On Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 5:38:13 AM UTC-7, John Clark wrote: > > On Sat, Jan 25, 2020 at 9:10 PM Lawrence Crowell <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > > > There seems to be some sort of issue with the idea of continuum or >> space having an infinite number of points. I see this as a modern day >> version of asking how many angels can dance on a pin. > > > I can see what you mean in a de Sitter universe that had no matter in it, > then the continuum vs non-continuum argument and even the infinite universe > vs finite universe argument would be pretty meaningless, just philosophers > running around in circles chasing their own tails. I would even question if > a universe that had no matter in it could even meaningfully be said to > exist because the best definition of "nothing" I've ever heard is "infinite > unbounded homogeneity", and that sure sounds a lot like a de Sitter > universe to me. > > But if it's not de Sitter and real particles exist not just virtual > particles, and if space or time is a continuum then even if we ignore > Quantum Mechanics you'd need an infinite number of digits to describe the > distance between 2 particles and to state their momentum. And no amount of > approximation would be good enough to make long term predictions about > their position and momentum because even the smallest error could cause > huge differences in outcome; and that would be even more true if the > universe were accelerating. > > Anyway, would you agree that there is no effective way to tell the > difference between a "finite" universe that is expanding and accelerating > forever and a "infinite" universe that is expanding and accelerating > forever? >
*There is, but obviously you're not interested. AG* > If there isn't then it is indeed a modern day version of asking how many > angels can dance on a pin. > John K Clark > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/21f4b68c-6289-4381-a810-cac2aa8a4cb0%40googlegroups.com.
