The expansion of the universe could be a mirage, a potentially controversial new study suggests.
This rethinking of the cosmos also suggests solutions for the puzzles of dark energy and dark matter, which scientists believe account for around 95% of the total energy and matter in the universe but remain shrouded in mystery.
The novel new approach is detailed in a paper published June 2 in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, by University of Geneva professor of theoretical physics Lucas Lombriser.
That makes the whole thing rather pointless, doesn’t it?
I don’t think so. It’s an interesting hypothesis that has been slung on the table to account for weird discrepancies between current models and observed reality. It suggests a paradigm shift. Suggesting ‘we’re thinking about this is in entirely the wrong way’ is an important part of the scientific process.
Yeah, but the hallmark of a useful scientific theory is that it makes testable predictions.
Some of Einstein’s predictions weren’t really testable when they were posited. “Not currently testable” doesn’t mean they can’t be improved upon to be testable, or provoke a shift in thinking that leads to other research pathways opening up. The whole field has been somewhat stagnant and searching for something that can compete with the Standard Model, so ideas like this that could prompt a breakthrough get visibility and traction for that reason alone.
So you would argue that the Higgs Boson was a useful theoretical construct ahead of the building of CERN or that black holes weren’t useful in theory until detected?
No. Even if the predictions couldn’t be tested at the time there was a clear path to doing it. That’s different. This is (in my very limited understanding) more like string theory.