Nietzki 1

Sandra Nietzki Mrs. Swainston World Literature 11 March 2011 The Expansion of the ni!erse Throu"hout the existence of hu#anit$% the #odel of the world as a space that encloses e!er$ for# of #atter and &ein"s chan"ed with increasin" knowled"e and understandin" of the properties of the uni!erse. The ancient world's intellectuals &elie!ed in a "eocentric #odel of the world( the earth )*aia+*eo, as the center of the uni!erse ha!in" the sun )-elios, circlin" around it ).rupp 1, /urin" the scientific re!olution in the Middle 0"es% another concept took the place of the "eocentric one1 the 2russian astrono#er Nikolaus .opernikus introduced the first heliocentric #odel3statin" that the sun is the center of the uni!erse instead of the earth3in his &ook 4/e re!olutioni&us or&iu# coelestiu#5 )On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, which toda$ is seen as a land#ark in the scientific re!olution and the &irth hour of #odern astrono#$. 6ro# that point on% enhanced &$ the rapid technolo"ical pro"ress% the perception of the uni!erse% our solar s$ste#% and the scale of &oth chan"ed continuousl$. With the disco!er$ of the existence of a uni!erse )which is deri!ed fro# Latin 4the whole5, outside our solar s$ste# 7uestions concernin" the structure% the #ake up% and the &eha!ior of the uni!erse arose. Einstein tried to !alidate a static uni!erse with the cos#olo"ical constant in his relati!it$ theor$ at the dawn of the 20th centur$. 8ears later% fro# 192: to 1929% Edwin -u&&le's fa#ous dia"ra# and his e7uations were pu&lished% pro!in" that the uni!erse indeed is expandin" and that Einstein was wron" )0d!ances in ;os#olo"$ 1,. To the present da$% astrono#ers de&ate the future of the

Nietzki 2 uni!erse &ased on -u&&le's and other astrono#er's disco!eries that followed his% leadin" to the ulti#ate 7uestion1 how is the uni!erse "oin" to expand% er"o what is the future of the world "oin" to &e like< This 7uestion #a$ &e answered in the state#ent( if the !acuu# ener"$ densit$ => and the #ass densit$ =# are less than one and the -u&&le constant -0 approx. at a !alue of :2 )it will &e explained later wh$ the constant needs to ha!e that !alue,% the uni!erse will expand until all ener"$ and potential ener"$ within #atter is e7uall$ di!ided% which #eans that there is no ener"$ left to react fro# a state of hi"her ener"$ to lower resultin" in what is called a 4?i" 6reeze5 )6reed#an @( *olds#ith A@B@:,. ?efore an$ scientist could state such a theor$% thou"h% the fact that &odies in space are #o!in"% ha!e a certain !elocit$ and the uni!erse expands at all needed to &e disco!ered. 0"ain% #ost of what scientists see as "i!en factors in astrono#$ was disco!ered at the &e"innin" of the 20th centur$( #ore specific e!en% in the 1920s when 0lexander 6ried#ann pu&lished e7uations )which later were na#ed after hi#,% i#pl$in" an ori"in of the uni!erse fro# a extre#el$ dense and hot accu#ulation of #atter throu"h an explosion to what it has &eco#e toda$% continuousl$ expandin" )6reed#an 1,. Shortl$ after% -u&&le disco!ered a re#arka&le fact% !erif$in" 6ried#ann's calculations1 The expansion rate of the uni!erse can &e #easured with -0C !+d% where - is the -u&&le constant or the expansion rate of the uni!erse% ! represents the !elocit$ of a "alax$ and d the distance fro# the !iewer. This can &e su##ed up as1 a "alax$ will #o!e faster awa$ fro# a !iewer )in this case the Earth% of course, the farther its distance to the !iewer's position is( howe!er% the isolation of the factors necessar$ to calculate -0 is one of the #ost difficult tasks in astrono#$% which at this point #akes the !alue of the -u&&le constant al#ost unattaina&le )*olds#ith A2,. -u&&le and Einstein )in principle, used the sa#e #ethods to deter#ine !elocities% distances and

