Bill Sumner
Bill Sumner | Long ago the physicist Erwin Schrödinger noted the coevolution of quantum systems and the Universe. While his proof was mathematical, his result was startlingly simple. The wavelengths of quantum systems are proportional to the size of the Universe. Quantum systems are not isolated. Their properties coevolve with the Universe. This has important implications for our interpretation of Hubble redshift and other astrophysical observations. |
Schrödinger's derivation assumes that the spacetime geometry of the Universe is described by the Friedmann solution of Einstein's general relativity. Using this geometry in a relativistic wave equation he found the proportionality of wavelength to the size of the Universe. One immediate implication is that the wavelengths of photons increase in an expanding Universe. This is the traditional explanation of Hubble redshift, the observed wavelength shift of photons from distant sources.
But Schrödinger's result is universal. It applies to every quantum system including atoms. To correctly understand Hubble redshift then, the coevolution of both photons and atoms must be considered together. Since atomic emissions coevolve about twice as fast as photons do, the interpretation of Hubble redshift is reversed. The observation of Hubble redshift implies that the Universe is now contracting and will end in about 15 billion years.
| The Collapse of the Universe (4 min audio podcast, mp3). |  |
| Podcast text. | |
| Collapsing Universe on YouTube. | |
| Schrödinger's physics. | |
| More physics. | |