The best of both worlds?

There has always been conflict between the Judeo-Christian view of an ultimate beginning or creation of life and the Hindu-Buddhist belief that the universe had no beginning and will have no end. Now, quantum cosmology proposes a compromise to these beliefs. In the beginning there was nothing. But even ´nothing´ was unstable and started to decay into billions of tiny, boiling bubbles, each of which became a universe.

Constantly Debated

The cosmological constant is a hypothetical repulsive pressure that was used by Einstein to keep the universe from being pulled together by gravity. It is now being used in a new theory to allow for an accelerating universe.

Edgar Allan Poe?

Strangely enough, the person who first debated the nineteenth century view of a static, or unchanging universe, was not Einstein or Edwin Hubble, but Edgar Allan Poe. His poem, Eureka, deals with the idea of a universe which continually expands and contracts upon itself.

The Father of Cosmology

When people talk of the Hubble Telescope, and astronomy students try to describe the Hubble Constant, they are really giving tribute to the man who discovered that the universe is expanding, Edwin Hubble. Who would have known that this man, who delved in everything from astronomy to law to coaching to serving in the army, would someday be touted as the Founder of Modern Cosmology?

Bubbles of Nothing

A theory called quantam cosmology is becoming increasingly popular with scientists. In this theory, the universe began as Nothing. There was no Space or Time. But Nothing was unstable and began to decay, forming billions of tiny bubbles, which then became universes. So we are surrounded by millions of parallel universes.