Quotes About Universe

Special relativity says nothing can travel through space faster than the speed of light. But space itself can do whatever the heck it wants, at least in general relativity. And as space expands, it can carry distant objects, which are at rest in the space where they are sitting

the universe could have expanded during this inflationary period by a factor of more than 1028. While this is an incredible amount, it amazingly could have happened in a fraction of a second in the very early universe.

The tapestry that science weaves in describing the evolution of our universe is richer and far more fascinating than any revelatory images or imaginative stories that humans have concocted. Nature comes up with surprises that far exceed those that the human imagination can generate.

Everyone (with the exception of certain school boards in the United States) now knows that the universe is not static but is expanding and that the expansion began in an incredibly hot, dense Big Bang approximately 13.72 billion years ago.

In a flat universe, and only in a flat universe, the total average Newtonian gravitational energy of each object moving with the expansion is precisely zero! This is what makes a flat universe so special. In such a universe the positive energy of motion is exactly canceled by the negative energy of gravitational attraction.

Even if the asymmetry were 1 part in a billion there would be enough matter left over to account for everything we see in the universe today. In fact, an asymmetry of 1 part in a billion or so is precisely what was called for, because today there are roughly 1 billion photons in the cosmic microwave background for every proton in the universe. The CMBR photons are the remnants, in this picture, of the early matter-antimatter annihilations near the beginning of time.

The source of the infinity is easy to describe.

the shocking revelation that empty space indeed has energy—and enough energy in fact to dominate the expansion of the universe.

When it comes to understanding how our universe evolves, religion and theology have been at best irrelevant.

The universe is the way it is, whether we like it or not. The existence or nonexistence of a creator is independent of our desires. A world without God or purpose may seem harsh or pointless, but that alone doesn't require God to actually exist.

Nevertheless, the declaration of a First Cause still leaves open the question, "Who created the creator?" After all, what is the difference between arguing in favor of an eternally existing creator versus an eternally existing universe without one?

one's universe would appear very different from the vast bulk of space around it, which would still be inflating. In this picture, inflation is eternal. Some regions, indeed most of space, will go on inflating forever.

A universe without purpose should neither depress us nor suggest that our lives are purposeless. Through an awe-inspiring cosmic history we find ourselves on this remote planet in a remote corner of the universe, endowed with intelligence and self-awareness.

the remaining 70 percent of the total energy in the universe resided not in any form of matter, but rather in empty space itself.

Maybe all of the mysteries of particle theory can be solved by invoking the same mantra: if the universe were any other way, we could not live in it.

Is it foolish to believe in God when we can't solve all the mysteries that exist in our universe? Not at all! In fact, the more we learn about our universe and the more mysteries we uncover, the more we realize that it is foolish not to believe in God.

Despite many things we can't explain, a study of our world convinces us that the universe, our planet, and life itself, really could not "just happen." In the beginning, there was God!

The manifold ways in which they [the victims of 9/11] attached to life testified to the Quranic injunction that the taking of a single life destroys a universe. Al-Qaeda had aimed its attacks at America, but it struck all of humanity.

The first time you fall in love, it's like you've created the first love in the universe, and the first time someone you love dies, you grieve the universe's first death. What does it help to be told that what you feel is nothing new?

You know who Nicolaus Copernicus is?" "Was," Walker said. "Some old astronomer. Polish, I think. Proved the earth goes around the sun." Reacher nodded. "And much more than that, by implication. He asked us all to consider how likely is it that we're at the absolute center of things? What are the odds? That what we're seeing is somehow exceptional? The very best or the very worst? It's an important philosophical point.

I wish he'd rushed out." "Always a sound policy." "I bet you never did." "More times than I can count. Which is why I'm still here, having dinner with you. The chaotic universe. Darwinism in action.

One possibility is: God is nothing but the power of the universe to organize itself.

Space and time emerge from the laws rather than providing an arena in which things happen.

The propaganda of the Copernican Principle has been that the long march of science has shown how common and ordinary our situation is. But the trend is in the opposite direction. The more you pile on the threats we're discovering in most places in the universe, and you contrast that with the many ways we're in a cocoon of safety, the more our situation appears special.