Why space is expanding

Originally posted by Vitruvian
Some here might be considering the cosmos in the same way that we consider an ocean (as do some scientists) - but they are not to be compared when it comes to this notion of space. The ocean - by definition - is full - therefore there's no emptiness in it. There's no room for it whereas the cosmos, on the other hand, is full of emptiness and is only populated by certain celestial bodies floating within it.

edit on 11-8-2012 by Vitruvian because: editing/spell

Here is an interesting response to the ideas proposed in the comments above........worth pondering too:

A team of Australian physicists have come up with their own theory on the universe’s creation. Challenging the “Big Bang” model, they now say it was a “Big Chill” – somewhat similar to water first freezing into ice and then cracking upon cooling.
­Researchers from the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) brushed away the theory of the start of the universe as being a “big bang”. That model posits that our universe apparently inflated, expanded and cooled, going from very, very small and very, very hot and dense, to the size and temperature of our current universe. The followers of this prevailing theory believe it continues to expand and cool to this day.
The Australian physicists, however, put forward a new concept which suggests that the secret to understanding the origin and nature of the early universe is in the cracks and crevices common to all crystals, including ice.
The idea is that the early universe was liquid-like and it cooled, crystallized, and possibly cracked. Their report was published in the journal Physical Review D.
Their research rests on a school of thought that has emerged recently. A new theory, known as Quantum Graphity, suggests that space may be made up of indivisible building blocks, like tiny atoms. These indivisible blocks can be thought of as similar to the pixels that make up an image on a screen. The challenge however has been that these building blocks of space are very small, and thus impossible to see.
The Australian scientists now believe they may have figured out a way to see these “building blocks” – indirectly.

"Think of the early universe as being like a liquid,” says James Quach, a lead researcher on the project, who did the study as part of his PhD. "As the universe cools, in a similar way that water freezes into ice, structure becomes emergent. You get the 3D space we see around us, but also like water freezing into ice, you get defects."

"The reason we use the water analogy is water is without form,” Quach explained. "In the beginning there wasn't even space. Space did not exist because there was no form." Just as ice cubes in our fridge crack, so did space, the theory goes.
Quach and colleagues calculated the way light is scattered by these cracks and say that it is now possible for experimental physicists to look for this effect.
"Light and other particles would bend or reflect off such defects, and therefore in theory we should be able to detect these effects," says RMIT University research team member Associate Professor Andrew Greentree.
Quach says this theory would be more complete than the Big Bang theory, which is based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, but is unable to explain the moment of the Big Bang itself.
"Ancient Greek philosophers wondered what matter was made of: was it made of a continuous substance or was it made of individual atoms? With very powerful microscopes, we now know that matter is made of atoms," said Quach.
"Thousands of years later, Albert Einstein assumed that space and time were continuous and flowed smoothly, but we now believe that this assumption may not be valid at very small scales," he added.
The team now says if their predictions are experimentally verified, the question as to whether space is smooth or constructed out of tiny indivisible parts will be solved once and for all.

Originally posted by de_Genova
Here is an interesting response to the ideas proposed in the comments above........worth pondering too:

Source?

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by de_Genova
Here is an interesting response to the ideas proposed in the comments above........worth pondering too:

Source?

Big Bang? No, Big Chill! Australian scientists challenge universe creation theory

Another article Big Bang Was Phase Change When Water Froze To Ice, New Study Claims

By: Natalie Wolchover, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Published: 08/21/2012 07:57 PM EDT on SPACE.com

How did the universe begin? The Big Bang is traditionally envisioned as the moment when an infinitely dense bundle of energy suddenly burst outward, expanding in three spatial directions and gradually cooling down as it did so.

Now, a team of physicists says the Big Bang should be modeled as a phase change: the moment when an amorphous, formless universe analogous to liquid water cooled and suddenly crystallized to form four-dimensional space-time, analogous to ice.

In the new study, lead author James Quach and colleagues at the University of Melbourne in Australia say the hypothesis can be tested by looking for defects that would have formed in the structure of space-time when the universe crystallized. The universe is currently about 13.7 billion years old.

Think Hollow Matter instead of hollow earth

So matter being what composes atoms which make up what we see in the visible universe
These atoms contain mostly empty space
And for all measurable purposes theirs technically more empty space contained in a single atom
From nucleus to orbiting electrons comparing them their relative size to the solar systems-sun, planets and the distances between them both or the space encompassing the whole of the suns Heliosphere
And atom still has more comparably empty space within it.

This makes the one constant of movement or flow of energy/matter to be inward
This is gravity all other forces of the universe work against gravity to slow the movement of energy
Which comprising matter is moving down within the empty space that is within us all and everything we know
The electromagnetic, strong, weak nuclear forces conservative the energy that creates the perception of time and allowing for perceived existences’.