A Universe from Nothing

Why there is Something rather than Nothing.

I have seen Lawrence Krauss in action at Het Denkgelag in Gent, Belgium about the limits of science as proposed as the subject of that night's debate. I even let him sign off the latest book he has written called A Universe from Nothing from the copy I bought, and I managed to have a good shot with him.

Het Denkgelag

The debate was focusing on philosophy, how it relates to science and how science can benefit from it. Before this was happening, I wasn't really sure how the two could work together, but at the end it became clear that we need both in present times to face the current problems and mysteries.

Daniel Dennett and Massimo Pigliucci were also present, and they were able to let Krauss reconsider his opinion about their specialism, which is philosophy. But the topic of today is about Krauss's latest book, which is about nothing.

"Nothing" in this case refers most of all to the "empty" space that is all found around the universe, between stars, planets, galaxies, nebula's, clusters and possibly extraterrestials. Krauss is explaining to the mainstream how empty space currently works with it's hidden agenda.

Also known as dark energy, Krauss explains that nothing is actually space where things are happening. It is one of the biggest fundamental mysteries that has had a role in both the Big Bang and the expanding and acceleration of the universe.

The cosmic background radiation lets science track down how energy and matter came closely to being next to the Big Bang, but then there is this unknown phenomenon called dark energy that seems to be everywhere and is much larger than matter or energy.

Not to be confused with dark matter, this is the main topic Krauss is addressing in his latest book. He explains his current thoughts, theories, reasons and facts towards it and formulates it all into a considerable convenient way, while occasionally making fun of creationists or the American Congress.

References to Einstein, Hubble, Newton, Heisenberg, Bohr and more gifted reputations from other scientists complete A Universe from Nothing with an abundance of large interest for these large topics.

Especially his chapter about how the future might look like completely baffled me as to imagining that once our neighbor galaxies get fused with ours billions of years in the future, our future species might not see anything else out there but massive amounts of emptiness(dark energy).

And all that is observable today might not even be relevant or worse, completely disappear in the future, because of how the universe is expanding and accelerating. And then there is the topic that so much is happening on a microscopic level, including quantum mechanics.

It is all thought provoking. And with that food for thought in mind, I would like to wish you all a strong, willing and inspiring 2014!

Rating: ***