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Re:Optimistic Nihilism (2017) by stcredzero on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:15PM (#16751035)
In the grand scheme of things every one dies and the universes freezes from entropic heat death, so yeah...

{facepalm}

We don't know what Dark Matter and Dark Energy are. We have no idea what happens if/when the expansion of space itself starts pulling quarks apart.

https://www.quora.com/What-happens-when-you-pull-apart-a-pai...

You only think you know what's going to happen, based on the limited toy understanding of the vast universe which can fit into your present day little ape brain.

Re:Optimistic Nihilism (2017) by Avshalom on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:22PM (#16751069)
The entropic heat death of the universe comes more from the notion that R=1 is implied by the conservation of energy and so while the universe might stop expanding at t=∞ the average energy of any particle at that time will be 0.

if R>1 same thing but faster.

The other option is that we all die and then the universe collapses... which is just as final for anything hanging around as heat death would be.

Re:Optimistic Nihilism (2017) by stcredzero on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:36PM (#16751138)
The entropic heat death of the universe comes more from the notion that R=1 is implied by the conservation of energy

{facepalm}

Physicists already know that on the scales of the universe, there is no conservation of energy.

I hate to break it to you folks, but most of you are dead wrong about conservation laws. Conservation laws are a fundamental part of your education, but they are not a fundamental part of the universe. They are dependent on symmetry, as German mathematician Emmy Noether figured out. What this means is that energy is not conserved on universal scales, though it is still a very powerful analysis tool on smaller scales. We already have good reasons to believe that there is no time symmetry in deep time. The part relevant to the above specifically is at 10:15, but the whole video is worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUn2izowBkw

We know that the universe is expanding, and that this expansion is accelerating. So, do you know what happens when the expansion of space itself starts pulling quarks apart? Can you describe the physics? Do we even know that is going to happen?

Also: Physics Girl -- On universal scales, energy is not conserved! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHCc9b2phn0

Re:Optimistic Nihilism (2017) by Avshalom on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:43PM (#16751173)
>>Do we even know that is going to happen?

no one you can conceive of caring about will be alive and nothing you do now will have any noticeable effect on them.

But also yes we have worked out the math for a hyperbolic universe and it is still not effected by 21st century morality.

Re:Optimistic Nihilism (2017) by Zeta_Function on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @09:44PM (#16751175)
You’re not wrong, but you’re not a good teacher either. Rudeness and mockery don’t add anything, and in fact take away from your ability to inform people. You’re also only half right, insofar as nobody knows is a very accurate statement. You’re wrong however, that conservation laws definitely don’t apply. We just don’t know if they do, and there are reasons to believe (you reference Noether’s theorem) why they might not. The truth is, “Nobody knows” with a period and a full stop.

It’s also worth pointing out that universal expansion has an effect only on distance scales larger than galaxies. There is no reason to believe it will pull apart smaller structures, never mind subatomic ones. It’s a popular misconception that the expanding force is great on small distance scales. On the scale of a galaxy, that force is overcome by gravity, so needless to say the Strong force won’t even notice it.

Tl;DR Metric expansion is a powerful cumulative force on giant distance scales, weak on small (below galaxies) scales. Galaxies, stellar systems, stars, and Hadrons will be just fine, thanks.

If you’re going to scold people, you could at least be right. It is also a good idea not to rely on just YouTube videos for your arguments.