Comments on: Astronomy questions from sixth graders, Part 5 (phew!)

By: Seed's Daily Zeitgeist: 5/27/2008 - General Science

Seed's Daily Zeitgeist: 5/27/2008 - General Science — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:42:48 +0000

[...] Astronomy questions from sixth graders, Part 5 (phew!) Phil talks about the Big Bang and goes off on the joys of science. [...]

By: Science For the Kids!! « THE SKEPTIC DAD

Science For the Kids!! « THE SKEPTIC DAD — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:08:00 +0000

[...] Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 [...]

By: Irishman

Irishman — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:08:05 +0000

DaveS said: > I’m simply asking how they came to the conclusion that time began at the BB, and didn’t exist before that, when an alternative model might be that time existed before that, and at some particular spot in time, the BB happened. Bjoern is correct, it has to do with General Relativity. Specifically, the nature of time and its relationship to space. GR says that time is in essence the same kind of "thing" as space, i.e., a dimension. There are three dimensions of space and one of time, interlocked and inseparable.* The Big Bang was the starting point for the expansion of spacetime (the set from above), therefore, there was no time without spacetime. This is admittedly incredibly difficult to grasp, because our nature is tuned to see things temporally. We define the question with temporal concepts. "What came before the Big Bang?" is a time question. To say there was no before the Big Bang creates a mental paradox.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:56:48 +0000

I really like how eager you are, Phil. It’s infectious.

By: Toren Atkinson

Toren Atkinson — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:18:44 +0000

I’d like to see some videos for grown-ups (I don’t want to say adult because I don’t want to see you with your clothes off), especially explaining the moon hoax issue.

By: LaCreption

LaCreption — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:00:30 +0000

Great. One can’t inspire the younger generation enough. I happened to be way into my twenties before discovering science is about reconsideration and arguing instead of learning cold facts. Attitude means a lot.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:17:51 +0000

question @the Bad Astronomer:
Did you ever think about setting up your camera somehow different, or using a neutral background? Apart from that making the job easier for the compression algorithms, I find myself strangely distracted by the bookshelf, and also wondering why you’re so far out there on the left side