Nietzki A !olu#es as astrono#ers toda$. The difference lies within i#pro!ed technical de!ices and co#puters to calculate data. The &asic e7uations o&!iousl$ are still the sa#e )since a "reat portion were founded &ack then% so#e &$ -u&&le and Einstein,. To #easure distances and !elocities% so called standard candles in co#&ination with the /opplerBeffect% and si#ple tri"ono#etr$ are used. The distances to nei"h&orin" stars are #easured with the 2$tha"orean Theore#% with the earth's or&it as the &aseline in the trian"ulatin" stars. 6or extra"alactic o&Dects #ore sophisticated techni7ues are re7uired. The earlier #entioned standard candle is a ter# for a star whose intrinsic &ri"htness )lu#inosit$ or #easure#ent of &ri"htness, is known( the &ri"htness of a star can &e deter#ined &$ its color or oscillation period% which si#pl$ descri&es the pulsation of a "aseous &od$ like a star. So#e star's oscillation periods are !er$ re"ular( those stars are called ;epheids. -enrietta Lea!itt% an 0#erican astrono#er% si#ultaneousl$ with Einstein's and -u&&le's research disco!ered that the lon"er a ;epheid's pulsation period% the "reater its intrinsic &ri"htness. The astrono#icall$ inexperienced reader #i"ht wonder how a star's &ri"htness can help calculatin" its distance fro# the !iewer E the #$ster$ will &e unra!eled1 F2C L+f. The e7uation #eans the distance F of a star can &e calculated &$ di!idin" the lu#inosit$ L &$ the solid an"le = ti#es the flux of ener"$ f )ener"$+ti#e and area, )6reed#an 2,. 0 star's !elocit$ is calculated with the /opplerBeffect. Na#ed after its proposer ;hristian /oppler% the /opplerBeffect explains how the fre7uenc$ of a wa!e radiated &$ a source )whether sonic wa!es or photons, chan"es with #otions of approach or recession. Gn practice% a sound is either #ore hi"h or low pitched or the color of the radiation source is #ore red or &lue )!iolet, dependin" on the #otion of &oth !iewer and source. Therefore% a star's or a "alax$'s !elocit$ can &e deter#ined &$ its red+&lue shift )*olds#ith A1,.

Nietzki @ .nowin" the distance of o&Dects to the Earth and other &odies% their !elocities and at what rate the$ are recedin" fro# one another% "alaxies can help astrono#ers #ake an esti#ation of how #uch% how fast and how lon" the uni!erse has expanded. 0strono#ers look at the past of the uni!erse like the &e"innin" of an if+then state#ent1 if the uni!erse expanded for the last 1@ &illion $ears at an acceleratin"+deceleratin" rate fairl$ unifor#l$ in all directions% then the expansion of the uni!erse #i"ht 4follow5 one of the followin" possi&le courses. The uni!erse is positi!el$ cur!ed( a positi!e cur!ature #eans that the !acuu# ener"$ densit$ => and the #ass densit$ =# exceed 1% that is% the totalit$ of #atter in the uni!erse is "reater than the critical !alue of #atter+ener"$% resultin" in an e!entual collapse of #atter after a deceleratin" expansion to what is called a 4?i" ;runch5. 0t the #o#ent% this theor$ see#s not as pro&a&le% &ecause it would i#pl$ a deceleratin" uni!erse% contradictin" the o&ser!ations of an acceleratin" expansion. Too% since in such a case the -u&&le constant -0 does not e7ual :2% the theor$ &eco#es in!alid. Gt is i#portant that -0C:2 &ecause as explained earlier -0 C !+d% with which the a"e of the uni!erse can &e deter#ined. Gf -0 does not lie around a !alue of :2% the e7uation would not su# up to an a"e of the uni!erse of 1@ &illion $ears )"i!e or take a &illion,. 8et% so#e stars that ha!e &een o&ser!ed are older than 9 to 12 &illion $ears% which o&!iousl$ does not #ake sense in a rational uni!erse )Inflationary Theory 1( 6reed#an A,. The second option is a flat uni!erse. =# e7uals the critical !alue( neither a 4?i" 6reeze5 nor a 4?i" ;runch5 could occur% since the uni!erse would expand infinitel$. 4HThereI alwa$s HareI lo"ical a&surdities like ne"ati!e pro&a&ilities HJI. Knl$ certain li#ited classes of theories a!oid HJI nonsensical infinities.5

