Podcast Summary
Building Telescopes to Explore the Origins of the Universe: By using telescopes to study the oldest fossils of the earliest epoch in the universe, we can better understand the history and structure of the universe. Telescopes act as time machines, allowing us to see the past and explore far away parts of the universe.
Experimental cosmologist Dr. Brian Keating builds telescopes that peer back in time to study the origins of the cosmos. He focuses on the oldest fossils of the earliest epoch in the universe and uses microwaves to investigate the universe's structure. Building precise and accurate telescopes allows researchers to explore the most interesting parts of the universe, including the South Pole Antarctica and the high mountain desert of the Andes Mountains in Chile. Telescopes are time machines, enabling researchers to see the past of the universe, as light takes time to travel. The farther away something is, the longer the light traveled to reach telescopes.
The Power of Telescopes and the Importance of Studying Radiation: Telescopes can help us see into the past by observing objects that are far away, and studying the properties of radiation can teach us about the universe and its impact on our daily lives.
Telescopes, including the ones we have in our eyes, allow us to see objects as they were in the past. This is because light takes time to travel through space, and the farther away an object is, the longer it takes for its light to reach us. The James Webb Telescope, launched on Christmas Day in 2021, is designed to observe the earliest galaxies and stars in the universe, using infrared light that has been red shifted due to the universe's expansion. By studying the electromagnetic spectrum, scientists can learn about the properties of light, such as its intensity, color, and polarization. It is important to note that not all types of radiation are harmful, and that many forms of radiation, such as visible light, are essential to life on Earth.
The Infinite Colors of Light Beyond ROY G BIV: Beyond the rainbow colors we learned in school, light can have an infinite range of colors determined by their wavelengths. There are also longer and shorter wavelengths of light that we can't see, including infrared and ultraviolet. The Doppler shift causes a shift in wavelengths as objects move towards or away from us. Galaxies, including the Andromeda galaxy, are among the farthest objects we can see with the naked eye, and the light we see from them has been traveling for millions of years.
The famous ROY G BIV acronym we learned in elementary school to describe the rainbow is actually just a simplification of the infinite number of colors that exist on the electromagnetic spectrum. The colors of light are determined by their wavelengths, which can have any number of decimal places and therefore a continuous range of colors. Beyond the visible colors of red and violet, there are longer and shorter wavelengths of light that we can't see, including infrared and ultraviolet. The Doppler shift, which occurs in both sound and light, causes a shift in wavelengths as an object moves towards or away from us. Galaxies, including the Andromeda galaxy, are among the farthest objects we can see with the naked eye and the light we see from them has been traveling for millions of years.
The Expansion of the Universe: Every galaxy is moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe. This means that the universe will become increasingly dilute over time. The analogy used by astronomers to explain this process is not perfect but helps to understand it.
The observation that every galaxy exhibits a redshift implies that every galaxy is moving away from one another, with the Milky Way galaxy being no more important than any other. This observation, when extrapolated to the future, means that the universe is going to become more and more dilute. The farther away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away. This can be explained by the fact that the universe is expanding. The night sky is primarily black instead of lit up because the universe is not infinitely old, infinitely big, and static. Finally, astronomers use an analogy to understand the expansion of the universe, which is not perfect since it deals with not just the three dimensions of space but also the fourth dimension of space-time.
Understanding the Expansion of the Universe with Analogies: Hubble's Law explains that galaxies beyond a certain distance are moving away from us at a velocity directly proportional to Hubble's constant. This understanding helps us comprehend the universe's characteristics. Elysium Health provides cutting-edge solutions to support health, including a biological age test called Index.
In order to understand the expansion of the universe, scientists often use analogies such as baking a raisin bread or drawing dots on a balloon that expand as the balloon inflates. These analogies show the exact same properties as the expansion of the universe, known as Hubble's law, which states that the velocity of every galaxy we see beyond a certain distance will be moving away directly proportional to what's known as Hubble's constant. This law is vital in helping us understand the characteristics of our universe and why it looks the way it does. Elysium Health, a science-based company, offers various cutting-edge solutions to support your health, including a new biological age test called Index.
