from. Very interesting idea though, I could see it being a possibility, but I can't see a way to prove that there could in fact be a contraction of the universe...Unless researchers/scientists found clues that it was already happening. That's just my two cents...
Yeah but time is real. Time can be measured. In theory there is a smallest possible time unit which shows that time exists and has a smallest unit. They call it space-time and I’m pretty sure (although not certain) Einstein was convinced that space and time were intertwined and both were created shortly after the big-bang.
But I see what you’re saying. As I think about it more, time and space are the medium in which our material universe exists; they are not the material universe themselves. So the material universe is made up of all the matter and energy and if the material universe collapses or contracts, then I guess it would just be the matter and energy crunching together, not all the space and time. But that actually leads back to the original question: If space and time were created during the big bang, then wouldn’t they also have to contract?
But I see what you’re saying. As I think about it more, time and space are the medium in which our material universe exists; they are not the material universe themselves. So the material universe is made up of all the matter and energy and if the material universe collapses or contracts, then I guess it would just be the matter and energy crunching together, not all the space and time. But that actually leads back to the original question: If space and time were created during the big bang, then wouldn’t they also have to contract?
Time doesn't go backwards though, although space can be contracted and made smaller, time is time no matter where you are in the universe (I think, but I'm not a scientist). If anything the space would contract but time would still be going. For all we know, this has already happened X amount of times and we just don't know.
I posted a brief definition in my 2nd post, which I forgot to link but can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Crunch
Another brief definition,
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/hearng/crunch.html
Oh, check out this site which has a theoretical animation that "demonstrates that when Dark Energy fades away and flips in force, it would pull the universe together. This would lead to a "big crunch' where the universe ultimately implodes."
Also lookup dark matter/dark energy, which is what keeps the theory alive today. If we can figure out exactly what that is, we may know the answer.
Another brief definition,
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/hearng/crunch.html
Oh, check out this site which has a theoretical animation that "demonstrates that when Dark Energy fades away and flips in force, it would pull the universe together. This would lead to a "big crunch' where the universe ultimately implodes."
Also lookup dark matter/dark energy, which is what keeps the theory alive today. If we can figure out exactly what that is, we may know the answer.
This is actually pretty cool...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/origins/theend/index.shtml
Astronomers are now fairly sure that the Universe was born 15 billion years ago in the Big Bang. Since then, the Universe has been constantly expanding, stretching the very fabric of space itself. But will it ever die? And if so, how?
There are three alternative scenarios for the future fate of the Universe. If the expansion continues forever then the Universe is destined for the Big Freeze, gradually pulled apart into a cold desolate wasteland of dying stars and black holes. If space stops stretching and springs back on itself, it will shrink until galaxies start colliding in the Big Crunch - terminating in the mother of all black holes. However, there is a more peaceful option. The final scenario involves the Universe gradually slowing down to a halt. With the whole Universe balanced precisely, cosmic catastrophe would be averted and space would be saved. At least for a while. Eventually the Universe would succumb to the Big Freeze, it would just take a lot longer.
The fate of the Universe is basically a battle fought between the inward pull of gravity and the outward push of expansion. So astronomers are trying to calculate the strength of these forces. The amount of gravity the Universe has to wield against this expansive onslaught depends on how much stuff there is out there in space. Anything with a mass has its own gravity. Even you yourself have a gravitational force that attracts everything else around you, including other people.
The bigger you are, the stronger this force is, and so, the Earth, being the most massive thing around, completely overwhelms the tiny forces that we personally possess. So to calculate the fate of the Universe, we must weigh it to find its density.
In astronomy, the density of the Universe goes under the symbol Ω (or Omega), the last letter of the Greek alphabet, meaning 'the end'. The precise amount of matter needed to gradually halt the expansion of the Universe is known as the critical density, where Ω=1. If Ω is 1 then the future of the Universe is a gentle, serene stop. Smaller than 1 and we're heading for the quick Big Freeze, a universal ice age. Larger than 1 then it's Crunch time. So our destiny depends on our density. Recent results show that Ω is at least 0.3. That figure includes the mysterious dark matter that lurks invisibly in space and has yet to be fully understood.
It has also been proving difficult to measure the precise expansion rate of the Universe. Recently it's been discovered that this expansion is accelerating under the grip of a previously undetected force, called dark energy, that is helping to pull the Universe apart. Until both these dark questions are answered, the fate of the Universe still hangs in the balance.
However, although the end of the Universe may look pretty black, this impending cosmic catastrophe is not our most pressing concern. In about 4 billion years the Sun will expand and engulf our planet Earth. Also around the same time, our nearest galactic neighbour, Andromeda, will start to crash into our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Life on Earth must escape into space if it is to survive.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/origins/theend/index.shtml
Astronomers are now fairly sure that the Universe was born 15 billion years ago in the Big Bang. Since then, the Universe has been constantly expanding, stretching the very fabric of space itself. But will it ever die? And if so, how?
