Nexus - 0905 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE be surprised that it has been possible to Formerly, astronomers working at the A Double Universe Model measure the speed of the probes with such Bureau des Longitudes (the French centre Why am I telling you this story? incredible precision at such enormous dis- of calculation and publisher of an Because, for a quarter of a century, I have tances, and that this has been done and ephemeris) computed the position of — been working on a model of the universe, recorded year after year with the same _ heavenly bodies by hand. Today, thisis which was initially proposed by Andrei accuracy. done by NASA with the help of powerful Sakharov, in which the cosmos is double. I The probes have left the solar system on computers. have written a book on this, entitled On a the momentum they have gathered using As a result, we know that the total mass Perdu la Moitié de l'Univers (We've Lost the "slingshot effect", as they received present in the solar system could not Half of the Universe). some energy cruising off Jupiter. The Sun, exceed one millionth of that of the Sun, What would a double universe look like? however, is still exerting its attraction over because otherwise this would give rise to Specialists in general relativity will tell you them, making them slow down very gradu- predictions which would disagree with — they like considering the universe as a ally. The energy they had received when _ observations, hence with the ephemeris. "hyperplane" which could possess a curva- they reached the limits of the solar system Eclipses, star occultations, etc. would miss ture, variable from place to place. Simply was nonetheless sufficient to allow them to their appointed occurrence. Therefore, the imagine that this hyperplane has a right leave us forever, the slowing down due to dark matter, this deus ex machina of mod- _ side and a reverse side. When you look at the Sun's attraction being very slight. ern times, cannot be called upon to explain one side of a surface, you can immediately But astronomers became aware that, _ the deceleration. visualise the adjacent location on the other strangely, the probes were slowing down By no means discouraged, our theoreti- side. Therefore you can imagine how two too much. The probes showed an abnormal _ cians then considered one ultimate move: groups of objects, located on opposite loss of speed of 2.5 centimetres (one sides, could interact without coming inch) per second per year, the accuracy into contact with or even in sight of tolerance of this measurement being each other. +4%. If the space probes were abnor- Imagine such a plane and, on one mally slowing down, this had to be due The universe has a side, magnets which can be moved to a force acting upon them which had about. These interact with each other, ~ + " H " : tts so far not been reckoned with. reverse side 5 but they can also interact with invisi- Research was led in all directions. . . Po ble magnets placed on the opposite Could it have been some effect of one a kind of invisible side of the plane. The "twin matter" is or other of the planets in the solar sys- thus represented by the magnets on the tem? Immediately rejected. Some double. reverse side of the universe. We can- braking effect linked with the interplan- not see it. No particle of matter can etary environment? Nor could this be collide with a particle of "twin mat- accepted. ter", simply because the particles from Astrophysicists then wondered one side do not communicate with whether our solar system might include _ to tamper with Newton's law of gravitation those of the other side, be it through elec- some ingredient which escaped observa- _ and add to it one corrective term. tromagnetic force, strong interaction or tion—a "hidden mass", which today is Classically, two bodies attract each other weak interaction. What then have we left? called "dark matter". This mysterious mat- with a force varying as the product of their Gravitation. ter could not be strewn in any haphazard masses and inversely as the square of the I have worked for more than 20 years on way; it had to take into account one reliable distance between them. Empirically, the — this. The more concerned reader will find observation: the probes' deceleration had idea was to add one term, small enough to _ plenty of information of various levels on remained practically constant since they justify the fact that it had hitherto not been my website, http://www.jp-petit.com. had passed the orbit of Pluto, at a distance detected by observation, but sufficient to | Many pages illustrate this matter with con- of 40 AU, i.e., 40 times the Sun—Earth dis- allow for an explanation of the effects on siderable effort in popularisation. tance. the space probes. In June 2001, at an international astro- Whatever the theoretical argument, this Unfortunately, some spoilsport immedi- physics congress in Marseille, entitled data implied that the amount of dark mat- ately suggested recomputing the orbits of | "Where is the Matter?", I presented this ter—if such were indeed the cause of the — our familiar planets, Mars, Venus or simply research. The full text of my paper can deceleration—contained in the solar system the Earth, with this "revised" Newton's law. also be found on my website at should exceed one ten-thousandth part of | But remember: the position of the planets http://www.jp-petit.com/science/col- the mass of the Sun. This seems very little. is known precisely to within less than 70 — loque2001/Colloque_2001_1.htm. But our planetary system functions like a feet—and that is where everything went It is hardly possible, here, to go into the Swiss watch. wrong. details of this model. Any concept of the For instance, do you realise that we One commentator, in an article ina 1998 universe we might develop must be know the position of a planet, such as the issue of Physical Review, wrote: expressed through a model which will Earth, at any instant to within about 66 "Newton's law ceased to be universal; it allow processes to be deciphered. Up to feet? This is thanks to data gathered from acted differently according to whether it now, our only concept and therefore model all the satellites which have been launched was applied to a small space probe, an __ of the universe has been that of a "mono- over many years. asteroid or a planet." universe". As long as we remain within Formerly, astronomers working at the Bureau des Longitudes (the French centre of calculation and publisher of an ephemeris) computed the position of heavenly bodies by hand. Today, this is done by NASA with the help of powerful computers. As a result, we know that the total mass present in the solar system could not exceed one millionth of that of the Sun, because otherwise this would give rise to predictions which would disagree with observations, hence with the ephemeris. Eclipses, star occultations, etc. would miss their appointed occurrence. Therefore, the dark matter, this deus ex machina of mod- ern times, cannot be called upon to explain the deceleration. By no means discouraged, our theoreti- cians then considered one ultimate move: "reverse side", a kind of invisible double. tance. Whatever the theoretical argument, this data implied that the amount of dark mat- ter—if such were indeed the cause of the deceleration—contained in the solar system should exceed one ten-thousandth part of the mass of the Sun. This seems very little. But our planetary system functions like a Swiss watch. For instance, do you realise that we know the position of a planet, such as the Earth, at any instant to within about 66 feet? This is thanks to data gathered from all the satellites which have been launched wrong. One commentator, in an article in a 1998 issue of Physical Review, wrote: "Newton's law ceased to be universal; it acted differently according to whether it was applied to a small space probe, an asteroid or a planet." over many years. 44 = NEXUS A Double Universe Model The universe has a www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2002