Nietzki L )Wein&er" LB:,. -owe!er a&surd an infinite expansion fro# the current !iew point #a$ see#% the total #ass densit$+ !acuu# ener"$ densit$ ratio in this scenario a#ounts to A+:% which is consistent which the esti#ated !alue in our uni!erse )6reed#an @,. The uni!erse is ne"ati!el$ cur!ed. Gn such case% the critical a#ount of #ass would not &e exceeded. Gn other words there is not enou"h #atter to cause a 4?i" ;runch5. The "alaxies will #o!e apart at an acceleratin" rate until all ener"$ and #ass is spread e!enl$ throu"hout the uni!erse( the 4?i" 6reeze5 is the conse7uence of this #o!e#ent of #atter. This option see#s fairl$ plausi&le% since as !alidated &$ scientist e!er$ 7uark% ato#% #olecule% and ele#ent stri!es for a state called e7uili&riu#% which is exactl$ what the precedin" processes of the 4?i" 6reeze5 can &e descri&ed as )*olds#ith A@B@:,. 0lthou"h those three possi&ilities shown earlier are in principle onl$ three endin"s of one theor$% it is o&!ious that there are #$riads of theories E whether the$ are sound or not E tr$in" to illu#inate% the path the world is "oin" to send hu#anit$ on. Stephen -awkin" #entioned in one of his essa$s in 4?lack -oles and ?a&$ ni!erses5 how he wanted to write a &ook called 48esterda$'s To#orrow5% depictin" fore"oin" scientific predictions of how the future #i"ht look like. What he tried to sa$ was that despite the fact that the #aDorit$ of theories a&out the future are pro!en wron" sooner or later% scientists still think the$ so#ehow could tell what lies ahead )1@1,. Fe"ardin" this sli"htl$ a#used re#ark and the e!idence in the past% it is i#possi&le to den$ that current theories as well as prospecti!e ones are !er$ likel$ to &e pro!en wron". Nonetheless% the possi&ilit$ still exists that the uni!erse indeed is ne"ati!el$ cur!ed and its expansion is "oin" to end in a 4?i" 6reeze5. E!entuall$% a new disco!er$ or a scientist's different approach will !alidate or falsif$ it( of i#portance is onl$ that there will &e pro"ress #ade so that% &it &$ &it% hu#anit$ can co#e to a &etter understandin" of the world one li!es in.

Nietzki M Works ;ited

40d!ances in ;os#olo"$ )/ark Matter% /ark Ener"$% and the 0cceleratin" ;os#os,.5 Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schla"er and Nosh Lauer. Ool. :. /etroit1 Gale, 2009 Gale Student Resources In !onte"t. We&. 10 6e&. 2011. 6reed#an% Wend$. 4The -u&&le constant and the expandin" uni!erse1 a newl$ refined !alue of H-.su&.0I the expansion rate of the uni!erse% #a$ herald a first step toward a new era of Pprecision' cos#olo"$.5 #merican Scientist 91.1 )200A,1 AMQ. Gale O$$osin% &iew$oints In !onte"t. We& 10 6e&. 2011. *olds#ith% /onald. The Runaway 'niverse. New 8ork1 2erseus 2u&lishin"% 2000. 2rint. -awkin"% Stephen. Blac( Holes and Ba)y 'niverses and Other *ssays. New 8ork1 ?anta# ?ooks% 199@. RLB1@1. 2rint. 4Gnflationar$ theor$.5 +orld of Scientific ,iscovery *ale% 200R. Gale Student Resources In !onte"t +e) 10 6e&. 2011. .rupp% 0lexander% and Marcel Moellen&eck. S/ie unterschiedlichen Welt&ilder )"eozentrisch und heliozentrisch, .S -irche und .aturwissenschaften . Schools of Erft% n.d. We&. 11 Mar. 2011. 2ath1 "oo"le.co#( /er 6all *alilei.. Wein&er"% Ste!en. 4The 6uture of Science% and the ni!erse.5 .ew /or( Review of Boo(s. No!. 1L 20011 LRQ. SIRS Renaissance We& 10 6e&. 2011.