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Here’s a taste of what we’re serving today:
Something out of Nothing 🤯
PLUS: Most Evil Disney Villain, The Deadliest Infectious Disease of All Time, and The Ghost Roads of Ireland 🇮🇪
PHYSICS
Something out of Nothing 🤯
Something out of nothing?!! Sounds like magic 😦 (Credit: Argos, Giphy)
In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, in one singular moment, there was everything; and ever since, that everything has been expanding. Since the Big Bang, galaxies have been moving away from each other, not because they're travelling through space, but because space itself is stretching. Edwin Hubble's observations with his powerful telescope support this idea and form the backbone of modern cosmology.
Edwin Hubble, 1931 (Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica)
If the universe is expanding, then it must be expanding into something, right? The short answer is… no. Or at least not in the way we would usually understand "space". The universe doesn't need a container in which to expand. Space-time itself is growing, and everything within it (e.g., galaxies, stars, light) is getting carried along for the journey. Think of the universe like the surface of a balloon: as the balloon inflates, individual points on the balloon are moving apart, but there's no need for the surface to be expanding into anything. There is a limit to what we can observe; beyond that limit, light hasn't had time to reach us.
💡 Things to consider
No outside?: Often, we think of space as a container, something with edges, something that holds other things. But as space itself is stretching, and there is no "outside" into which it's growing, it challenges that initial view. This pushes science to rethink space, not as an empty stage, but as a dynamic, physical entity. Could our conventional, three-dimensional view of the universe be just a slice of something far more complex? What could be the implications of a four-dimensional universe?
If we can't observe something, can we claim to know anything about it?
Seeing is believing: The observable universe is bounded by how far light has travelled since the Big Bang. Beyond that point, we cannot see (at least not yet). It raises the philosophical question: if we can't observe something, can we claim to know anything about it? Are there ways, be it through theoretical modelling or through indirect evidence, to learn about what lies beyond what we can physically observe? Or are we forever trapped within the cosmic limits our light imposes on us?
Expanding, expanding, expanding…
Balloons eventually pop, so…: This expansion suggests that everything was once concentrated in an incredibly hot, dense state: what we know as the Big Bang. Looking out from that expansion raises questions about the fate of the universe. Just as our balloon will eventually deflate, what lies in waiting for us? Will expansion eventually slow and possibly start reversing? Will expansion just continue forever, leading to a "heat death"? Studying expansion isn't just academic; it's about understanding where we came from and where we are going.
🔎 Find out more
🍒 The cherry on top
👿 Most Evil Disney Villain: Who is the most evil Disney villain? Prince Hans? Evil Queen? This data-driven article quantifies the crimes of 50 iconic Disney baddies to answer the question mathematically. A must-read if you’re interested in Statistics or Film Studies.
🦠 The Deadliest Infectious Disease of All Time: Tuberculosis might feel like a disease from a Dickens novel, but this ancient killer is still claiming around 1.5 million lives every year, despite the fact that we've had a cure for decades. This deep-dive video unravels the history of how medical progress stalled, why the treatment hasn't reached everyone who needs it, and how understanding TB's past could actually point us toward a better future. A fascinating watch if you're interested in Medicine, Biology, or History.
🇮🇪 The Ghost Roads of Ireland: During the 1840s, starving Irish families were forced to build pointless roads through solid rock and freezing fields just to earn a few turnips, leaving behind eerie stone pathways that lead nowhere and are now slowly being swallowed by grass. Find out more if you’re interested in History, Geography, or Archaeology!
👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…
Wednesday 1st July
Thursday 2nd July
Friday 3rd July
Monday 6th July
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That’s it for this week! We’d like to thank this week’s writer: James Johnston.
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