Singularity: I do not comprehend?
This is a verse from a book I am reading and I am no comprehending what a singularity is:
"...there are collections of events in the universe where all physical quantities become infinite--all at once--all over a region of space. These are called singularities. One such singularity occurs in the very early universe. ...there are singularities in our future. There is at least one at the center of every black hole in the universe..."
What I am not understanding partly is how there is a singularity at the center of black holes. If a singularity is infinite in time and matter, how can there be a center of a black hole, since it would technicially be an infinite area?
And how could there be a singularity in the future? If a single singularities is a point at which time and mass are infinite, then wouldn't one singularity only be possible? You can't have more than one instances of infintie time or infinite mass?
Thanks!
Comments
Your book's definition of "singularity" is badly flawed. The author is confusing three notions of singularity:
1.) A *mathematical* singularity is where a particular mathematical object is undefined or ill-behaved. This can lead to computational failures and is often described in terms of "infinite values". This applies to all kinds of maths ranging from simple function singularities to complex manifold singularities.
2.) A *gravitational* singularity is a region where gravitational models break down, so velocity, density, energy, etc calculations fail. Black holes are one likely example of a gravitational singularity.
3.) The Big Bang singularity is a theoretical point, looking backwards in time, when the expansion of the universe was just staring and normal computations of the behavior of the universe fail.
So with these ideas in mind, I would like your author to be clearer about what s/he means by:
a.) "collections of events": A singularity is a local state in a particular place (like a black hole) *or* it is a posited general unknown state of the early universe. It's not a collection of anything.
b.) "all physical quantities become infinite--all at once--all over a region of space": This is preposterous. *Certain* physical quantities (like density, time, and momentum) become meaningless inside a gravitational singularity. Others (like mass or charge) behave perfectly normally, and yet others (like individual states of particles or net information) are lost from the point of something outside the singularity, but still arguable exist inside the singularity.
c.) "One such singularity occurs in the very early universe" - This is a reference to the strange state of the universe very early on, when ordinary measurements and calculations with relationship to particle energies, etc break down. This has only distant relationship to gravitational or other kinds of modern singularities. It certainly does not involve "infinite" physical quantities, just very strange ones.
d.) "there are singularities in our future": I don't know what the author means here, unless s/he is claiming there will be a "big crush" back to a singularity. This was a speculative idea before measurements of the density and acceleration of the universe squashed it.
e.) "There is at least one at the center of every black hole in the universe": There is *exactly* one at the center of a black hole, but since mass, size, and time do *not* become infinite near a singularity, there is no contradiction here.
I don't understand why so many people still haven't got into the habit of consulting Wikipedia...
In the old days, a few people would have an encyclopedia at home for questions such as these, but I understand that not everyone would have one (they're expensive); however, accessing Wikipedia costs nothing ... (so far!).
Anyway: the concept of singularity comes from mathematics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_singular...
If you remember drawing functions in math classes in school, you'll remember that some for functions the drawing goes to infinite. Examples of that happening are typically when the denominator gets smaller and smaller as you approach a given coordinate X, and because of that the function's value gets increasingly large. Over X, the function would have an infinitely large value. That coordinate X is called a singularity of that function.
An example of function with singularities is f(x) = 1/x; in that case, the function has only one singularity, at x=0. You can get a calculator and divide 1 by 0. Then try dividing by a value a little bit to the side, such as 1/0.01; then try dividing by 1/0.1; then try dividing by 1/1. It's only at x=0 that f(x) is "badly behaved", and as such that point is called "singularity".
This mathematical concept extends to physics. When you have a function such as the intensity of the gravitational field of a black hole, that intensity increases as you approach the "center" of the black hole, so mathematically it would be infinite right at the center of it; that's why it's called a singularity. Other quantities follow the same behavior when measured along the distance to the center.
There are other examples of singularities in physics. Usually physicists just "sweep it under the rug" by doing a cut-off and only working below a certain CHOSEN value, because MATHEMATICALLY you can't work with such infinities (only in very special cases). But often it's not possible to "massage" it to figure out what happens right next to the singularity, so it's impossible to say what happens there. But that's a problem with mathematics -- which basically translates as a problem, or barrier, with the physical theory. The theory just doesn't allow them to get past a certain point. But then again, that's what research is for -- to find new theories and to test them. http://www.notjustatheory.com/
The term "singularity" does not have a fixed meaning so you can look up the various ways in which the term is used, such as here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularity
But the most important thing to take into consideration when reading an assertion of this type is that it is theory or hypothesis, or just plain fantasy. A statement such as "we now know that The Universe is 14 billion years old", for example, is a false statement unless it is framed as theory or idea and not as fact or reality. The Big Bang Theory is a theory though often presented as fact, or nearly proven reality, so it is vital to read into these sorts of things that these are ideas, not facts. When something is presented as fact in this way it is a Cosmogony, not Cosmology, and closer to religion than science in that it becomes a belief system or taken on faith, not fact.
