Reply #16: Relavant article at space.com today [View All]

[YankeyMCC]

Why Are We Here? Theoreticians Debate the Fundamentals

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The emergence of humans in the universe might not tell us anything concerning the fundamental constants of nature as scientists have speculated, new theoretical findings argue.

The idea known as the anthropic principle states that human existence is possible only if fundamental constants such as the speed of light or the strength of gravity are not higher or lower than what is observed.

Scientists who support anthropic reasoning suggest they can understand fundamental properties of the universe by determining what conditions intelligent beings such as humans need to exist. For instance, if gravity was too strong, black holes would form too often and suck up all matter before humans could evolve on Earth, but if gravity was too weak, it could not attract matter to form stars or planets.

Dark forces

According to advocates of anthropic reasoning, in 1987 Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg used the logic to calculate the cosmological constant—the strength of the mysterious force driving the universe apart—with surprising accuracy, well before astronomical observations turned up similar findings. What astronomers have since observed is that the universe's expansion is accelerating, driven by a sort of mysterious force dubbed either dark energy or vacuum energy.
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http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/061204_mm_anthropic_debate.html