There are three alternative scenarios for the future fate of the Universe. If the expansion continues forever then the Universe is destined for the Big Freeze, gradually pulled apart into a cold desolate wasteland of dying stars and black holes. If space stops stretching and springs back on itself, it will shrink until galaxies start colliding in the Big Crunch - terminating in the mother of all black holes. However, there is a more peaceful option. The final scenario involves the Universe gradually slowing down to a halt. With the whole Universe balanced precisely, cosmic catastrophe would be averted and space would be saved. At least for a while. Eventually the Universe would succumb to the Big Freeze, it would just take a lot longer.
The fate of the Universe is basically a battle fought between the inward pull of gravity and the outward push of expansion. So astronomers are trying to calculate the strength of these forces. The amount of gravity the Universe has to wield against this expansive onslaught depends on how much stuff there is out there in space. Anything with a mass has its own gravity. Even you yourself have a gravitational force that attracts everything else around you, including other people.
The bigger you are, the stronger this force is, and so, the Earth, being the most massive thing around, completely overwhelms the tiny forces that we personally possess. So to calculate the fate of the Universe, we must weigh it to find its density.
In astronomy, the density of the Universe goes under the symbol Ω (or Omega), the last letter of the Greek alphabet, meaning 'the end'. The precise amount of matter needed to gradually halt the expansion of the Universe is known as the critical density, where Ω=1. If Ω is 1 then the future of the Universe is a gentle, serene stop. Smaller than 1 and we're heading for the quick Big Freeze, a universal ice age. Larger than 1 then it's Crunch time. So our destiny depends on our density. Recent results show that Ω is at least 0.3. That figure includes the mysterious dark matter that lurks invisibly in space and has yet to be fully understood.
It has also been proving difficult to measure the precise expansion rate of the Universe. Recently it's been discovered that this expansion is accelerating under the grip of a previously undetected force, called dark energy, that is helping to pull the Universe apart. Until both these dark questions are answered, the fate of the Universe still hangs in the balance.
However, although the end of the Universe may look pretty black, this impending cosmic catastrophe is not our most pressing concern. In about 4 billion years the Sun will expand and engulf our planet Earth. Also around the same time, our nearest galactic neighbour, Andromeda, will start to crash into our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Life on Earth must escape into space if it is to survive.
Isn't it the theory about that the universe keeps expanding and eventually extracts thus far and creating so much energy it explodes again and we have another big bang and the universe starts over again... maybe it happend a couple of times already, who knows but it's an intresting theory but to this day there is no real proof of it.. and probably never will be
I've always been under the impression that space is endless, as said above. Space and time are endless and constant. It's the matter which does the changing. Like sand and water in a glass ball. You can shake it up, let it settle and let it sit. The glass doesn't change but the contents do. Except in this case, the glass ball has no boundaries. It's just a big empty space and matter moves around through it.
I was also under the impression that bodies moving in space do not slow down because there is no friction to stop them. Unless gravity from another body slows them, or they hit something, they would probably keep going forever. To get pulled back together, first everything would need to stop first, right? That way gravity could slowly pull them back. And the more that moved closer in, the stronger the pull. I don't think that it would have any effect on time though. Time can be measured, but cannot be altered. It presses on regardless and can in fact only be measured by instruments we made for ourselves. During any cosmic movement or activity, time is time. If you had the chance to watch it happen, it would take very long or it would be very quick. You wouldn't sense time warping. I only say that because time is intangible. Clocks only simulate it and track themselves.
I was also under the impression that bodies moving in space do not slow down because there is no friction to stop them. Unless gravity from another body slows them, or they hit something, they would probably keep going forever. To get pulled back together, first everything would need to stop first, right? That way gravity could slowly pull them back. And the more that moved closer in, the stronger the pull. I don't think that it would have any effect on time though. Time can be measured, but cannot be altered. It presses on regardless and can in fact only be measured by instruments we made for ourselves. During any cosmic movement or activity, time is time. If you had the chance to watch it happen, it would take very long or it would be very quick. You wouldn't sense time warping. I only say that because time is intangible. Clocks only simulate it and track themselves.
^
I think time can be altered if a blackhole can suck in (and thus bending) lightbeams I think they can also bend time..
and the bodies don't need to stop and pulled back by cravity but it keeps expaning till the matter (dark matter as it is called I believe) runs out and creating so much energy that it all explodes again and thus creating a new big bang
I think time can be altered if a blackhole can suck in (and thus bending) lightbeams I think they can also bend time..
and the bodies don't need to stop and pulled back by cravity but it keeps expaning till the matter (dark matter as it is called I believe) runs out and creating so much energy that it all explodes again and thus creating a new big bang