A Test of the Copernican Principle

User rating: 4.3 / 5 after 93 vote(s)

This image shows a cross-section of a void universe with an observer (O) in the center in violation of the Copernican principle. CMB photons (yellow lines) can scatter off reionized gas and some may lead to CMB distortions. Credit: Caldwell R. R. and ...
This image shows a cross-section of a void universe with an observer (O) in the center, in violation of the Copernican principle. CMB photons (yellow lines) can scatter off reionized gas, and some may lead to CMB distortions. Credit: Caldwell, R. R. and Stebbins, A. ©2008 APS.

The Copernican principle states that the Earth is not the center of the universe, and that, as observers, we don’t occupy a special place. First stated by Copernicus in the 16th century, today the idea is wholly accepted by scientists, and is an assumed concept in many astronomical theories.


Full story »
All News summaries from Physics news
All News summaries for May 22, 2008

New concept for creating quantum states in many-body systems

4 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the online edition of Nature Physics, theoretical physicists from the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) and the University of Innsbruck today are presenting ...

Physicists investigate how time moves forward

Sep 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
As humans, we have a very intuitive concept of time, and of the differences between the past, present, and future. But, as scientists Edward Feng of the University of California, Berkeley, and Gavin Crooks of the Lawrence ...

Michigan integral to world's largest physics experiment

Sep 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
After 20 years of construction, a machine that could either verify or nullify the prevailing theory of particle physics is about to begin its mission. CERN's epic Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project currently involves 25 ...

LHC switch-on fears are completely unfounded: new research paper

Sep 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new report published on Friday, 5 September, provides the most comprehensive evidence available to confirm that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)'s switch-on, due on Wednesday next week, poses no threat to ...

A fine-tooth comb to measure the accelerating universe

Sep 04, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Astronomical instruments needed to answer crucial questions, such as the search for Earth-like planets or the way the Universe expands, have come a step closer with the first demonstration at the telescope ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive