A ridiculous theory of dark energy

2^nd International Conference on Astrophysics and Particle Physics

November 13-15, 2017 San Antonio, USA

Nick Astraeus

Boulder, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Astrophys Aerospace Technol

Abstract :

This paper shows how the expansion of the universe was never adequately explained on a philosophical level. The main problem is something that nonscientists often immediately recognize when they ask, â�?�?What is the universe expanding into?â�? Expansion is not a meaningful concept without a reference frame relative to which the expansion occurs. In short, the fact that the universe is expanding compels us toward a concept of that which is not the universe. Although few scientists today would describe them as such, the concepts of infinity and a fourth spatial dimension serve as de facto reference frames for the universe in the structure of our theories. They play the role of that which is not the universe, while at the same time they are interpreted as theoretical features of the universe. I put this issue in historical context by drawing analogies with Newtonâ�?�?s concept of absolute space. Much like absolute space, there is no evidence that infinity or a fourth spatial dimension actually exist as features of the universe, but they serve an important function in the structure of our theories. I argue that our failure to explain how the universe expands is not primarily a failure of general relativity, or a failure to detect an abundant source of missing energy. Instead, it is a basic failure in our theoretical picture of the universe- a failure to successfully account for the reference frame relative to which the universe expands.