Can Planck Time Explain the Age of the Universe?

In summary, Victor Stenger criticizes attempts to fit the Bible creation story with big bang cosmology, particularly Gerald Schroeder's calculation of the duration of each 'cosmic day'. Stenger argues that using Planck time, or 10^-43 seconds, is the only non-arbitrary time to use. However, even with this change, the results would not align with the observed age of the universe. Schroeder's equation, D = (Ao/L)exp(-Lt), where Ao = 4x1012 and L = 0.693, results in a duration of 8 billion Earth years for the first 'cosmic day', but this calculation is flawed due to the ambiguity in using the term 'day' for
  • #1
Void
3
0
O.k., so I'm reading this article by victor stenger called Fitting the Bible to the Data where he is criticizing this guy Schroeder's attempt to fit the bible creation story in with big bang cosmology. he chooses the time of quark confinement, or 10^-4 seconds to start. this is the part that explains this in more detail with an equation:

"Each of the six days in Schroeder's Genesis actually takes a different length of Earth time. The duration D, in Earth days, of each cosmic day t is calculated from the formula D = (Ao/L)exp(-Lt), where Ao = 4x1012 (the ratio of the frequencies of the cosmic microwave background at quark confinement compared to now) and L = 0.693 (natural log of 2). More simply, cosmic day one is 8 billion Earth years long and you divide by two to get the duration of each succeeding cosmic day."

so I'm talking with stenger trying to understand some things here and he says Planck time, or 10^-43 is the only non-arbitrary time to use. now I'm not very experienced with math or physics at all, so I'm picking up whatever i can very slowly as i go along, but I'm not even getting the answer 8 billion Earth years when i follow what the equation says, probably because i don't know what I'm doing and need help and decided to come here. :smile: but what i want to know is how the calculations would work out if you use Planck time instead? would you need the ratio of frequencies of the cosmic microwave background at Planck time compared to now to figure this out? what is this number? if this makes any sense, could someone help me figure out what the results would be for plank time, because like i said, i look at the equation and try to reproduce the result of 8 billion years, but I'm not getting it. I'm a math moron i guess. :redface: anyway, sorry for rambling so much on a topic I'm sure isn't the most important in the realm of physics, but it caught my interest and figured i could get some help.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Well, I haven't got any idea what the quote is all about, nor how the factor Ao was derived, but I can get 8 billion years (more or less):

The first 'cosmic day' is t = 1. This means the exp(-Lt) term is 0.5 (one half). You can confirm this with your calculator, or from the description of what 'L' is (and a little math).

The trick seems to be in: "The duration D, in Earth days, of each cosmic day t...", with the same word ('day') being used for two quite different things! Anyway, 4 trillion (4x1012) divided by 0.693 then divided by 365 (Earth days per year) gives ~16 billion, which when multiplied by ...

Since the second 'cosmic day' will be 4 billion Earth years, and the third 2, we're already older than the universe (13.7 billion years), without even adding the fourth day's 1 billion years! Oops, another cute idea is crushed by observational results. :eek:
 

1. What is Planck time?

Planck time is the unit of time in the system of natural units known as Planck units. It is the time it takes for light to travel a distance of one Planck length, which is the smallest unit of length possible in the theory of quantum mechanics.

2. How long is Planck time?

Planck time is approximately 5.39 x 10^-44 seconds. It is considered the shortest measurable length of time and is much shorter than the time it takes for a single particle to move across a single atom.

3. What is the significance of Planck time in physics?

Planck time is significant because it is the shortest possible unit of time in the theory of quantum mechanics. It is also considered the limit for the accuracy of time measurement, as it is impossible to measure time durations shorter than Planck time.

4. Can Planck time be observed or measured?

No, Planck time is currently not measurable or observable with our current technology. It is a theoretical concept that is used in physics to describe the smallest possible unit of time.

5. How does Planck time relate to the Big Bang theory?

In the Big Bang theory, it is believed that the universe was in a state of extreme density and temperature at the beginning. Planck time is used to describe this state, as it is the smallest possible unit of time that can be used to measure the rapid expansion of the universe.

Similar threads

  • Special and General Relativity
Replies
5
Views
971
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • Special and General Relativity
2
Replies
65
Views
4K
Replies
3
Views
966
  • Cosmology
2
Replies
57
Views
3K
  • Other Physics Topics
Replies
10
Views
1K
  • Cosmology
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • Cosmology
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • Special and General Relativity
4
Replies
125
Views
4K
Back
Top