The brainy chaps at Lancaster University have managed to create something a lot like a universe the size of a marble. According to the article:
By placing helium in a state which most closely resembles the form it held at the beginning of the universe, scientists have created an opportunity for the gas to go through several low-energy evolutions. These defects in space-time, are represented by tiny whirlpools in the helium, which are created by the rapid expansion, and equally rapid slowing of the expansion; something that it’s believed our own universe did at the big bang and in the moments thereafter.
Is it just me, or is this somewhat remniscient of Terry Pratchett’s book “The Science of Discworld“? The reason that these miniscule universes are great for research is that you generally don’t want to go messing with the kinds of forces that helped create the universe in the first place. As noted in the article:
Black holes and supernovas aren’t pleasant lab partners.
I’ll say. Wonder how long it’ll take for the bruhaha to start up in the same way it did about the Large Hadron Particle Collider at Cern…
[Link: Environmental News Blog]
This also sounds like “Men in black” if you remember the end scene where there are loads of universes in the form of marbles being played with.
I find this stuff very fasinated but get scared of what some butt will accidenly do, oh you know, distroy the universe or something like that!
That is incredible. It does sound rather like that Discworld book and the end bit of Men in Black. I suppose all we can do is hope that someone doesn’t end up doing something so dangerous like create a black hole that ends up getting out of control.