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I am certainly not up to speed here, but if the mass of the universe was
infinite wouldn't the mass density still be infinite? Isn't the fact
that the current observed (local) density is not infinite preclude
infinite mass. Infinite density at the time of the Bing Bang is still
possible with zero volume, but I would think not infinite mass??
R.W.Tarara
free Physics Instructional Software
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
----- Jeffrey Schnick <JSchnick@Anselm.Edu> wrote:
This is a side issue, but I think that in arriving at the size of theuniverse at the time of the big bang, based on the essentially infinite
density of the universe at that time, one assumes that the universe is
currently a sphere of diameter 14 billion light years with us at the
center. I think that the size that they are actually talking about is
the size of that portion of the universe which is visible to us and that
they should refer to it as such.
there is a finite amount of mass in the universe in which case infinite
I think that in arriving at the size of the universe one assumes that
density implies infinitesimal diameter. I don't think we have evidence
that the mass of the universe is finite. I don't think we can rule out
infinite density and infinite diameter at the time of the big bang.
class.
-----Original Message-----
From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of Anthony
Lapinski
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 9:38 AM
To: phys-l@phys-l.org
Subject: [Phys-L] Big Bang
I'll be teaching cosmology next month in my (high school) astronomy
universe duringThe book I use discusses inflation and that the volume of the
realize thethe Big Bang was less than the size of a proton! How can this be? I
to howuniverse had a "hot" and "dense" beginning, but isn't there a limit
entireclosely matter (made up of particles) can be packed together?
Particles take up space, so how could an object -- let alone the
universe -- have essentially "infinite" density (zero volume)?_______________________________________________
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