Somewhere Over The Rainbow

[StarBase 118 Staff]

For years, scientists have touted the big bang theory as the most likely candidate for the creation of the universe and this is where time began – somewhere around 13.8 billion years ago. The Universe’s origins haven’t been a recent debate, either. Aristotle even suggested that rather than have a finite past, the universe had an infinite one. This caused quite a stir among religious philosophers of the day. Yet, recently, some scientists may have offered some support to Aristotle’s own philosophy.

The ‘Big Bang Theory’ was ultimately a twentieth century creation when a scientist by the name of Georges Lemaître theorized that the universe began with the explosion of the primeval atom. It was later called by its current name when Fred Hoyle, advocate of a completely different theory, referred to it as “this ‘big bang’ idea” during a radio broadcast on 28 March 1949. The name stuck, and as time went on Lemaître’s theory became the most accepted.

Recently, however, some scientists have formed another theory, this one known as the ‘Theory of Rainbow Gravity’. Why even bother with this theory? Because the Big Bang theory actually doesn’t mesh so well with Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Somewhere, there’s a plot in the hole.

In waltzes the Rainbow Gravity Theory in an effort to reconcile these difference. It’s so named because according to the theory, “gravity becomes a cosmological prism that can separate different colors of light.” If correct, this means that light actually travels through the galaxy and the colours spread apart – though supposedly we are unable to see that. If the theory is correct, then that means Aristotle was correct when he suggested the Universe has been around since…well…since forever.

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