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The Big Bounce[1] hypothesis is a model that "suggests that we could be living at any point in an infinite sequence of universes". So while our current universe
by leepowers 4y ago
The Big Bounce[1] hypothesis is a model that "suggests that we could be living at any point in an infinite sequence of universes". So while our current universe may not be infinite there may be some yet undiscovered infinite/eternal natural process that gives rise to universes.
Olber's Paradox[2] and the inability to reconcile it with our current astronomical observations seems to disprove that our current universe is itself infinite.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bounce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bounce
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox
- bottled_poe 4y agoSpace dust over intergalactic distances seems sufficient to explain Olbers’s Paradox?
- bottled_poe 4y agoActually, probably just the standard expanding universe + light horizon.
- aw1621107 4y agoStrictly speaking, Olber's Paradox is about an infinite, eternal/static, and homogeneous universe with an infinite number of stars; in such a case, the light the dust absorbs would cause the dust itself to start emitting light, which would make it visible [0]. I'm not sure to what extent this paradox applies outside that scenario (e.g., an infinite-but-changing universe) [0]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-the-night-sky-dark/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-the-night-...