Scientists: questions-need answers?

Question

1. Is it true that matter can not exist without time or space because there is no time or space for it to exist?

2. is it true that based on the law of entropy an eternal universe would have been destroyed by now? so the universe is finite?

3. i am hearing a lot about the string theory. do you see it as possible?

4 Is it true that the moon is moving away from the earth?

(please make your answers simple)

Answer 1

1.  That sounds about right.  At least the space part.  But we don't know that there wasn't any space around before our universe formed - we just know our universe wasn't there.

2.  No, obviously not since we're still here.  Eventually the universe will probably die a 'heat death' due to entropy, but that's a long time from now.  The universe is 'only' 13.7 billion years old.

3.  I think it would be a very elegant solution, so I hope it's true because otherwise we have to start over again trying to get a 'theory of everything'.  The LHC and LISA can test it, so we just have to wait.

4.  Yes.  Extremely slowly and not at a linear rate over time.

Answer 2

1.  According to solutions to Einsteins equations, it would appear that in a universe without any mass (matter), there is no time flow.  The solutions do not say "why".

2.  You mean finite in time (i.e., the universe must have had a "recent" beginning otherwise it would be totally cold by now).  I believe that Fred Hoyle's Steady State theory did take care of that.  It used an eternal universe where new matter (and space) was create at just the right rate to explain the observed expansion and to maintain the mass density constant.  The probability of new matter creation was greatest away from existing matter concentrations, thereby providing "fresh" gravitational potential energy along with the new matter.  In this way, it is possible to refresh entropy (wow, I'm not even sure I understand what I just wrote).  

In other word(s), no.

An eternal universe could still have enough potential energy to continue "living".

3.  As possible? yes.  As a theory? Not yet falsifiable (we cannot verify it yet -- a theory must be able to be verified).  But soon...

4.  Yes.  4 cm per year.  The Moon raises a tidal bulge on Earth.  That bulge should be directly "underneath" the Moon (and on opposite side of Earth) but it is displaced to one side because of Earth's rotation.  Being to one side, it adds a tiny bit of "sideways" gravitational pull to the Moon, adding to its orbital energy.  In response, the Moon moves to a higher energy orbit (i.e., it moves sway).

In return, the same amount of energy is lost by having Earth's rotation slow down (you can picture is as the bulge rubbing against the ocean bottom and acting as a brake).  Our day lengthens by 1 second every 40,000 years.

Answer 3

1. it cannot exsist without space, however it may be possible to exsist without time

2.yes, the universe is finite, there are two theories: that gravity will pull everything back togather into a tiny ball of heat (like the big bang) or that everything will expand untill all matter is too far apart for anything to exsist. the fate of the universe depends on the mass of the universe.

3. yes, it seems possible. many years ago it was though that techtonic plates did not move (we now know that they do) before that people thought it was impossible for the sun to be the center of the solar system. who knows, string theory may yet be proven correct (although technically you cant prove anything but im speaking in laymans terms)

4.yes, the moon is slowly moving away from earth

Answer 4

1. You're asking it backwards - time and space do not exist independently of matter. Before the Big Bang, there was no time or space.

2. The Universe began at the Big Bang, so it's not infinite (neither in time or space).

3. Yes.

4. Yes, about 1/2 inch a year, give or take.

Answer 5

1. other way around. space and time can't exist without matter

2. As a finite universe may be considered an isolated system, it may be subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, so that its total entropy is constantly increasing. It has been speculated that the universe is fated to a heat death in which all the energy ends up as a homogeneous distribution of thermal energy, so that no more work can be extracted from any source.

3. yes

4. no