Theories of the Universe: Plasma Cosmology

Plasma Cosmology

We still have a lot of material to cover in this section, and I want to give you a brief overview of an interesting alternative to conventional cosmology. So I'm going summarize for you these two challenges to the big bang and include a third problem as well. The test of any scientific theory is based upon the relationship between its predictions and observations. Let's see how well the big bang has done:

• It predicts that there should be no object older than 20 billion years and larger than 150 million light years across. And as we've discussed, that's certainly not the case.
• It predicts that the universe, on the large scale that it exists, should be smooth and homogeneous. It's not—it's clumpy!
• The third problem has to do with the strongest evidence in support of it, cosmic microwave background radiation. In order for the universe to produce the galaxies we see around us, the fluctuations found in the background radiation indicates that there must be a hundred times more dark matter than visible matter. But there is no experimental or observable evidence that dark matter exists. It's a theory to make the big bang work. So if there is no dark matter, the theory predicts that we can't have galaxies, but we live in one—the Milky Way.

So while the big bang predicts the things in the preceding list, observations have shown them to be incorrect. However, this is the accepted theory for now, and many scientists assume that it's right. To abandon it would not be easy. Few theories in science are ever left behind when there is no alternative in sight. So what are we left with? Well, there is a new alternative on the horizon. It's called plasma cosmology. Here's a basic idea of what it's about.

The advocates of plasma cosmology believe that the evolution of the universe in the past must be explained in terms of the processes occurring in the universe today. In other words, events that occur in the depths of space can be explained in terms of phenomena studied in the laboratories on earth. This approach rules out the concepts of a universe that began out of nothing, somewhere in time, like the big bang. We can't recreate the initial conditions of the big bang in laboratories. The closest we can get is in the particles created in accelerators. Plasma cosmology supports the idea that because we see an evolving universe that is constantly changing, this universe has always existed and has always evolved, and will continue to exist and evolve for eternity.

Another aspect of this new theory is that, while the big bang sees the universe in terms of gravity alone, the plasma universe is formed and controlled by electricity and magnetism, not just gravitation. With the introduction of electromagnetism the “clumpiness” of the universe and the fluctuations in microwave background radiation can be easily accounted for. Even the expansion of the universe can be explained by the electromagnetic interaction of matter and antimatter.

And while electromagnetism forms the basis for plasma cosmology, it is also the basis for our technological society that surrounds us today. Plasma technology has stimulated research for better computer screens, how radio and radar transmission can be increased, and may be the answer to developing the long-sought-after genie in the bottle: fusion energy. So in the long run it holds the possibility of not only providing a better description of the origin and structure of the universe, but it can also lead to a whole new area of advanced technology. I'll be discussing some material on the Eastern traditions and their approach to cosmology. There are some interesting correlations between their understanding of the universe and the ideas behind plasma cosmology.