So, do not take such things seriously. That is an idea the author seems to accept as real for some reason. The fact is that such things are unknown. Also a fact is that many people believe in some things without evidence, proof, common sense, or real science to back it up.
This type of statement is good in that it can easily be recognized as false by the way it is presented as fact. It is quite smart to question such things.
The only thing infinite about a singularity is its DENSITY...not its mass.
A singularity has FINITE mass and infinitesimal (i.e. infinitely small) geometric size, hence infinite density.
That is all that a singularity is (in the context of astronomy).
Sometimes I say, Newton's apple is more clever than Newton.
Let's go!
Time has two properties.
Progress(related to evolution) and Event(related to Creation) by turns.
and Probability exist between two properties.
Mobius strip explains it very well. (one progress, one event, one probability)
Look at this!
Chicken (event) Egg (progress) & Egg (event) Chicken (progress)
Schrodinger's cat was placed between one properties, just event. So, probability can not exist.
The reason, Wave-particle duality of light. I think so...
Progress / Event / Probability is a time. This is my trinity.
------
Does time have the shape? Does soul have the shape?
Everything has the shape but these two in the world.
So, I made a great assumption "Time is soul(thinking, knowledge, memory, etc.)".
It was the beginning of my UNIONTERA.
We know...
To our great discouragement, these doesn't have one way by us.
Time walked to the way of science. Soul walked to the way of religion.
Now, I propose a great reconciliation.
Light up candle for a second. A second of light exist permanently or not?
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Einstein deceive our world. Where is our common sense?
I mean, why he didn't tell us this so easy common sense.
The only base which can be the cause of Einstein's assumption...
[Assumption] "principle of constancy of light velocity".
[The only base] "Time of light is different from the starting point time."
This base is not an assumption but a common sense. Can you see?
In my opinion, he already knew this base.
This common sense is a certain evidence for me.
This is my uniontera.
Existence is the time expressed by light itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN1jTwHUC7E
- Key Point -
1. Arrow A is the laser work. (Same time work)
2. Arrow B is the reason of gravity. (also, Higgs boson individually / Different time work)
3. The rose line is the beginning light. (result from Bible)
4. The existence of different time. (result from relativity of light)
5. 2 dimension is not a space. (result from 2-axis, math)
6. Universe came from nothing. (result from No.5 / cf. Playing with bubbles)
6-1. A barrier[posititon] exist between the inner and outer bubbles. But universe do not have that barrier. (Cause of Inertia / Reason of Sun / Position of Antimatter)
6-2. Nothing is not a no existence. No existence is a zero dimension. There is two zero dimension. One has a position. The other doesn't have a position. These different positions were connected by something. That "something" is not a what but a way. (Cause of Light)
7. Progress / Event / Probability is a time. (This is my trinity.)
8. Wave-particle duality of light, creation & evolution, uncertainty principle, etc. (result from No.7)
9. Coalescing of different time. (Cause of Rotation & Spin / Equator has plenty of time.)
10. Your so-called black hole is a wholly condensed time. (cf. Kerr spacetime)
11. The reason of "your so-called magnetic field". (result from step3 and 4)
12. The reason of "your so-called electric field". (result from the crack of time / Same time's crack is a different time's coalescing. / Cause of Static electricity)
13. Your so-called "space" is a crack of time. (result from No.12 / Cause of Lightning)
14. Boundary is a crack of space. (result from No.13 / Same space's crack is a different time's contact. / Cause of Superfluid, cf. Fractal)
15. Boundary is nothing. Your so-called hole is a boundary itself. Also, nothing is K=0 temperature. (result from No.14 / cf. Calabi-Yau, Hilbert space)
16. This is a wall of your so-called fire. (result from No.15) - copyright â uniontera
Our nonsense have come from one time. Uniontera is a key.
English is not my first language, sorry!
If it is difficult to understand, just remember & enjoy "Hand touching everything is a time". This is the only one result of uniontera.