Primack J R, Abrams N E
Department of Physics, University of California-Santa Cruz, 95064, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001 Dec;950:1-16.
This introductory talk at the Cosmic Questions conference sponsored by the AAAS summarizes some earlier pictures of the universe and some pictures based on modern physics and cosmology. The uroboros (snake swallowing its tail) is an example of a traditional picture. The Biblical flat-earth picture was very different from the Greek spherical earth-centered picture, which was the standard view until the end of the Middle Ages. Many people incorrectly assume that the Newtonian picture of stars scattered through otherwise empty space is still the prevailing view. Seeing Earth from space shows the power of a new picture. The Hubble Space Telescope can see all the bright galaxies, all the way to the cosmic Dark Ages. We are at the center of cosmic spheres of time: looking outward is looking backward in time. All the matter and energy in the universe can be represented as a cosmic density pyramid. The laws of physics only allow the material objects in the universe to occupy a wedge-shaped region on a diagram of mass versus size. All sizes--from the smallest size scale, the Planck scale, to the entire visible universe--can be represented on the Cosmic Uroboros. There are interesting connections across this diagram, and the human scale lies in the middle.
在由美国科学促进会主办的“宇宙问题”会议上的这场开场演讲，总结了一些早期的宇宙图景以及一些基于现代物理学和宇宙学的图景。衔尾蛇（蛇吞食自己的尾巴）就是传统图景的一个例子。《圣经》中描绘的平地球图景与希腊以地球为中心的球形图景大不相同，后者在中世纪结束前一直是标准观点。许多人错误地认为，恒星散布在其他空旷空间中的牛顿式图景仍然是主流观点。从太空看地球展示了一种新图景的力量。哈勃太空望远镜可以看到所有明亮的星系，一直追溯到宇宙黑暗时代。我们处于时间宇宙球体的中心：向外看就是往回追溯时间。宇宙中的所有物质和能量都可以用一个宇宙密度金字塔来表示。物理定律只允许宇宙中的物质物体在质量与大小的图表上占据一个楔形区域。所有大小——从最小的尺度，普朗克尺度，到整个可见宇宙——都可以在宇宙衔尾蛇上表示出来。在这个图表上有一些有趣的联系，而人类尺度处于中间位置。
