• 👍Maximum Derek👍@discuss.tchncs.de
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    20 days ago

    “Ultimately it increases entropy… let me tell you about the heat death of the universe…”

    “No, Mom! I’m still afraid of the False Vacuum monster laying underneath my ground state!”

    • snooggums@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      If those were likely to happen during our lifetime then they would have already. Now prion disease…

      Good night!

    • SzethFriendOfNimi@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      🎼
      Elect-ro-weak and Higgs field
      Staying in a false staaaate
      Tun-nel, tun-nel, it alllll falls dowwwwwn

      Then there are no mass-es
      And, more, no inter-act-ions
      Mass-less, mass-less, no a-toms nowwww

    • InputZero@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      So scientists are not entirely certain about the heat death of the universe. The heat death is the most reasonable prediction given what we know but there could be a force acting across the universe that may very slowly reverse the expansion of the universe that we have yet to discover and cause a big crunch over a ridiculously large amount of time. The fact is predictions that far in the future aren’t really very useful.

      • 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        20 days ago

        I read a SciFi book where there was a group in the world that does general science in the name of averting the heat death of the universe.

        • Lycist@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          Ah yes, the ol’ “If a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound?” approach to preventing the death of the universe.

            • Lycist@lemmy.world
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              17 days ago

              Existence is in the eye of the beholder. For something to exist it must be observed.

              It sounds like in the book you read performing general science would go towards observing the universe preventing its heat death?

              I dunno if fully applicable, but that’s what I got out of it :D

          • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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            19 days ago

            I asked chatgpt and the answer is inconclusive

            Does quantum foam occasionally spawn a new big bang ?

            The idea of “quantum foam” occasionally spawning a new Big Bang is an intriguing concept, but it belongs more to speculative physics than established science, at least with our current understanding of cosmology. Quantum Foam:

            Quantum foam (or spacetime foam) refers to a concept derived from quantum mechanics and general relativity. It was first proposed by physicist John Wheeler in the 1950s. The basic idea is that on extremely small scales, close to the Planck length (~1.6 × 10⁻³⁵ meters), spacetime is not smooth but fluctuates wildly due to quantum uncertainty. This is because, in quantum theory, at these incredibly small scales, particles and even spacetime itself undergo constant, random fluctuations, resulting in a “foamy” structure. Quantum Foam and Big Bangs:

            The speculation that quantum foam might give rise to new universes or Big Bang-like events is tied to broader ideas in theoretical physics, including concepts like quantum cosmology, eternal inflation, and multiverse theories.

            Quantum Fluctuations and Universe Creation: In some models of the universe, it is proposed that quantum fluctuations could give rise to entire universes. This is somewhat similar to how quantum fluctuations in energy can spontaneously create particles for brief moments (due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle). Some cosmologists have extended this thinking, suggesting that a fluctuation in the quantum foam could create a new region of spacetime that expands and becomes a new universe—a new Big Bang, in essence. This is related to the idea of the multiverse, where new universes are constantly being generated through different mechanisms, including quantum fluctuations.

            Eternal Inflation: Another theory that links the idea of new Big Bangs with quantum processes is the theory of eternal inflation, which proposes that our universe is just one “bubble” in a larger multiverse. In this model, the universe experiences a rapid expansion (inflation) in its early stages, and in some regions, this inflation never stops. Small regions of spacetime can “bubble off” from this eternally inflating space and form new universes with their own Big Bang events.

            Cyclic or Bounce Models: There are also cyclic models of the universe (such as the ekpyrotic universe or conformal cyclic cosmology) where a universe goes through repeated cycles of expansion and contraction. In these models, the quantum foam might play a role in transitioning from one cycle to the next, though these are still speculative ideas.

            Does Quantum Foam Directly Spawn Big Bangs?

            Currently, the connection between quantum foam and the creation of new Big Bangs remains speculative and unproven. Our understanding of quantum gravity—the theory that would fully unify quantum mechanics and general relativity—is still incomplete. Many of the ideas related to the quantum foam, multiverses, or eternal inflation remain theoretical and lack direct empirical evidence.

