Why does the universe has such a huge amount of Energy?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature and quantity of energy in the universe, touching on philosophical questions about existence, the implications of the Big Bang, and the potential for multiple universes. Participants explore whether the universe's energy is finite and speculate on the consequences of varying energy levels.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question the reason behind the vast amount of energy in the universe, suggesting it may be a philosophical inquiry rather than a purely physical one.
  • One participant proposes that the universe has the energy it is supposed to have, comparing it to the number of blades of grass in a field, implying that such numbers are not extraordinary in context.
  • Another participant raises the question of whether the universe's energy is finite, drawing a parallel to the finite number of grass blades on Earth.
  • A claim is made that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed, suggesting that the total energy remains constant, which leads to the idea that even a small amount of energy could be considered infinite.
  • Speculation is introduced regarding the effects of the universe having more or less energy, particularly on cosmic inflation behavior.
  • One participant discusses the possibility of multiple universes with different masses and physical constants, suggesting that we only observe the universe that can support life.
  • A hypothesis is mentioned about universes bubbling up in a process of infinite creation, where only those with critically valued physical constants can exist.
  • There is a reference to a controversial study suggesting that our universe may be part of a larger multiverse, with unknown structures influencing it.
  • Another participant dismisses the relevance of a specific study on dark flows, indicating a lack of interest in that aspect of the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of the universe's energy, with no consensus reached. Some agree on the constancy of energy, while others propose different models regarding the universe's mass and the existence of multiple universes.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the philosophical nature of some questions and the speculative aspects of discussing energy levels and the existence of multiple universes. There are references to ongoing debates in the field, indicating that some claims are not universally accepted.

Veovis
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Y accept the existence of the universe and the existence of effective energy within it, but, is there a reason because of the incalculable (hope the word exists) amount of that energy? I know that this question is more philosophical than physical... but maybe someone can give some sort of answer...
 
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I was going to move this to an approriate forum, but I don't understand your question.
 
Then erase it, maybe a stupid question, but I thought some could tell something about big-bang.
Why does exists millions of millions of millions of stars intead of just 1?
Maybe is definitely a stupid question, like Why is the universe so powerfull?... and,

Does the universe have a finite energy?

That is the most clear version of my question.
 
Well think about it as "normalization". Our universe has as much energy as a universe is supposed to have. There is nothing to compare it to. Its like asking why there are so many blades of grass in a field. Its a huge number, but you really can't judge. You cannot compare a number to "1" and say whether it is large or not. Is 2 a large number of eyes? Is 6 billion a large number of people? etc.

Just because a number is "astronomical" does not mean it is extraordinary. The universe right now has exactly the amount of stars it COULD have had. No more, no less.
 
Veovis said:
Then erase it, maybe a stupid question, but I thought some could tell something about big-bang.

No problem. I just didn't quite understand what you meant.
 
You're right, but in all Earth we can assume that the number of grass blades is finite... can we assume the same for the energy of the universe?
 
Energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another, or passed from one body to another, but the total amount of energy remains constant.

So, even a little energy is infinite.
 
It does seem like an interesting question in that I'd be interested in hearing speculation on what the result of the universe having more or less energy would be. It would effect cosmic inflation behavior at least, right?
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Veovis said:
You're right, but in all Earth we can assume that the number of grass blades is finite... can we assume the same for the energy of the universe?

To the best of our knowledge, yes.
 
  • #10
Why the universe contains this particular mass is a very good question.
There is no reason (that we know about) that the initial singularity couldn't create a universe of any mass.

It could simply be that there are (were/is/will-be - English cases don't really cope with multiple universes) many universes of different masses, life can only exist if they have a certain size and so we observe only the universe that we could observe.
 
  • #11
There is one hypothesis floating around that has universes constantly bubbling up in a process of infinite creation, but only those universes having critically valued physical constants, such as the total energy of the universe, can exist.

It has often been noted that were the physical constants slighty different than what we find, the universe as we know it could not exist.
 
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  • #12
On a related note, this was in the news today, but I don"t see a formal publication listed yet, so even the modeling of the hard data, not to mention grand interpretations of that data, have to be taken with a grain of salt for now.

Something may be out there. Way out there.

On the outskirts of creation, unknown, unseen "structures" are tugging on our universe like cosmic magnets, a controversial new study says.

The presence of the extra-universal matter suggests that our universe is part of something bigger—a multiverse—and that whatever is out there is very different from the universe we know, according to study leader Alexander Kashlinsky, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081105-dark-flow.html
 
  • #13
Pish! Dark flows are so September 2008.
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  • #14
I'm not surprised. I have been completely preoccupied with the election.
 

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