Art Bell Vault, 2002-05-16: Cycles of the Universe

Cycles of the Universe
Cycles of the Universe

DateThursday - May 16 2002

HostArt Bell

Guests
Show Audio
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3

Dr. Paul Steinhardt, professor of physics at Princeton University, explained his theory of how the universe is continually expanding and contracting, alternating between the "Big Bang" and the "Big Crunch." He further explained how this theory could be tested and proved with present technology. He and Neil Turok at Cambridge introduced the "cyclic theory" of the early universe. In this picture, space and time exist forever, and the Big Bang is not the beginning of time. Rather, it is a bridge to a pre-existing contracting era.

This "cyclic model" describes the "Bang" as not a single event but rather one that's repeated over and over again. When the new matter is created, the current universe is destroyed, he theorized. We would have evidence of it coming – in fact, we’re already seen evidence with the universe expanding. However, we're trillions of years away from a new "Bang," he added. Steinhardt believes the concept of extra dimensions is plausible – these dimensions could be curled up or bound in some way so that we don't necessarily experience them every day of our lives.

In this first hour, researcher Stan Deyo shared his opinion of a mysterious video that apparently depicted an unidentified object crashing in the desert, and strange goings-on in Antarctica and what it meant for climate change.