The Discovery of Dark Energy after Einstein's Biggest Blunder: Einstein's proposed anti-gravity energy was insufficient to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe, leading to the discovery of dark energy - a substance responsible for accelerating the expansion.
In 1919, Einstein proposed a cosmological term or energy source to explain why the universe appeared static and not collapsing. Later, Hubble observed that the universe was actually expanding, making Einstein admit that he was wrong about the cosmological term being his biggest blunder. But then, the problem turned out to be even worse as the expansion was accelerating, and Einstein's anti-gravity energy was not enough to explain it. This led to the discovery of dark energy, a substance that causes not only a reversal of the collapse of the universe but also accelerates the expansion of the universe.
Achieving Precision Cosmology and Studying Dark Energy: Cosmologists have calculated the universe's age precisely and can now study dark energy's effects. However, a problem remains with the Hubble stance value, needing continued research to understand the early and late universes' connection.
Cosmologists have achieved precision cosmology, with a calibrate estimate of the universe's age at 13.824 billion years old, with less than 1% error margin. This has allowed them to study phenomena like dark energy and how it will affect the future development of the universe, potentially leading to a physical rip apart billions of years from now. However, there is a current problem with the Hubble stance value, evidenced by a disagreement in measurements using the cosmic microwave background radiation and type 1A supernova. This tension highlights the need for continued research to bridge our understanding of the early and late universes.
The ancient light that reveals the birth of the universe: The cosmic microwave background radiation tells us about the very beginning of the universe, but studying gravitational radiation can help us learn even more about what happened before that.
The cosmic microwave background radiation is the oldest light in the universe and enables us to peer back to as close to the beginning of time as we can manage. It is the leftover heat from the fusion of the very first elements of the periodic table of the elements, which occurred in the first few minutes of the universe. However, we can't use light to find out what happened before the photons of the cosmic microwave background were born. Thus, the study of gravitational radiation is another form of radiation that arises whenever there is matter in motion and whenever space-time reverberates, which could help us trace early universe phenomena.
The Impact of Gravitational Waves on Our Understanding of the Universe: When black holes collide in space, they cause gravitational waves that can be detected by observing the polarization of the microwave background. This helps scientists understand the origins and evolution of the universe.
When two black holes crashed into each other in a galaxy far away from the Milky Way, it caused a wave of gravity to travel through space-time at the speed of light. This wave, known as gravitational radiation, penetrates through all matter and affects everything, making us weigh slightly heavier or lighter. The detection of this minute displacement of telescopes by gravitational waves can prove or disprove different theories about the origin and evolution of the universe, including the popular theory of inflation. By observing the polarization of the microwave background, scientists can deduce the existence and behavior of gravitational waves and use them to understand the universe's history.
Dr. Brian Keating's Journey to Understand the Universe's Origin: Dr. Keating's obsession with studying the early reverberations of the universe led him to propose the experiment, bicep, and his work exemplifies the value of scientific speculation and the drive to constantly seek answers.
Dr. Brian Keating's life has been dedicated to understanding the origin of the universe. He became obsessed with studying the early reverberations of the universe's space-time structure to see if inflation or an alternative ignited the hot big bang we observe today. His obsession led him to propose an experiment, bicep, which claimed to detect the imprimatur of inflation by observing twisting, roiling patterns of polarization. This experiment became the subject of his book, Losing the Nobel Prize, and is an example of how science gets done. While we may never know how the universe came into existence, speculating about it is super fun and precisely what drives scientists like Dr. Keating.
Looking Back in Time: The Formation of Our Universe: Telescopes allow us to see the early stages of the universe, which revealed that all the hydrogen in our bodies and oceans was formed within the first three minutes after the Big Bang. Studying the fossil record helps us understand our universe's formation.
Dr. Brian Keating explains how by using telescopes, we can look back in time to the formation of our universe. The first three minutes after the Big Bang are particularly significant because it was during this time that all the hydrogen in the universe was formed. All the hydrogen in our bodies and all the hydrogen in the oceans on Earth were all created during this early period. Our universe evolved from a state of super-hot and super-dense matter before the elemental state we see today. By studying the fossil record of hydrogen and helium created during this time, we can understand the formation of our universe.
