to think Prof Cox was being a bit heavy last night on his new series?

[GabbyLoggon]

I know a woman who worships the guy. But even B.B rhought he was depressing last night.

He was putting the popular version among scientists about the end of the universe.

But does anyone really know what will happen billions of years hence...

Next week Mr Cox will be more upbeat.

( Later I thought Patrick M was in good form And the impressionist was bril)

Spiderobsession -

1. It's not expanding into anything. It's like if you mark two points on the surface of a balloon - when you blow it up they are further apart in terms of the 2 dimensions of the surface.

2/3. There are different theories on this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekpyrotic

1. The energy will still be there but so spread out as to be almost nothing. But it won't matter as with no DIFFERENCE in temperature/energy nothing can happen anyway.
2. A googol only gets you to all the blackholes evaporating.

My favourite theory is 'The whole universe is a holographic projection from the edge of the universe'.

There's a wonderful book called Cave Baby. It starts:

Cave Baby's lucky
He lives inside a Cave
With Mum who's good at painting
And Dad who's very brave

He gets in trouble for stealing Cave Mum's paints and graffiting her paintings. But a wooley mammoth is so impressed he takes Cave Baby back to the mammoth family's cave to decorate.

Thanks CinnabarRed for your explanations. Surely the universe needs to expands into something? Like a balloon expanding, it needs room on the outside for the inside to expand into?

I have never heard of the Big Crunch either and I'm starting to think I need to stick with the Big Crunchie!

xposts Coalition. I like your theory

But spider there won't be any future generations for teh richness of life to cease to exist to. So, nothing matters. Actually, I wasn't really paying attention last night.

There was a fab programme on about a year ago which speculated about when all traces of human existence would cease to exist if man just became instantaneously extinct. (very badly phrased there) I'm sure it was 10,000 years. That was quite moving.

What a great thread!

I find the idea of another Big Bang very uplifting, which must mean that despite my protestations, the ending of everything must have saddened me a little bit.

None of this is consistent/inconsistent with an idea of God, of course, though I think I am an atheist. I think I might start thinking of myself as a Possibilian :)

www.possibilian.com/

This is neuroscientist and writer David Eagleman's position: "Our ignorance of the cosmos is too vast to commit to atheism, and yet we know too much to commit to a particular religion. A third position, agnosticism, is often an uninteresting stance in which a person simply questions whether his traditional religious story (say, a man with a beard on a cloud) is true or not true. But with Possibilianism I'm hoping to define a new position -- one that emphasizes the exploration of new, unconsidered possibilities. Possibilianism is comfortable holding multiple ideas in mind; it is not interested in committing to any particular story."

The bit I find hard to get my head round is that before the Big Bang there was nothing. Nada. Zip. Then somehow it exploded into SOMETHING. A pretty massive something with gases and everything that eventually led to planets and life on Earth and everything. How the hell does that happen? (Am reading Bryson's book but still can't get my head round it.)

Edam I'm with you there, how can nothing become something? I mean something (or someone?!) must have caused the Big Bang and therefore there can't have been nothing!

[goes cross-eyed]

WHy on earth is it depressing to think that the universe will end sometime? We're not saying it's going to happen tomorrow, you know!

I thought it was pretentious tosh, actually - look at me with my lovely hair in this beautiful part of the world showing you plebs a turtle.

Too much waffle, practically no content.

here Sums up my feelings perfectly.

Thanks SO for asking those questions and CR and TCNY for answering them. It is really interesting. I particularly like TCNY's answer 4.

As for Brian Cox, I would have liked more detail about fewer topics. Possibly that was because DS kept asking me to help with French when I was trying to watch the sandcastle bit. For all I know Cox might have been explaining how the moon was made of cream cheese.

Yeah!!!!!!!

What a fantastic, intelligent thread. I love him and will watch it on iplayer tonight.

I love him >> swoon

LOL at that link seeker!

Still loved it.

This is also very funny DailyMash Cox, although perhaps beware those of a sensitive disposition. It's not that bad, but sometimes people seem to be a lot more sensitive than me!

Includes the line "The amount of f*y I'm getting is mental, and I say that as someone who is used to thinking of things on a quantum scale..."

What if the our big bang was after a previous universe's big collapse..,would that work? I also dint get how something so huge came of nothing.

Oh and I love the Prof-anyone who popularises science gets a thumbs up from me :) it id beautifully made (but has he had Botox or is he really Peter pan?!)

LMAO at that Penny. Particularly.....
The punani express has pulled into the station and all you need to do is jump aboard."

I thought he was channeling Liam Gallagher

Hilarious!

WTF is it with all popular science programmes nowadays needing hundreds of shots of male presenters standing, legs apart, on the edge of spectacular cliffs, looking moody, while helicopter soars overhead to get the shot.
Wonders of the Universe- tick
A History of Ancient Britain- tick
all the others- tick

Monumental cliche but I love it.

"I thought it was pretentious tosh, actually - look at me with my lovely hair in this beautiful part of the world showing you plebs a turtle"

I've just nearly wet myself laughing, trying to read that out to DH.

Tatty I totally agree with the Nigella comparison. I was saying that last night to DH. Don't get me wrong, I think he's gorgeous, but the camera shots drive me insane.

was he really in d'ream? I've just looked at loads of clips on you tube and that keyboard player could have been anyone. He's having us on -that and the moon landings.

so nobody can prove he was a real Rock God then?