Monday, November 27, 2006

Looking Backward at the Universe

The newest astronomy telescopes are up to 30 metres in diameter.
they are limitted only in their size by a physical law which determines that there is a ratio between the diameter , and the magnification ( brightness) and the resolution ( clarity )
whichever they can now look directly back in time towards the big bang;
One of the paradoxes this throws up is the daterministic aspoect to the past.
Thke the light which is currently coming from the star Deneb in Cygnus
This light is said for allegorical reasons to have set out from the star when the emperor Nero was a boy. Could we then see with a suffeciently powerful telescope , and if Nero were on Denab , would we see him playing the fiddle ; we should if all this holds up.
Now consider the oppisite ; if we could turn the telescope in the oppisite direction could we see things which has not yet happened .
I cant get my head around this one -
Help

1 comment:

Andrew Lawlor said...

Try 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' by Brian Greene (Available on Amazon). From chapter one it takes your brain anddoes the equivelent of a food blender. Fascinating stuff. You will never look at the world with the same eyes again. You will seldom travel faster than 100km/h without thinking about this book.