"An Infinite Number of Me's?"
26 January 2013
Reading an cosmology article last night discussing the universe and the possibility of there could well be an infinite number of me's and you's around. ?????? What???
Ok, seems to be 2 major theories why there could be an infinite number of "us" around:
- multiverse and
- our universe is infinity large.
Multiverse. For our universe to exist as it does:
- Just the right amount of energy was "expelled", "inflated", at the big bang (creating an energy "soup" not too hot and not too cold) to allow for energy to "cool" into elementary particle nuclei and later elements (mainly hydrogen, helium, lithium, and beryllium). The non-dark matter in the universe is still 90% hydrogen.
- Just the right amount of energy was expelled to allow for just the right amount of "dark" energy and mass (??) to be created. Dark energy and matter at this date are still a big mystery but apparently exists although we can not see or detect them directly.
- Just the right amount of energy was expelled in the big bang allowing particles that came out of the energy soup to actually be attracted to one another via gravity and form stars and galaxies. Too energetic of a big bang and either no particle soup forms or particles do form but are scattering way to fast to ever congeal, via gravity, into any clumps at all.
And the key is "just the right amount". From one perspective it is hard to believe our universe exists at all, given the need for some many conditions had to be "just right", rather that there were an infinite number of "just right" combinations and an infinite number of universes or at least many others were created at the same time as ours but with slightly or radically different physics and physical laws. As these other universes do not share our physics, we can not see or detect them but they exist "off to the sides" of our universe.
AND if multiple universes exist, perhaps an infinite number, and assuming there is a finite limit of combinations of matter elements or energy combinations, then it could be possible that I exist in multiple universes.
Not a bad argument but "just right" can also be viewed that there was nothing "just right" about the big bang and aftermath, just that conditions then set up a universe were we could biologically exist and understand enough about our surroundings to go, "Wow, "just right conditions".
Wondering...could other universes have been formed identical to our own or not but having a slightly different space-time?? Multiple universe that exist in a "time frame" older or younger than our own?? Perhaps identical to our own universe in every way, assuming physical laws and all other conditions are the same? And thus allowing for you and me to exist in multiple universes but in slightly different time frames?? Were the characteristics of space-time also defined at big bang inflation?
But all this does not brooch the subject of infinity.
And what does it mean, "infinity"??
Suppose at the big bang, multiple universes were formed or could have and we happen to be in one of many, is it then possible that our universe "stretches out" infinitely? No! Via cosmic background radiation measurements (energy present in the universe left over from the big bang) we know our universe is 13.7 billion years old and via telescopes of one type or another, we have seen galaxies that were 10 billion light years away from us. So there is obviously space-time beyond the most distance galaxies we can see now but no more than 13.7 light years.
But, given that our universe is a big, big, super big, place with billions and billions of galaxies, even more stars and even more planets and only so many elementary particles in the physics of our universe which can combine in only so many ways, is it possible that their is replication of Earth and you and me else were in the universe??