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Where does it all come from? Where are we going? Are we alone in the universe? What is good and what is evil? The scientific narrative of cosmic evolution demands that we tackle such big questions with a cosmological perspective. I tackle…

General Physics · Physics 2014-06-24 Clement Vidal

Numerous observations and studies suggest that the universe has some sort of overall rotation. We consider this matter and provide a new angle.

General Physics · Physics 2015-03-17 Burra G. Sidharth

Why is the universe comprehensible? How is it that we can come to know its regularities well-enough to exploit them for our own gain? In this essay I argue that the nature of our comprehension lies in the mutually agreed upon methodology we…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2020-11-16 Ian T. Durham

Cosmological discoveries over the past century have completely changed our picture of our place in the universe. New observations have a realistic chance of probing nature on heretofore unimaginable scales, and as a result are changing the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-18 Lawrence M. Krauss

Actual infinity in its various forms is discussed, searched and not found.

General Mathematics · Mathematics 2008-06-28 W. Mueckenheim

We investigate the physics of black holes in the light of the quantum theoretical framework proposed in [1]. It is argued that black holes are completely non-local objects, and that the only one which really exists is the universe itself.

General Physics · Physics 2010-07-01 Andrea Gregori

What is physics? What are the limits of what physics can say about the world? In seeking ever-broader theoretical `umbrellas' for physical phenomena, we are seeking unifying principles. Emergent phenomena have turned out to be some of the…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2010-02-06 Ian T. Durham

One of the most interesting questions that astronomy can hope to answer is: are we alone in our Milky Way galaxy? A detection of an electromagnetic (EM) signal generated by an extraterrestrial technological intelligence, or the presence in…

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics · Physics 2026-05-01 B. Zuckerman

We follow some (wild) speculations on trying to understand the uniqueness of our physical world, from the field concept to F-Theory.

Popular Physics · Physics 2009-11-11 Luis J. Boya

How was the world created? People have asked this ever since they could ask anything, and answers have come from all sides: from religion, tradition, philosophy, mysticism... and science. While this does not seem like a problem amenable to…

Popular Physics · Physics 2012-02-13 Ram Brustein , Judy Kupferman

Current evidence suggests that the cosmological constant is not zero, or that we live in an open universe. We examine the implications for the future under these assumptions, and find that they are striking. If the Universe is cosmological…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 Lawrence M. Krauss , Glenn D. Starkman

What can we know about the universe? I outline a few of the fundamental limitations that are posed to our understanding of the cosmos, such as the existence of horizons, the fact that we occupy a specific place in space and time, the…

Popular Physics · Physics 2010-01-25 Amedeo Balbi

If our universe has appeared in a result of Big Bang or something like this, whether we have reasons to deny an existence of other universes appearing by the same or similar way? An objection that there is no anything like it, is doubtful,…

General Physics · Physics 2012-11-07 Andrei Novikov-Borodin

It is advisable to avoid and, even better, demystify such grandiose terms as "infinity" or "singularity" in the description of the cosmos. Its proliferation does not positively contribute to the understanding of key concepts that are…

General Physics · Physics 2023-09-11 Emilio Elizalde

A movement is underway to test the uniqueness of Earth. Sponsored primarily by NASA, it is enlisting talented researchers from many disciplines. It is conceiving new telescopes to discover and characterize other worlds like Earth around…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2009-03-31 Robert A. Brown

What do we do when cosmology raises questions it cannot answer? These include the existence of a multiverse and the universality of the laws of physics. We cannot settle any of these issues by experiment, and this is where philosophers…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2014-04-15 Joseph Silk

Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of experiments, we have made remarkably little progress towards answering the most fundamental question of: why is there a universe at…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2012-08-24 Stuart Heinrich

Whether we are alone in the universe is one of the greatest mysteries facing humankind. Given the >100 billion stars in our galaxy, many have argued that it is statistically unlikely that life, including intelligent life, has not emerged…

Popular Physics · Physics 2017-01-31 Joao Pedro de Magalhaes

Many believe that the deep question of "why is there something rather than nothing?" is unanswerable. The universe just is and no further explanation for its existence is possible. In this paper I explain why this question must have an…

General Physics · Physics 2012-05-15 Peter Lynds

Our understanding of ordinary matter is remarkably accurate and complete, but it is based on principles that are very strange and unfamiliar. As I'll explain, we've come to understand matter to be a Music of the Void, in a remarkably…

Popular Physics · Physics 2010-11-05 Frank Wilczek