Seeking Answers to Geophysical Questions About the Big Bang Theory

[JulianHeawood]

Can anybody suggest an avenue for resolving a predicament I face over big bang theory?

I'm a geophysicist and work in remote areas, engaged in seismic data acquisition projects. I am fascinated by what I read on theoretical physics, and the fascination is focused on the (so far unsuccessful) quest for quantum gravity theory. It seems to me that there are a few voids in what experts write for the public, and I would like to ask some questions about why certain areas relevant to geophysics don't get a mention in big bang theory. Even allowing for the quantum mechanics that governed the very early universe, the characteristics of energy get little mention in what I read.

One of my problems is that I am not an academic, and have no training in philosophy. I am just a field man whose speciality is the acquisition of seismic data. But I do know a bit about the propagation of energy.

Another of my problems is that no Physicist I know is versed in theoretical physics, and none can provide comment on the questions - other than that I ought to take them further. Those who could comment knowledgeably are too busy to read the questions.

The third problem is that the questions are not one-liners and need, I feel, some background to the reasons for asking them. There are ten of them, and at their most compressed they occupy eight A4 pages.

Does anybody know of any panel of experts, or any individual, who could be approached by an academic outsider, and who might consider considering the questions?

Thank you.

 

[Janitor]

Sorry, I certainly don't know to whom you would submit your ideas. I will say that I am impressed by your flawless handling of written English. That's generally a sign that a fellow is not a crank.

 

[marcus]

Originally posted by JulianHeawood
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The third problem is that the questions are not one-liners and need, I feel, some background to the reasons for asking them. There are ten of them, and at their most compressed they occupy eight A4 pages.

Does anybody know of any panel of experts, or any individual, who could be approached by an academic outsider, and who might consider considering the questions?

Thank you.

Eight standard-size pages is not too much for any of us to read.
I don't know of any panel of experts or any academic that I could
promise would respond to 8 pages of outsider questions.

I don't see that any harm would come of your giving us a shot at your questions. It might be good practice for us, at least, whether or not it did you any good.

the only thing is copyright. You may not wish to put your essay (with its questions) out in public. But if you have no objection to posting on the web then why not post them here? Or post them at your website and give us link to where they are and we will go look.

there ARE expert theoretical physicists visiting and occasionally posting at this site (some grad student, some postdoc, one or two senior faculty, or so I judge since most everyone is basically anonymous) but you cannot predict who, if anyone, will reply.

you might get no response, or purely non-academic respondents, or a mix. That is part of the fun. It is also conceivable that you might get a response that is both authoritative and fully satisfactory to you. But don't count on it. If you post, think of it as doing us a favor by giving us some grist for the mill----something for us to think about and try reacting to.

 

[Nereid]

Well said marcus.

The 'character-size' of your questions may exceed the 10k limit on raw text per one PF post, but you may be able to re-structure your questions into a small number of linked documents (they'd may also be more interesting to read that way ).

What do you have to lose (apart from a few hours of your time)? The ROI may be very substantial!

 

[JulianHeawood]

Replying to responses

Thanks to kind words from Janitor, and thoughtful responses from Marcus and Nereid.

Still very new to PF, and not sure how to navigate my way around between forums, strings, and posts. But I feel sufficiently encouraged to attempt a post within this string. This I will do shortly. If it's in the wrong place, I will hope for continued kindness and for someone to redirect me.

The new problem is that having returned from Argentina yesterday, I have to go to another project (Sahara Algeria), on Tuesday March 16, and don't know if there will be access to internet or not. Although there may be a delay in future response, I will surely return to these pages as soon as possible.