The Origin of Elements in the Universe: The first stars were created from hydrogen and helium, which fused to form heavier elements. This process eventually led to the formation of all the elements in the universe, including those found on Earth.
The first generation of stars were formed by the ingredients of the Big Bang, hydrogen and helium. These stars were nuclear fusion reactors that created helium by fusing hydrogen nuclei and isotopes together. Helium was first discovered on the sun, not on Earth. After the creation of helium, heavier and heavier elements were formed through fusion reactions, creating the rest of the approximately 100 elements on the periodic table. Before this process, the universe was a plasma of protons and electrons that clumped together because of gravitational attraction until they formed stars. The rest of the elements came into being through atomic transformations that were produced by the stars' gravitational force.
Jordan Peterson on AI and Conceptualizing Emotions: While AI may be able to model emotions such as anxiety and happiness, it may not possess qualitative emotional experience like humans do. The conversation also delves into the complexity of human emotion and understanding its potential development by AI.
Jordan Peterson discusses the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) conceptualizing emotions, specifically anxiety and happiness. He explains that anxiety can be characterized as the neurophysiological response to unexpected emergence of entropy, while happiness is the decrease of entropic distance between the individual and their goal. While AI may be able to model these concepts, it may not be able to feel emotions qualitatively like humans do. Additionally, the discussion leads to a deeper understanding of Einstein's conceptual general relativity, which is focused on the curvature of space-time. Overall, the conversation highlights the complexities of human emotion and the potential for AI to develop understanding of it.
The Origins and Characteristics of Our Universe: The universe formed from the coalescence of matter and mass. Its interesting phenomena come from deviations from symmetry and variations of perturbations. Inflation produced gravity waves and necessitated the multiverse, and though we live in a quantum universe, our macroscopic nature hides it from us.
The mass of the Earth and the galaxy that surrounds us came to be from the coalescence and glomeration of matter and mass. Perfection of spacetime uniformity would result in a rather boring universe. The interesting phenomena of our universe come from the deviations from symmetry and variations of perturbations. The universe was small and smooth in the beginning, manifesting tiny little perturbations. Inflation, the initial inflationary expansion of the universe, produced the waves of gravity and necessitated the multiverse. We live in a quantum universe, but our macroscopic nature hides it from us. Our brain's attention is focused on things that are our size.
The Relationship Between Quantum Fields and the Infinite Potentiality of the Universe.: The potentiality of the universe is infinite and is related to quantum fields and the multiverse. Consciousness is faced with a limitless horizon of possibility, where even low probability events can occur.
In physics, the universe is often analogized as being filled with quantum fields, from which particles are manifested. There is a hypothesis of an infinite potentiality that permeates religious speculation and which is related to an expansive potential associated with quantum fields and the multiverse. This potentiality is intrinsic not only to the existence of our universe but also to its mirror universe, the anti-universe. In condensed matter theory, there is a sea of potentiality filled with infinite possibilities that propagate through the absence of something. Consciousness confronts this horizon of possibility that is structured in a normal distribution of probability. The most probable next event is not entirely predictable, and low probability events are still possible.
Embracing Catastrophe and Personal Growth: Lessons from Physics, Psychology and Christianity: Confronting challenging situations, embracing the potential for catastrophe, and deliberately taking on difficult tasks can lead to personal growth and improvement in life. This aligns with Christian teachings and insights from physics and psychology.
Physicists have a concept called "sum over histories" or "path integral description" which suggests that particles can take multiple paths to travel from point A to point B, each with varying probabilities. The more unlikely a path, the more anxiety it can create. However, embracing the potential for catastrophe can lead to growth and improvement in life, according to Dr. Brian Keating and Jordan Peterson. In their conversation, they suggest that leaning into situations that could devastate us and voluntarily taking on challenges can ultimately lead to personal growth and a better life. This aligns with Christian teachings that encourage taking on catastrophes as a way to overcome them.
Embracing Challenges and Confronting Problems for a Meaningful Life: Face your problems head-on for personal growth and success, instead of avoiding them. This applies to both psychological and metaphysical issues, and scientists are well-equipped to embrace challenges in their work.
