Quote:
Originally Posted by dcl
Despsite assertions to the contrary, WMAP has not determined that the universe is flat.
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You could be right. I don't really think anything is actually proven in cosmology. We may actually find out, someday, it is "turtles all the way down". At time, I believe that probability is considered to be quite low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcl
The shape of the hypertorus is too contrived to be a plausible representation of the shape of the universe. It has been described as starting with a cube, the line between one pair of opposite faces then being stretched, bent into a circle, and the ends joined, thereby achieving the shape of a doughnut.
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I feel the same way about inflation - it sounds sooo contrived!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcl
In any case, what is the source of the 4x1026 figure?
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Once again, Max Tagmark's 2003 paper on "Parallel Universes" at
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/p.../0302131v1.pdf. That is *my* source - I don't know where he got it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcl
...and the basis for adjusting it to 46 billion light years.
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I am at work. I was at work last night when I posted last. I *thought* I recalled that the SciAm rewrite agreed with the Astronomy Cast figure of 46x10
9 ly. I discovered I was wrong. Tagmark's figure in the SciAm (I got with my new 2008 subscription with SciAm) is actually
42x10
9 ly. I am sorry about that.
40, 42, 46 - I think these adjustment where probably due to the last adjustments of the estimate of the Hubble Horizon. I suspect there will be more. Who knows? We have more probes going out the L2 and there will be new data from CMBR and new adjustments. I would not depend on any of it to be with an order of magnitude of reality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcl
A big crunch now seems to ruled out by dark energy. Heat Death seems inevitable for the same reason. The possibility of dark matter being baryonic seems to have been ruled out.
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I know that. The key phase here was, "if we were voting". I was joking - is if God was polling us to decide how to design the universe. Actually, she does what she wants and I just have to accept her wisdom.