[Physics] Cosmology

Tue Oct 18 17:41:41 CEST 2016

Helou Arend!

So very much thank you of your answer! I've not read yet all your links, but your letter was very much encouraging for me. 
For the limtless (infinite in that sense) Universe I can say too more assumptions (logical facts?):
1. when you are anywhere in the space you are allways like in the middle,
2.  there is the longest possible distance existing, the Universe has some sice.
And as before:
3. it does not expand, from the known movements of the galaxies does not follow that universe is expanding because the movements follow from the nature of the Universe, from the limitlessness of the universe.

Olli Santavuori 
18.10.2016
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Arend Lammertink 
  To: General Physics and Natural Philosophy discussion list 
  Sent: Monday, October 17, 2016 9:40 PM
  Subject: Re: [Physics] Cosmology

  Hello Olli,

  This is an interesting question and you are not alone in your notion that mathematics seem to be the most important requirement for physics these days, while fundamental ideas and even common sense seems to have been replaced by pages of equations. 

  In that respect, it is interesting to quote none other than Albert Einstein, as I did in my background article:

  http://www.tuks.nl/wiki/index.php/Main/OnSpaceTimeAndTheFabricOfNature
  https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

  "Concepts that have proven useful in ordering things easily achieve such authority over us that we forget their earthly origins and accept them as unalterable givens. Thus they might come to be stamped as "necessities of thought," "a priori givens," etc. The path of scientific progress is often made impassable for a long time by such errors. Therefore it is by no means an idle game if we become practiced in analysing long-held commonplace concepts and showing the circumstances on which their justification and usefulness depend, and how they have grown up, individually, out of the givens of experience. Thus their excessive authority will be broken. They will be removed if they cannot be properly legitimated, corrected if their correlation with given things be far too superfluous, or replaced if a new system can be established that we prefer for whatever reason." Obituary for physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach (Nachruf auf Ernst Mach), Physikalische Zeitschrift 17 (1916), p. 101 

  "I fully agree with you about the significance and educational value of methodology as well as history and philosophy of science. So many people today — and even professional scientists — seem to me like someone who has seen thousands of trees but has never seen a forest. A knowledge of the historic and philosophical background gives that kind of independence from prejudices of his generation from which most scientists are suffering. This independence created by philosophical insight is — in my opinion — the mark of distinction between a mere artisan or specialist and a real seeker after truth." Letter to Robert A. Thorton, Physics Professor at University of Puerto Rico (7 December 1944) [EA-674, Einstein Archive, Hebrew University, Jerusalem]. 

  Now getting back to your question: is the Universe expanding?

  Main stream science may think the answer to that question has been solved, but when one considers that the measurements by which they have come to this conclusion are based on the fundamental assumption that the speed of light is constant across the Universe, while this is not the case IMHO, one is tempted to come to the conclusion that science actually has no idea what they have been measuring and therefore one has to take their answers with a big grain of salt for the time being. 

  The video I posted by David LaPoint shows very interesting connections between what can be done in a laboratory and patterns we observe at a galactic scale:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siMFfNhn6dk

  For me, it's still an open question whether or not the Universe is actually expanding, but perhaps others have another perspective to share.

  Regards,

  Arend.

    _______________________________________________
    Physics mailing list
    Physics at tuks.nl
    http://mail.tuks.nl/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/physics

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.tuks.nl/pipermail/physics/attachments/20161018/5357ab62/attachment.html>