Confronting your biggest challenges and problems is the key to finding the great adventure of your life. Destiny presents you with opportunities and problems that beset you, and identifying your own particular dragon to solve can be a liberating experience. This idea extends to both psychological and metaphysical issues, and the evidence is clear that confronting them head-on is the best way to find meaning and purpose in life. Scientists are particularly well-equipped for this, as they are constantly faced with mysteries and challenges in their work. Rather than avoiding problems and mystery, embracing them can lead to growth and success.
The Importance of Prioritizing Truth and Ethics in Scientific Research: Scientists should prioritize the pursuit of truth and ethical conduct to maintain the credibility and productivity of the scientific community. This requires ethical training as a fundamental part of scientific education.
Scientists have a responsibility to prioritize truth over career advancement and personal gain. Researchers who manipulate data or publish false findings may deceive not only themselves but also others, leading down a false and ultimately problematic path. Ethical training should be a fundamental part of scientific education, empowering researchers to approach their work with integrity and to maintain the pursuit of knowledge and understanding as the ultimate goal of their efforts. Ultimately, a commitment to truth and ethical conduct can contribute to a more fruitful and productive scientific community.
The Discovery of Gravitational Waves and the Multiverse: Confirmation bias and replication crises can impact scientific findings, but the correct interpretation of evidence can lead to important discoveries like curling polarization and the inflationary origin of the universe. The multiverse theory suggests infinite repetitions of inflation, and our universe is made up of simple substances like dust.
Dr. Brian Keating discusses the discovery of gravitational waves and evidence of the multiverse, which were at risk of being undone by confirmation bias and the replication crisis in science. The discovery of dust in the universe was initially seen as a threat to the scientific findings, but it ultimately led to the realization of curling polarization and the inflationary origin of the universe. The story hinges on the correct interpretation of inflation and the existence of the multiverse. The multiverse and inflationary theory suggest that inflation occurs an infinite number of times and is impossible to shut off, and that our galaxy is full of humble substances like dust.
The Earth's Formation and Mistaking the Multiverse: The Earth is made up of dust from a supernova that also produced the iron in our bodies. Dr. Keating and his team found the first physical evidence of the multiverse, which was initially mistaken for cosmic dust. The discovery supports the existence of a multiverse.
Dr. Brian Keating explains that the earth is made up of dust from a supernova that also produced the iron in our bodies. He and his colleagues detected the first physical evidence of the multiverse, but they initially mistook it for cosmic dust due to the magnetic properties of meteorites and the dusty cloud surrounding our galaxy. The detection was a perfect mimic of the curl mode polarization signal they were looking for. Dr. Keating emphasizes the competitive nature of science and the desire for credit and attention, but ultimately, their discovery supports the existence of a multiverse.
The Search for Ultimate Truths with Dr. Brian Keating and Jordan Peterson: Pursuing your interests can lead to greater understanding of reality, as seen in Dr. Brian Keating and Jordan Peterson's pursuit of detecting cosmic microwave background radiation and the story of Moses and the burning bush.
Dr. Brian Keating and Jordan Peterson discuss the mistaken interpretation of a previous experiment to detect cosmic microwave background radiation. They have since developed new experiments that can detect and control for dust, a contaminant that can skew results. They discuss the importance of pursuing the truth and following what attracts your interest, as this can lead to understanding the ultimate truths of being. The story of Moses and the burning bush illustrates the idea that assiduously pursuing what attracts your attention can lead to the voice of being itself speaking to you, providing a greater understanding of reality.
The Importance of Being Open and Receptive to the World: Pay attention to details and investigate with curiosity and respect to gain insight into fundamental realities of existence. This lesson applies to everyone seeking understanding of themselves and the world. Explore more on Daily Wire Plus.
In this section, Jordan Peterson and Dr. Brian Keating discuss the importance of being open and receptive to the world around us. They emphasize the value of paying attention to even the smallest details and investigating them with curiosity and respect. By doing so, we can gain a glimpse into the fundamental realities of existence itself and find harmony with the cosmos. This lesson is not just relevant to scientists, but to all students and individuals seeking a better understanding of themselves and the world. The conversation concludes with an invitation to continue exploring these ideas on Daily Wire Plus.
