So what to do with knowledge of how the universe works?

AI Thread Summary
Understanding the universe, including concepts like the Big Bang, can lead to practical advancements and technologies that benefit life on Earth, such as GPS and communication devices. Scientists often pursue their passions in academia, which can result in unexpected innovations that address terrestrial issues. The pursuit of knowledge about the universe is a fundamental aspect of human curiosity, often yielding benefits beyond the immediate scope of inquiry. Engaging with these scientific topics can inspire solutions to pressing problems on Earth. Ultimately, the exploration of the universe can enhance our understanding and improve our lives in various ways.
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A friend of mine (an old man in his 70's) watched the History Channel shows on The Universe and the Big Bang Theory and all that and asked me - "so what if the universe started with a big bang? what good does it do me by knowing this fact? why worry about all this stuff in the universe when there is so much on Earth to worry about? why can't all these scientists on TV put their heads together to solve (more immediate) problems here on Earth than worrying about the ones outside Earth?"

I haven't answered him yet...What do I tell him?
 
Space news on Phys.org
blank.black said:
A friend of mine (an old man in his 70's) watched the History Channel shows on The Universe and the Big Bang Theory and all that and asked me - "so what if the universe started with a big bang? what good does it do me by knowing this fact? why worry about all this stuff in the universe when there is so much on Earth to worry about? why can't all these scientists on TV put their heads together to solve (more immediate) problems here on Earth than worrying about the ones outside Earth?"

I haven't answered him yet...What do I tell him?

There are scientists working on that stuff, these scientists on the TV just aren't AS INTERESTED in Earth as they are in space and the universe etc.. So?

One of the perks of being a scientist and going into academia etc. is that you really are working in a field that you enjoy working in a lot. (Well from people I've talked to at least, I assume there are some that don't like their career choice as much :-p)
 
blank.black said:
...why can't all these scientists on TV...

I haven't answered him yet...What do I tell him?
Tell him that the discovery that forms the backbone of the Big Bang Theory was by Bell Labs scientists working on satellite radio communications.

Tell him that without the space program, he'd have neither velcro or a cell phone nor a PC.

Tell him that GPS requires both the space program and General and Special Relativity.
 
Ask him if he's ever read or watched a murder mystery and if so, why? It is a deeply seated aspect of human beings to find the answer to unanswered questions, and we always seem to reap benefits of one sort or another along the way.
 
russ_watters said:
Tell him that the discovery that forms the backbone of the Big Bang Theory was by Bell Labs scientists working on satellite radio communications.
QUOTE]

Now this, I had no idea about.
 
blank.black said:
A friend of mine (an old man in his 70's) watched the History Channel shows on The Universe and the Big Bang Theory and all that and asked me - "so what if the universe started with a big bang? what good does it do me by knowing this fact? why worry about all this stuff in the universe when there is so much on Earth to worry about? why can't all these scientists on TV put their heads together to solve (more immediate) problems here on Earth than worrying about the ones outside Earth?"

I haven't answered him yet...What do I tell him?

Because those scientists want to do what they love.
 

Thread 'Matter density right after the decoupling'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recombination_(cosmology) Was a matter density right after the decoupling low enough to consider the vacuum as the actual vacuum, and not the medium through which the light propagates with the speed lower than ##({\epsilon_0\mu_0})^{-1/2}##? I'm asking this in context of the calculation of the observable universe radius, where the time integral of the inverse of the scale factor is multiplied by the constant speed of light ##c##.
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Thread 'Rutgers finds a transparent Einstein Cross - apparently a dark matter "halo".'

The formal paper is here. The Rutgers University news has published a story about an image being closely examined at their New Brunswick campus. Here is an excerpt: Computer modeling of the gravitational lens by Keeton and Eid showed that the four visible foreground galaxies causing the gravitational bending couldn’t explain the details of the five-image pattern. Only with the addition of a large, invisible mass, in this case, a dark matter halo, could the model match the observations...
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Thread 'Big Bang and Infinite Universe'

Hi, I’m pretty new to cosmology and I’m trying to get my head around the Big Bang and the potential infinite extent of the universe as a whole. There’s lots of misleading info out there but this forum and a few others have helped me and I just wanted to check I have the right idea. The Big Bang was the creation of space and time. At this instant t=0 space was infinite in size but the scale factor was zero. I’m picturing it (hopefully correctly) like an excel spreadsheet with infinite...
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