Chapter 9

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CHAPTER 9

THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

INTRODUCTION

Aristotle's believed that the earth lay motionless at the center of the universe and that the heavens revolved around this center. Aristotle's system could explain some of the motions observed in the night sky, however, it could not explain them all. In the second century A.D., Claudius Ptolemy tried to explain the observed anomalies by placing additional eccentrics and epicycles into Aristotle's model. This refined system is known as the Ptolemaic system.

Pick the icon to view the Earth centered Ptolemaic Universe.

The Ptolemaic system, in spite of these modifications, still could not explain every observed phenomena. In 1543 a new perspective of the universe was proposed by Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543). ₁ Copernicus proposed that the sun lies at the center of the universe. This idea was opposed by the Roman Church authorities. These authorities believed that man was the centerpiece of the creation and as such he resides at the center of the creation. ₂

Galileo invented the telescope in 1609. With his telescope, Galileo provided strong evidence that the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo proclaimed that Copernicus was correct and that the sun did lie at the center of the universe. This greatly angered Church authorities. These authorities sentenced to Galileo to house imprisonment and forced him to;

"Abjure, curse, and detest the said heresies and errors!"

It was too late. The evidence was out, and even the Church authorities could not prevent the spread of the information. By the 18 Century it became generally accepted that the sun, not man, lies at the center of the universe.

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In 1785 German-born English astronomer William Herchel (1738-1822) suggested that the stars were arranged into the shape of a lens. This collection of stars is known as the Milky Way Galaxy. Herchel discovered that the sun did not lie at the center of this collection of stars. It became clear to all but the most naive that man held no special position in the cosmos.

In the 1920's astronomers Herber Doust Curtis and Edwin Powell Hubble discovered that the Milky Way galaxy was just one of an immense collection of galaxies. Using the 100 inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in California, Hubble discovered that the Milky Way Galaxy seemed to lie at the center of this collection of Galaxies. Were the early church authorities correct and did man reside at the center of the cosmos? Earlier observations revealed that man held no special position in the universe. Observations made on the largest scale, however, seemed to indicate that the earth was at the center of the universe. How can this be?

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THE FOUR DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

To make some sense out of this paradox, the cosmological principle was invented. This principle states that there are no special positions in the universe. According to this principle all positions in the universe are equivalent. The view from any location in the universe is one from the center.₃ For example, if you traversed great distances in a space ship, you would always appear, from your vantage point, to be at the exact center of the universe. You would never venture from the exact center no matter how far you traveled. The edge of the universe would always be out of reach.

Some illumination about the nature of this paradox can be gleaned from the study of dimensions. Victorian schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott published Flatland in 1884. Flatland is the story of a square who takes a trip into higher dimensions. This story is very instructive. A brief review is in order. A point has zero dimensions A line has one dimension. A slice through a line produces a a point. A line has one dimension and a circle has two. A slice through a circle forms a line. A sphere has three dimensions and a circle has two. A slice through a sphere forms a circle. Continuing with this logic, a hypersphere has four dimensions. Any slice through a hypersphere forms a sphere.₄

Pick the icon to view slices through structures of various dimensions.

Any slice through an object of n dimensions produces an object of n-1 dimensions. The earth is a three dimensional object. Its surface is a two dimensional slice of a three dimensional object. A sailor on the ocean gets a two dimensional view of the three dimensional earth. He sees water all around. No matter where he travels, his view is always one from the center of the ocean (when there is no land in sight). The sailor has a lot in common with the space traveler. They both have a view from the center. The universe is a four dimensional hypersphere. Three of these dimensions are of space, the fourth is of time. We live on the surface of this hypersphere or, in other words, we live in the present. Like the sailor, no matter how far we travel we stay on the surface (the sailor remains on the surface of the ocean and we remain in the present) and our view remains one from the center. Look up in the night sky. You will see stars many light years away. You are viewing the stars as they were. You are looking though a hypersphere into the past. A view from a telescope reveals the edge of the universe is equally distant (15 billion light years away) in all directions. Many scientists believe this central view results from the four dimensional construction of the universe. To me its amazing.

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THE GRAVITATIONAL LINKAGES CONNECTING THE UNIVERSE AND ACCELERATING MATTER

Electrons are very much smaller than common electrical circuits. Induced electrical fields exchange energy and momentum between electrons and the vastly larger electrical circuits in which they flow. The momentum of a moving charge is carried by the magnetic field that surrounds the charge "I". The kinetic energy imparted to an accelerating charge is carried by an induced electrical field "E₂". The induced electrical fields determine how electrons interact with the larger electrical circuit.

Pick the icon to view the induced fields produced by moving and accelerating matter.

Similar gravitational linkages exchange energy between the universe and accelerating matter. The momentum of moving matter is carried by the gravitomagnetic field "I_g" The kinetic energy imparted to accelerating matter generates an induced gravitational field "E_2g". This gravitational field induced by acceleration carries a momentum opposite to that of the accelerated matter. This field propagates outward and eventually transfers this momentum to every bit of matter in the universe. An equal and opposite force is eventually imposed upon the universe.

Force_universe = - Force_local

Equation #1 The universe reacts to local acceleration.

The relationship between force and gravity is given by General Relativity and was derived in Chapter 6 of this text. This relationships has yielded many answers. Substituting the general formula of gravitational induction into Equation #1 yields Equation #2. The right side of Equation #2 represents a local force. The left side of Equation #2 represents the force that is imparted to the universe by the induced gravitational field. This field (shown on the left side of Equation #2) is produced by the acceleration of a local mass. The local acceleration force is expressed as the change in momentum with respect to time (dp/dt).

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G / (c²r) (M_u) (dp/dt) = (dp/dt)

Equation #2 The gravitational linkages that couple local events to the universe

If Equation #2 is correct then Equation #3 must equal one.

G / (c²r) (M_u) = 1

Equation #3 Does it equal one?

Given:

G = 6.67 x 10^-11 new-m² / kg²

M_u = 2.0 x 10⁵³ kg

The radius of the universe "r" = 1.42 x 10²⁶ meters

c = 3 x 10⁸ meters/ second

Against all odds, given the tremendous magnitude of the numbers involved, Equation #3 does equal one. The relationship between force and gravity has once again revealed another secret of the universe. It has been demonstrated that gravitational linkages couple local events to remote regions of the universe. This coupling is accomplished through the introduction of additional forces. These additional forces act as a reservoir of momentum and energy. This reservoir stores energy and momentum until it can be transferred to distant regions of the universe. Local positive energy is linked to the negative gravitational potential of the universe through an interplay of transient interactions. These interactions enable a week long range force, like gravity, to immediately exchange a significant amount of energy.

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This topic will be extended in Chapters 10, 11, and 12. It will be shown the capacitance of the universe and the weakness of the gravitational establish the magnitude of quantum fluctuations.

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CONCLUSION

On the largest scale the universe has a four dimensional structure. Gravitational linkages exchange energy and momentum within this this structure. This exchange of energy and momentum links local events to the whole of the universe. Energy, momentum, and changes in entropy are coupled to the universe through gravitational linkages. The four dimensional structure of the universe itself is a manifestation of the gravity that binds it together. Time itself flows as a result of energy passing through the structure of the universe.

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NOTES

1. De Revolutionibus Orbium 1543

2. The concept that the universe requires man in order to exist is called the antropic principle.

3. The isotropy of the universe was first discovered by Edwin Hubble

4. The Fourth Dimension Rudy Rucker 1984 Houghton Mifflin Company Boston Mass // end of chapter 9 ...........................................................................