in only 14 billion years if matter cannot reach the speed of light?
2006-12-17 10:19:20 · 5 answers · asked by oddgoo 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
this is, taking the big bang as true
2006-12-17 10:21:22 · update #1
While nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light, this does not restrict the size of the universe itself. At the start of the universe, something called inflation, possibly due to anti-matter, caused the universe's rate of expansion to increase tremendously. Today, the universe is at least 78 billion light-years big according to a paper published in 2003.
2006-12-17 10:30:44 · answer #1 · answered by Arash 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
14 billion years (or longer) is a pretty long time. Light travels at 186,272 miles per second. That's a long distance for a short time. Matter may be slower, but it reaches cosmological distances if it has been traveling for a long time also.
2006-12-17 10:36:42 · answer #2 · answered by steve_geo1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you mean? The farthest away they can see with the Hubble Telescope is about 10-12 billion light years away (within the existence of the cosmos).
Everything (almost) is moving away from everything else. It would only take half of the time for two objects moving away from each other (in opposite directions) to be twice the distance away.
2006-12-17 10:31:08 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Initially the essences of space expanded at the speed of light.
It may be in a phase of slowing down[the Hubble constant not withstanding] now.
As matter coalesces it falls behind in expansion rate.
The time line for these events is very nebulous.
2006-12-18 03:38:05 · answer #4 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The rate of expansion of space is not limited by Einsteinian relativity, because it's not true motion. The furthest reaches of space are expanding much faster than the speed of light.
2006-12-17 10:36:51 · answer #5 · answered by poorcocoboiboi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