Subj : The universe            4
To   : JIM MUNDEN
From : TODD HENSON
Date : Thu Jan 04 2001 12:09 am

> -> Therefore, the universe did not have a cause.  It had a beginning
> -> which occurred some 15-20 billion years ago; and that beginning
> -> was the Big Bang.
> ->
> -> But it had no cause.  It began, simpliciter.
> 
> This is certainly not an original thought, but what if the "Big
> Bang" and the current expansion are but phases in an ongoing oscillation
> of energy converting to matter, and vice versa?  That is, an immense
> ball of pure energy explodes and condenses ultimately into cold, heavy
> matter.  Gravity eventually draws the matter back into a singularity,
> gradually converting it into energy through friction and tidal forces
> until it is once again the immense ball of pure energy, which explodes
> and starts the cycle anew.  Whew!
> 
> I imagine the infinite void has always existed. The unanswerable
> question, though, is "What was the origin, matter or energy, and what
> initiated the explosion?". In the end, it seems we're stuck going
> 'round and 'round with the chicken-or-the-egg paradox, and all of our
> various theologies and philosophies over the ages are merely attempts to
> answer the paradox.


Actually, the Oscillating Universe theory is one where the universe goes
through successive 
oscillation, as you've indicated. But, each oscillation is of finite length
- it has a end, and a 
beginning, and so on. You can't reach an infinite value by adding up lots
of finite sequences. No 
matter how many oscillations the universe goes through, it is still a
finite one and ends where 
the next begins. You can keep adding links to a chain, but no amount of
addition using finite 
elements can eventually add up to an infinite quantity.

So, if the universe does indeed experience successive oscillations, then
that series itself must 
have a point of origin ultimately.
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