- #1
Micheth
- 79
- 2
I believe this is the proper forum for this question...
More properly perhaps it should be posted under the forum "Crazy ideas that are a waste of time" :-)
So, basically when I first learned of the mysterious phenomenon of dark energy, this sort of occurred to me as being an "obvious" explanation. To me :-)
And of course I wanted to know why it's not true.
But, at least in the popular literature, I've never heard any reference even remotely resembling it, even simply in order to dismiss it as ridiculous, so evidently it's nuttier than even I imagine, or more likely based on my fundamental misunderstanding.
If someone has the time perhaps they could quickly point out why it's not even worth considering.
Ok, enough intro.
Quantum physics has of course confirmed that energy exists in discrete packets. Emitted as such and absorbed as such. All matter, all of our detectors, our eyes, etc. - any way that matter can interact with energy - requires the energy to be at least a quantum level, else it cannot knock an electron to a higher orbital, for example, and affect it. And matter can only emit energy in quanta.
But it seems that, simply because we find energy traveling in packets (which just happens to be the only energy we can possibly detect), would not exclude the possibility that there could conceivably be a great deal of energy waves distributed throughout the universe that are *not* present as discrete units. (Most of it, in fact?)
Amounts smaller than the minimum quantum value, I mean.
Certainly if such energy abounded it would not be absorbed and thus not detectable in any way?
In other words, not some different "kind" of exotic energy but simply, perhaps more boringly, just "orphan" energy oscillating around in the universe in arbitrary levels less than the minimum "required" in quantum physics.
(That is, not detectable except, I suppose, for its bouncing off matter and thus producing radiation pressure similar to photons, which would allow for the universe expansion acceleration, which as I understand is the only evidence we have for dark energy in the first place...)
Maybe some physicist long ago considered this for half a second and enjoyed a nice laugh :-)
But then again, maybe not...? :-)
Cheers,
More properly perhaps it should be posted under the forum "Crazy ideas that are a waste of time" :-)
So, basically when I first learned of the mysterious phenomenon of dark energy, this sort of occurred to me as being an "obvious" explanation. To me :-)
And of course I wanted to know why it's not true.
But, at least in the popular literature, I've never heard any reference even remotely resembling it, even simply in order to dismiss it as ridiculous, so evidently it's nuttier than even I imagine, or more likely based on my fundamental misunderstanding.
If someone has the time perhaps they could quickly point out why it's not even worth considering.
Ok, enough intro.
Quantum physics has of course confirmed that energy exists in discrete packets. Emitted as such and absorbed as such. All matter, all of our detectors, our eyes, etc. - any way that matter can interact with energy - requires the energy to be at least a quantum level, else it cannot knock an electron to a higher orbital, for example, and affect it. And matter can only emit energy in quanta.
But it seems that, simply because we find energy traveling in packets (which just happens to be the only energy we can possibly detect), would not exclude the possibility that there could conceivably be a great deal of energy waves distributed throughout the universe that are *not* present as discrete units. (Most of it, in fact?)
Amounts smaller than the minimum quantum value, I mean.
Certainly if such energy abounded it would not be absorbed and thus not detectable in any way?
In other words, not some different "kind" of exotic energy but simply, perhaps more boringly, just "orphan" energy oscillating around in the universe in arbitrary levels less than the minimum "required" in quantum physics.
(That is, not detectable except, I suppose, for its bouncing off matter and thus producing radiation pressure similar to photons, which would allow for the universe expansion acceleration, which as I understand is the only evidence we have for dark energy in the first place...)
Maybe some physicist long ago considered this for half a second and enjoyed a nice laugh :-)
But then again, maybe not...? :-)
Cheers,