why is the expansion of the universe speeding up.

Why do we continue to ignore the fact that the universe is expanding at a more rapid pace, when according to the modern belief system in regard to the Big Bang theory the universe expansion rate should be slowing down? And why are some galaxies moving towards us while others move away?

You have to factor in the role of gravity in the function of the universe. As the universe expands, the effect of gravity lessons through increased distance between objects - thus less attraction of objects toward each other and greater acceleration of expansion. WRT how the individual solar systems move - well, that depends on local conditions that impact the curvature of space-time.

Why do we continue to ignore the fact that the universe is expanding at a more rapid pace, when according to the modern belief system in regard to the Big Bang theory the universe expansion rate should be slowing down

dark matter is the best theory we can come up with. scientists think that it is a sort of antigravity associated with it, instead of normal matter which has regular gravity.

why are some galaxies moving towards us while others move away?

thats because of mass differences, some are moving at a faster pace that ours.

This is one of the most puzzling questions in science today. It is an actual acceleration of expansion which, if observations are accurate, must be caused by some force we have absolutely no real understanding of.

According to Einstein, the rotation of the solar system is controlled by distortion of space-time caused by the mass of the objects within it. This also applies to the interaction of all objects on a universal scale. As the universe expands, space-time must change because the gravitational forces on each object within it change. Illustration. Let's say I construct a sand trap with ten concentric circles, and the deep dips of each circle is the gravitational distortion of local objects. If a ball moves ACROSS the sand trap, it has to go up and down all those dips in the sand trap, and the ball appears to move more slowly across. If I flatten the dips, the ball appears to move more quickly across even though the ball is travelling at the same speed because the dips are shallower.

As the universe expands, the space-time 'dips' get shallower due to reduced effects of gravity on the universe as a whole, and the universe appears to accellerate expansion.

Originally posted by lonemaverick

Why do we continue to ignore the fact that the universe is expanding at a more rapid pace, when according to the modern belief system in regard to the Big Bang theory the universe expansion rate should be slowing down

dark matter is the best theory we can come up with. scientists think that it is a sort of antigravity associated with it, instead of normal matter which has regular gravity.

why are some galaxies moving towards us while others move away?

thats because of mass differences, some are moving at a faster pace that ours.

Not dark matter, dark energy - there's a big difference between the two. Dark energy is a hypothetical opposing force to gravity...

Actually, we discovered here at Boeing that it's because it's running late.

It makes more since to think of the expanding universe as a rotating hypersphere (a rotating 4th dimensional object). As a hypersphere rotates 4th dimensionally it appears to grow in size from a 3D reference point. The speed(and apparent acceleration) of the expansion would depend on how fast the hypersphere was rotating.

www.cogsci.indiana.edu...


[edit on 10-6-2005 by n01ukn0w]