there is a common experiment explaining or modeling the expansion of the universe. that is, by inflating a balloon (as the universe) and marking dots on the balloon (as galaxies). the more the balloon (universe) expands, the futher away the dot (galaxies) move away from each other. thus, kinda explaining the fact that the further away galaxies and stars are away from the eart, the faster it is moving outward away from us.
there are variations of this experiment, but very similar. does anyone know of any other different experiments that provide evidences of the expanding universe?
the balloon experiment is done. but i want to try out different experiments. anyone have ideas or if you already know of another proven experiments? sources would be nice as i could follow it precisely. thanks :)
2007-03-20 15:08:55 · 4 answers · asked by fred t 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Try the Doppler effect/shift - it was actually discovered by listening to the sound of a passing train, but Doppler effect can be used for both sound and light waves.
Check on the formula for calculating distance between galaxies by measuring the red shifts.
If you want to remain with experiments similar to the balloon experiment, you may also try dough with raisins. It's so similar to balloon experiment except that this one is 3D =)
2007-03-20 16:16:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are no experiments that definitively proves expansion. What we have is observation that the universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate.
So far quantum theorists can only speculate whether we have a closed universe, or many pocket universes. A big hope is the the particle collider at Cern will bring us closer to a definite answer. Personally, I do not believe that these questions will be solved in the near future. However . . . stranger things have happened.
2007-03-20 22:26:44 · answer #2 · answered by Scarp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
astronomy is not an experimental science becuase we cannot bring a star or a galaxy inside a lab and poke at it.
astronomy is an observational science, supported with mathematics and tested with computer simulations which are then cross checked with more observations.
anyway, as far as the universe expanding, the proof is that the farther away a galaxy is from the milky way, the greater is spectra is redshifted. this is the case no matter which direction we look in. a redshift means the object is moving away, but if farther objects are more redshifted that means that they are moving away faster. becuase light takes longer to get to us from far away objects that means they have been travelling longer amounts of time when we see them than close objects. since they are older and redder this means they are accelerating away, and becuase all objects are excelerating away from each other, this must be expansion. this was noticed first by edwin hubble, the guy who the hubble telescope is named after.
2007-03-20 22:21:14 · answer #3 · answered by paradiddle_360 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My belly after 49 years of feeding it.
2007-03-20 22:18:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