A discussion concerning the universe

This essay is an attempt to explain the origin and structure of the universe in a philosophical way. It is not intended to apply physics or mathematics other than in reference to Einstein’s ‘Theory of General Relativity’ and his ‘Theory of Special Relativity’. Starting with the Singularity, The Big Bang and expansion which is accepted in the scientific world, it will address the speed of light, black holes and bent space. It will explain the universe in its totality and encourage scientists to explore the seeming anomalies within their disciplines. The fundamental key to a new understanding of the universe is the conception of space and its possible impact on the structure of the universe. The impact of this is understanding that space is matter and the subsequent consequences of this understanding on the speed of light and black holes will be discussed later.

Infinity, Singularity, the Big Bang, Expansion

Mathematicians have long debated the concept of infinity without apparent agreement as to its meaning but the singularity, that is, the singular point of the universe before any expansion, could have existed for infinity. However if infinity is timeless it becomes a meaningless concept no different from zero in mathematics or NULL in a database. It is merely a placeholder. Einstein explained that space and time, or as he named it space-time,  began with the expansion so it follows that a singularity has no relationship with infinity. In other words the singularity could not be infinite because it would have no meaning in space-time which in turn makes the perception of such a thing as a singularity meaningless. This is not to deny expansion in any way but, if the universe is considered as a whole single entity, then a singularity is purely part of the nature of the universe.

This effectively leads to the concept of the Big Bang. The Big Bang is simply an explanation or a name given to the expansion of the singularity which has no pertinence to the origin of the universe itself. It is expansion that leads to the creation of matter, dust and eventually of stars, galaxies, black holes and all of the universe as we know it. The problem with our current understanding is that some scientists believe there is not enough matter in the universe and therefore not enough gravitational force to reverse expansion so the universe cannot deflate. In this circumstance a new singularity could not happen and the current universe would not be destroyed nor create a new universe, leading to entropy and an end of all energy giving a dead, lifeless universe. The impossibility of such an ending will be addressed later. Suffice to say at this point that the singularity could not have expanded and created a universe only for it to cease through entropy.

Anomalies Regarding Space, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy

As previously discussed the singularity and subsequent expansion is problematic and many scientists believe that the universe will end in entropy. However for a universe to become entropic would require a single existence, but this would also require the singularity to have a first cause, that is, some sort of trigger that would lead to expansion. Since there is no meaning or origin to infinity there is no possibility of a first cause and therefore no possibility of entropy. This poses the question of where, the missing matter that will cause it to collapse the universe in on itself? Scientists have been searching for this missing matter for many years without success. As far as is known light has not been observed escaping from the universe. This implies that it has a boundary which indeed would be the case with expansion. Imagine an observer sitting on an embankment outside the universe. The imaginary observer would see a black hole similar to black holes that have been observed within the universe, i.e. light cannot escape from either. This in turn implies that the universe is self-contained, a single entity in fact as mentioned above, and that there is enough matter to regard the universe having similar properties to black holes with enough gravity to ensure light cannot escape from it. In addition some claim that expansion is faster than the speed of light due to the apparent movement of galaxies to move away from other galaxies, a position which ignores the fact that galaxies collide with each other too, e.g. Loki and the Milky Way, Andromeda and the Milky Way. This also implies that space is matter as it is impossible for a void to expand because a void has no matter so space itself is certainly the missing “dark matter”. Neither is it possible, in such contradictory circumstances, that galaxies can move away from each other and yet also collide with each other.

Einstein’s theory claims that mass bends space. The greater the mass the more space is bent. If this is the case, and it has been shown that light bends around mass or more appropriately around bent space, then his theory implies that space itself is matter otherwise what is being bent? If space is matter then it takes no leap of imagination to regard it as dark matter. From such a position it becomes conceivable that there is enough matter in the universe to cause it to deflate back to a singularity. However the argument, so far, has not taken into account dark energy which would also have some effect on deflation since matter and energy are interchangeable. So where is this dark energy? Black holes may provide the clue. Black holes have the capability to eat matter using their massive gravitational power but at the same time matter is also destroyed by the gravitational power of black holes, implying that once matter is absorbed by a black hole it must become energy. This leads to a problem with gravity itself, in as much, as how can a black hole have such gravitational power if it is dark energy rather than dark matter? As far as is known science has not addressed this problem but it is certain that black holes do have this power.

Conclusion

                                                                                              Given that light cannot escape from the universe and if Einstein’s concept of bent space is accepted it can be inferred that there is enough matter in the universe to cause deflation. Given that the universe expanded from a singularity it would either require a first cause and end in entropy or it is one of expansion and contraction. As discussed previously any first cause would be external to the singularity and therefore impossible which leads to the impossibility of an entropic universe. It can be assumed, based on Einstein’s theories, that if space itself is matter then deflation is inevitable. It should also be noted that the speed of light is about 300,000 kilometres per second but is restricted by the medium it is travelling through. For example, if light travels more slowly though water than space, then arguably without a medium light could possibly travel at any speed. This further supports the theory that space is matter, leading to the hypothesis that there is enough matter in the universe to cause deflation which ultimately creates a new singularity and therefore how a cyclical universe can be explained.