            While quantum foam might offer an intriguing arena for considering the birth of new universes, there is no definitive evidence that quantum foam occasionally spawns new Big Bangs, at least according to current mainstream physics. In Summary:

            Quantum foam describes the hypothetical, fluctuating nature of spacetime on extremely small scales. Some speculative theories in physics suggest that quantum foam or related processes could, in principle, give rise to new universes (possibly via quantum fluctuations or other mechanisms). These ideas are part of multiverse theories or eternal inflation models but remain speculative and are not established as fact. The idea of quantum foam spawning Big Bangs is fascinating but is still in the realm of theoretical and speculative physics.

            Scientific advancement, especially in quantum gravity and cosmology, might eventually give us more insights into whether such processes could occur.

  • BilboBargains@lemmy.world
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    19 days ago

    I imagine a physicist would invoke entropy to describe the diffusion of pressure waves and vibration into other forms of energy. Neuroscience might explain the propagation of signals from the cochlea into the brain. A psychologist could hypothesise on the influence of music on our mood and ideas. A philosopher might talk about the influence of music on the way we build our society and how that feeds back into our music. In this way, the music never stops, it continues on as echos rippling through through the universe.

    • Detheroth@lemmynsfw.com
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      18 days ago

      That gave me some real Alan Watts vibes. If this came from your own brain, be proud of this comment. Beautifully worded and inspiring.

      • BilboBargains@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        Thank you and funny you should say that because Watts is an inspiration. From a scientific point of view some of his ideas were a little tenuous but as a teacher on the subject of the ineffable he was quite peerless.

    • angrystego@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      I thought the sentence was going to lead to something like “It rolls up into the other 8 inaccessibly tiny dimensions of our space.”

      I love your oldschool explanation though!

  • Ulvain@sh.itjust.works
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    20 days ago

    I’m not a scientist by a long shot, but my understanding is that sound if indeed a wave, carried by a medium (air, water, etc). Upon hitting your eardrum, this wave is converted by your eardrum and your auditory nerve into signals your brain decodes. The remainder of the wave continues though, until it runs out of medium, hits an obstacle (basically another medium) or dissipates. Again, just my layman’s understanding!

    • Nougat@fedia.io
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      20 days ago

      Don’t forget the inverse square law. Even without a change in medium or any obstacles, the strength of the signal decrease over distance until it is undetectable.

      This is also why there are no extraterrestrial civilizations hearing any radio broadcasts from Earth. Our transmitters are so weak that any signals we send out fade into the CMB before they get any real distance.

        • Nougat@fedia.io
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          20 days ago

          They would not have been able to watch it from an original OTA broadcast, no.

          • xthexder@l.sw0.com
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            19 days ago

            They’ve probably just got a spy satellite around earth that transmits back. Or maybe an extremely directional antenna / receiver dish would work, since they’re focused on Earth specifically.

      • Clent@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        You area conflating auditory waves with radio waves.

        These are very much not the same thing. Sound waves require a medium while radio waves do not.

        Radio waves travel vast distances through space while sound doesn’t travel at all.

        • Nougat@fedia.io
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          20 days ago

          Space is a medium, as exemplified by the fact that light curves around massive objects, because the space is curved.

          • huginn@feddit.it
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            20 days ago

            Space isn’t a medium because mediums have privileged frames of reference.

            You’re talking about spacetime which is a field, not a medium.

              • huginn@feddit.it
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                20 days ago

                Light is also not “stuff” - it’s electromagnetic radiation. It’s by the unprivileged intertial frame of reference that we define the speed of light. Light’s speed is the speed at which it travels unimpeded through the spacetime “field”. Additionally light does not accelerate or change speed in any way while traveling in that frame.

                Unless you’re asking if light travels through things that are not the field known as the spacetime continuum in which case yes: light travels (and changes speed) through all sorts of materials. Like glass.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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        20 days ago

        If they didn’t fade with distance, this is as far as they have gotten. So for now we are still quiet in the dark forest.

      • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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        20 days ago

        If we had FTL I’d be a radio archaeologist, flying out to various distances to attempt to capture lost episodes of old TV shows like Doctor Who

  • madjo@feddit.nl
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    20 days ago

    It goes into your memory. That’s why you can remember a song that you heard before.

  • NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone
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    20 days ago

    It stays in our brain and we subconsciously put it into new music years later, thereby keeping the industry’s corporate lawyers in cocaine for future decades to come.