The discussion revolves around Lawrence Krauss's talk on the concept of a universe emerging from nothing, particularly focusing on his claims regarding the universe's spatial flatness and implications for its extent. Participants explore the reconciliation of these ideas with the big bang theory, the nature of mass and density in an infinite universe, and the philosophical implications of such a model.
Participants generally do not reach a consensus, with multiple competing views on the implications of an infinite universe, the interpretation of Krauss's claims, and the scientific validity of his arguments. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the relationship between mass, density, and the universe's spatial extent.
Limitations include the ambiguity in Krauss's language, the dependence on interpretations of empirical data, and the unresolved nature of the mathematical implications of an infinite universe.
Chalnoth said:No, not at all! It's just what we expect to happen everywhere from time to time.
Well, from our perspective, it looks like a microscopic black hole that almost instantly evaporates. But inside this microscopic black hole, the space-time becomes sort of twisted enough that a piece of it pinches off and expands on its own, independent of our universe.
revo74 said:What evidence or reasoning is there that supports this concept?
Right now we don't have enough evidence to say for sure, but the general expectation is that the laws can be quite different every time.revo74 said:So universes give rise to other universes. Do the laws of physics remain the same. Are these new universes essentially clones?
In general this sort of idea is very much at the frontier of knowledge. The models we have today seem to suggest that this kind of thing is possible, but it's very difficult to say what actually happens in this regime. So for the most part, this should be filed under, "Possible idea. Needs work."revo74 said:Would this be common sense speculation? After all the entire idea that our Universe is a special virtual particle is highly speculative to begin with.
What evidence or reasoning is there that supports this concept?