Cosmology Questions

[Tholian_Avenger]

What is a brane?
Is it space-time? Does a brane = (space-time) + (matter, energy, et cetera)? Something else entirely?

What does a brane reside in?

[GrahamKennedy]

It's an abbreviation of membrane. The idea is that our three dimensional universe (four if you count time) is a membrane within higher dimensional space. There are other universes, other membranes, within this space also. One theory has it that the branes are not stationary - they wave around like ripples on an ocean, and where two branes collide, that's when you get a big bang happening and a new brane created.

[Tholian_Avenger]

I just read an article about Paul Steinhardt's and Neil Turok's theory about brane collision caused Bing Bangs.

I have heard that our universe is actually two dimensional with time dilation providing for an apparent 3rd dimension (sort of an illusory holographic perceived dimension). What thoroughly confounds me is in what aether these membranes, these universes which are complete space-times unto themselves, reside. By what metric can these membranes be judged distant from each other and by what metric can they be judged to have collided?

Why are there only 10 measurable dimensions?

[GrahamKennedy]

Beats me. Because that's how many it takes to make the idea work, mathematically, I suppose.

So far as I know, Brane cosmology is pure speculation. There's not an ounce of actual evidence to support it, and as far as I recall nobody has any idea how you would test it anyway.

[Tsukiyumi]

...as far as I recall nobody has any idea how you would test it anyway.

Have the evangelicals get Jesus on the phone, and ask Him to shoot some video of a brane collision with His iPhone. Simple.

[Laughing Man]

...as far as I recall nobody has any idea how you would test it anyway.

Have the evangelicals get Jesus on the phone, and ask Him to shoot some video of a brane collision with His iPhone. Simple.

[Tsukiyumi]

Well, they claim to have some sort of direct line to God, and know God's agenda, so I don't see why not.