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Author Topic:   Has there been life for 1/4 of the age of the Universe?
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 1 of 114 (335730)
07-27-2006 12:31 PM


Universe started: 13.7 billion years ago
Solar system formed: 4.6 billion years ago
First life on earth: 3.5 billion years ago
Unless I'm mistaken about those figures, that means that the earth has existed for about 1/3 the age of the Universe, and life for about a quarter. Does anybody else find that a bit strange?
I've always assumed that the universe has been exanding for aeons, and millions of universes have been born and died on the way. But it actually looks like we're in at the beginning (relatively speaking, of course).
Edited by JavaMan, : No reason given.

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by JavaMan, posted 07-31-2006 3:53 AM JavaMan has not replied
 Message 4 by AdminModulous, posted 07-31-2006 4:06 AM JavaMan has not replied
 Message 8 by Modulous, posted 07-31-2006 8:44 AM JavaMan has replied
 Message 10 by U can call me Cookie, posted 07-31-2006 10:25 AM JavaMan has replied
 Message 26 by 42, posted 12-12-2006 2:21 AM JavaMan has not replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 2 of 114 (336822)
07-31-2006 3:53 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by JavaMan
07-27-2006 12:31 PM


Bump for admin
Hello. I know I'm not a very exciting post - not very controversial, no axe to grind, no personal insults - but I would appreciate some kind of a response, even if it's a rejection. (Although obviously I'd rather be loved )

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by JavaMan, posted 07-27-2006 12:31 PM JavaMan has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by AdminFaith, posted 07-31-2006 4:03 AM JavaMan has replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 5 of 114 (336839)
07-31-2006 7:50 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by AdminFaith
07-31-2006 4:03 AM


Re: Bump for admin
I think it's an Origin of Life topic. I left the opening post a bit loose because I want to know what other people feel about it. (And also because I was expecting a virtual ear-bashing from one of the expert astrophysicists or cosmologists for getting my figures wrong ).
If the figures are correct, I'm really staggered that I've never heard anyone mention it before. In discussions about the origin of life one gets the impression that the odds against life developing are astronomical, but the timeline I've outlined in the opening post suggests to me either that the universe is far older than suggested by Big Bang theory, or that life is far more likely to develop than we customarily assume.
Maybe I'm over-reacting because I've only just figured this timeline out, but it does seem worth a bit of discussion to me.

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by AdminFaith, posted 07-31-2006 4:03 AM AdminFaith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by AdminFaith, posted 07-31-2006 7:54 AM JavaMan has not replied
 Message 9 by Parasomnium, posted 07-31-2006 8:45 AM JavaMan has replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 11 of 114 (337141)
08-01-2006 4:26 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Parasomnium
07-31-2006 8:45 AM


Re: The odds of life are unknown
I've always assumed that the universe has been exanding for aeons, and millions of universes have been born and died on the way.
Shouldn't that be: "millions of galaxies have been born and died on the way"?
Ooops! Yes, I got carried away by hyperbole. I'm sure it might be possible for millions of universes to have been born and to have died in millions of bangs and crashes, but that wasn't what I was trying to say.
It's a bit tenuous to conclude anything about the likelihood of life from our only known example of it. Suppose there is a vase with red and blue marbles in it, in unknown quantities. You draw one marble. Upon finding that your marble is red, can you conclude anything about the likelihood of drawing a red marble?
No, of course not. And I didn't consider the fact that this star system is just one amongst millions (or is it billions?) that have developed since the beginning of the universe.
But ... it still intrigues me that there has been life for 1/4 of the lifetime of the universe. It's not really a scientific thing, and I'm sure if you do a statistical job on it it won't seem very surprising at all. But personally I don't view the world through a statistical prism - it's really the way this information changes the way I view the universe that interests me.

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by Parasomnium, posted 07-31-2006 8:45 AM Parasomnium has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 12 by RickJB, posted 08-01-2006 4:44 AM JavaMan has replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 13 of 114 (337155)
08-01-2006 7:16 AM
Reply to: Message 12 by RickJB
08-01-2006 4:44 AM


Re: The odds of life are unknown
But ... it still intrigues me that there has been life for 1/4 of the lifetime of the universe
At the least, perhaps. For all we know it might be a common consequence of the formation of heavy elements.
Yes, I think that is what's intriguing me. The notion that the formation of life might not be a very uncommon thing at all. All you need is some heavy elements joining together and starting to replicate, and hey presto, you've got life.

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 12 by RickJB, posted 08-01-2006 4:44 AM RickJB has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 15 by RickJB, posted 08-01-2006 7:23 AM JavaMan has not replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 14 of 114 (337156)
08-01-2006 7:20 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by U can call me Cookie
07-31-2006 10:25 AM


One universe or many?
Or was paras right, and are you just referring to galaxies within this universe?
Parasomnium was right. I wouldn't be surprised if there were multiple universes, but that wasn't what I was intending to say.

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by U can call me Cookie, posted 07-31-2006 10:25 AM U can call me Cookie has not replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 16 of 114 (337159)
08-01-2006 7:30 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by Modulous
07-31-2006 8:44 AM


Re: 10 billion years is a long time
Nobody knows what the odds are. The odds that life has existed for 25% of the age of the universe are very very close to one, but that's about all we can say. It may be inevitable that life forms under certain circumstance, or it may be 1% per ten years of certain circumstances. Who can honestly say?
I know. But I can speculate .

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by Modulous, posted 07-31-2006 8:44 AM Modulous has not replied

  
JavaMan
Member (Idle past 2319 days)
Posts: 475
From: York, England
Joined: 08-05-2005


Message 18 of 114 (337870)
08-04-2006 6:47 AM
Reply to: Message 17 by Parasomnium
08-03-2006 9:27 AM


Re: The odds of life are unknown
Indeed it is. "Animo" acids?
Sorry for the pedantry...
Are you sure it was a mistake? In the context of this topic that looks like a deliberate conflation of the words 'anima' and 'amino'. (You smart-ass, RickJB).

'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

This message is a reply to:
 Message 17 by Parasomnium, posted 08-03-2006 9:27 AM Parasomnium has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 19 by Parasomnium, posted 08-04-2006 6:56 AM JavaMan has not replied

  
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