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The Trick-Question Thread


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I'll start out with a little controversial contribution, as it might not actually qualify as a trick question... :D

 

How big is the universe?

 

(And yes, there IS a truly correct answer to this question)

-Joachim Dyndale

--------------------

 

Einstein: The difference between genius and stupidity is: Genius has limits

 

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Simple.

 

It's amazingly, mind-bogglingly vast.

 

(In reality, it's a simple calculation. Just start at the center of the universe, at the beginning of time, and travel at the speed of light {186,282 miles/sec} until you reach now. (billions and billions of years /Sagan)The universe can't be larger than that, unless the speed of light isn't constant, a matter of some controversy of late.)

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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The universe CANNOT be finite. If you put a limit you create a new space beyond. So if the universe is limited, ...what's the name of what's is beyond it?

Sucking the brain's vacuum

Waiting for the Nuclear Fusion. More energy, less damage.

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The universe IS finite. What's beyond isn't in this universe. But, the theory currently states that the universe is expanding at the speed of light. So it's finite, but growing.

 

Besides, it really is mind-numbingly huge.

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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Originally posted by Ouizel:

The universe IS finite. What's beyond isn't in this universe. But, the theory currently states that the universe is expanding at the speed of light. So it's finite, but growing.

 

Besides, it really is mind-numbingly huge.

Wrong.

 

The sceintic and layman definition of the "universe" translates to "all matter, all things on earth & space, in all mediums, everywhere.

 

Anything beyond the universe would still be included in the universe, by that definition.

 

NYC Drew

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Ok, ya got me.

 

Space is finite. The universe agrees with your definition.

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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Originally posted by Ouizel:

In reality, it's a simple calculation. Just start at the center of the universe, at the beginning of time, and travel at the speed of light {186,282 miles/sec} until you reach now. (billions and billions of years /Sagan)The universe can't be larger than that, unless the speed of light isn't constant, a matter of some controversy of late.

You need to multiply this answer by 2. Center of the universe, Big Bang, but stuff is flying both directions, right? These discussions are much more fun over a beer. ;)

Botch

"Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will

www.puddlestone.net

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Oh, of course. X2.

 

Yes, much more fun over brewskis. :D

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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Actually, it's not expanding in both directions, but all directions...like an expanding sphere. And can it be really expanding at the speed of light? If so, would that not imply that we ourselves were moving at light speed away from the center of the universe? Has any slowing occurred?

 

Ugh...I smell a bunch of partial derivatives coming on...

"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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It's true that it would be expanding in all directions, but to find the diameter of a sphere, one would use a straight line that passes through the center.

 

And yes, there's just a little math involved...

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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So according to NASA and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, the Universe is 13.7 billion years old, and is expanding at a rate of 71 km/sec/Mpc = (Megaparsec- 1 million parsecs).

 

So the Universe is as big as the (age x the speed) at any given moment.

 

During the 1920's, Edwin Hubble working with observations from the Mount Wilson Observatory discovered that the Universe is expanding. He compared recession velocities of galaxies measured from their spectra to their apparent brightness estimated from photographic plates. The original paper detailing this conclusion from 1929 can be seen here. This expansion causes objects at greater and greater distances to be receding from us at higher and higher speeds, at a velocity given by an expression now known as Hubble's Law: V = H x R. Here V represents the galaxy's recessional velocity, R is its distance away from Earth, and the constant of proportionality, H, is called the Hubble Constant and has units of km/sec per megaparsec (km/s/Mpc). The value of the Hubble Constant is important for both observations of the objects in the Universe, as it allows us to convert their recession velocities into true distances, and for estimating the age of the Universe.

 

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

The answer is simple.

"The universe" is 11 letters and a space.

How about a challenging question?

Not so fast, you answered the question, How big is the written word, "the universe"? If it's a trick, it's more of a trick than that.

Sly :cool:
Whasineva ehaiz, ehissgot ta be Funky!
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Mother: He's been depressed. All of a sudden, he can't do anything.

Doc: Why are you depressed, Alvy?

Mother: Tell doctor Flicker. It's something he read.

Doc: Something you read, heah?

Alvy: The universe is expanding.

Doc: The universe is expanding?

Alvy: Well, the universe is everything, and if it's expanding, someday it will break apart and that would be the end of everything!

Mother: What is that your business? -- He stopped doing his homework.

Alvy: What's the point?

Mother: What has the universe got to do with it? You're here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn is not expanding!

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The correct answer is >>>>>>>> :confused: !!!

 

Could be infinite in all directions.

Or maybe not.

We're only human! We have lots of other stuff to figue out, before we get to the end of the universe answer(s).

 

The 13.7 million light years number is an estimate of our observed universe.

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Yes. CO2 sublimates directly into gaseous state from solid.

 

But, then, why do I see "CO2 Cryogenic Liquid" tankers on the highway?? :confused:

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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BTW, if you have a can or plastic bottle of soda that someone has shaken up on you, try squeezing the heck out of it. Point the cap in a safe direction though - some bottle caps have been known to fly off and cause serious injury. It will be less likely to "fizz up" and spill out of the can if you squeeze (increased pressure) it. :)
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Ok, I can deal with that, Phil.

 

Oh, BTW, Geezer, it's "42" :D

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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Originally posted by Ouizel:

Yes. CO2 sublimates directly into gaseous state from solid.

 

But, then, why do I see "CO2 Cryogenic Liquid" tankers on the highway?? :confused:

Depends on where you are in relation to the triple-point. Pressure matters, if you're at standard atmospheric pressure it does sublimate directly from solid to gas, but given enough pressure, you can obtain it in liquid form, even at room temperature. Everything you've wanted to know about CO2 is right here.

 

Incidently, if you filled a pool with dry ice you wouldn't get wet, but you would eventually drown; CO2 gas is heavier than air and would fill up the pool, succinctly suffocating you in your speedos.

Botch

"Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will

www.puddlestone.net

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