- #1
HeavyMetal
- 95
- 0
I have used the search feature and tried very hard to find a thread where someone has asked this question and received an answer that is at the [low] level of understanding that I have.
I'm sorry if this question seems ignorant -- which it may be, because I am not a physics student -- but I am very tripped up by the above statement. It seems me like it makes a contradiction! If acceleration is a function of dark energy density (let's call this a(x)), and the acceleration of the universe has changed over time, then how can dark energy density be constant? That is, if the acceleration function a(x) is changing as a function of density, and acceleration is in fact changing, is it not necessary that density is changing as well? Am I missing something?
Again, my apologies if this question has been asked before, and that my searching skills are just poor![Wink :wink: :wink:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
The acceleration is simply a function of dark energy density. Dark energy is persistent: its density remains constant (experimentally, within a factor of 1:10), i.e. it does not get diluted when space expands.
I'm sorry if this question seems ignorant -- which it may be, because I am not a physics student -- but I am very tripped up by the above statement. It seems me like it makes a contradiction! If acceleration is a function of dark energy density (let's call this a(x)), and the acceleration of the universe has changed over time, then how can dark energy density be constant? That is, if the acceleration function a(x) is changing as a function of density, and acceleration is in fact changing, is it not necessary that density is changing as well? Am I missing something?
Again, my apologies if this question has been asked before, and that my searching skills are just poor