Cosmological measurement of the gravitational constant to more than five decimal places?
v. 5 n. 29
The gravitational constant, G, and cosmological constant, Lambda, ∧, couldn't seem more different -- the first being apparently attractive the other repulsive, one experimental the other theoretical, one earthy the other ethereal, one old the other new, one paramount the other questionable ... yet ... they may be referring to the same physical thing, and they might be changing.
The cosmological constant was discussed recently as representing dark energy, that unknown effect that appears to be responsible for the acceleration of the Universe. It is that observational adjunct to general relativity that makes the theory conform to the large scale, and not considered directly related to gravitation. In this conventional approach to gravity, the acceleration of the Universe and gravity are assumed opposed -- even though the axiom of general relativity is the equivalence of acceleration and gravity, the axiom is said not to hold in this one case (?). [1]
The first-year results of the dark energy survey, DESI, suggested that dark energy was more pronounced in the early Universe, so that Lambda seems to be decreasing as the Universe expands, and not a constant as conventionally assumed. [2][3]
Gravitation, G, in the formal physical sense has been with us from the time of Newton, several hundred years, and its quantification means has not changed. In a laboratory setting two large masses are placed close together, and the apparent attractiveness between them is directly measured with a clever arrangement of mechanical leverage, or updated means, to about four to perhaps five decimal places.
In contrast, Lambda has 122 zeros after the decimal place. The acceleration of the Universe, A, in familiar units of m/s^2 was calculated to have about 14 zeros after the decimal place. [4]
Nevertheless, it is possible to relate G, ∧ and A. If gravity is considered fundamentally repulsive instead of attractive, as discussed, determining the strength of the gravitational force, G, by said experimental means might just as well be measuring the acceleration of the Universe that is pushing the two large masses together from outside the pair, instead of the two masses being attracted together by something intrinsic within mass that seems to draw them together.
The physical mechanism in the "pushing together" proposal is the relative lack of accelerated expanding space between the two large masses being measured. It is not something that is drawing the masses together, rather the lack of something, that something being accelerated expanding space, proposed to be identical to gravity. [5]
If this is the case G, ∧ and A are effectively the same, then what happens to one, i.e., possibly shrinking ∧ according to DESI, happens to all. In this way the gravitational constant, is, in a manner of speaking, indicated to as little as 14 to as much as 122 decimal places, instead of five, given the much-expanded laboratory of large-scale space, and G might be shrinking as well.
Quantitatively, when Newton's gravity is equated with his F=mA and applied to the local accelerated expanding galactic supercluster, the following was shown to result,
m/r^2 = A/G
where A would be the acceleration of the supercluster, essentially that of the Universe itself, A ~ 10^-14 m/s^2. The total mass, m, of the supercluster includes visible matter, "dark energy" and "dark matter." Then
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G = kA
where k is a constant, so that the gravitational constant is directly proportional to the acceleration of the Universe, which, in turn, is directly related to the cosmological constant, and dark energy and dark matter are seen as gravitational in nature -- that which is stored in space as gravitational potential energy and not visible matter. A possible meaning of the gravitational constant is apparent in
G = A / (m/r^2)
where the strength of gravity, G, is directly proportional to the acceleration of the Universe, A, and inversely proportional to the ratio of the mass of space to its certain size. The strength of gravity, then, is essentially not a phenomenological approximation restricted to electromechanical experimental laboratory means as historically determined, rather a definite cosmological relationship, where measurement might be possible to more than five decimal places by observing larger segments of space than the local galactic supercluster in the elements of the right side of the last equation.
Recall that locality was never established for the anticipated attractive effect between masses in close proximity (neither by Newton nor by quantum mechanics with hypothetical gravitons), while physical locality is explicit in this equation when particles are considered imbedded in expanding space as they are when clusters of galaxies -- and each particle within -- are separated by accelerated expanding space. Then the relationship between the two large laboratory masses is not between the masses, rather between each mass and large-scale space -- Mach's Principle. Graviton exchange between two particles would be an unnecessary hypothesis in this context, but may be retained if between each particle and space at large, and would seem to be more in keeping with the spacetime of general relativity as well.
[3] Interview with survey spokesperson: DESI: New Dark energy survey results "can change physics" ( youtube.com )
Related video by Dr. A. Unzicker: Constants of Nature: Newton's Big G - Where does the Gravitational Constant Come from? ( youtube.com )
Creator of The Next Generation Philosophical-Scientific Framework
6 个月DESI measurement shows that the expansion of universe accelerates again after the initial slow down, dark energy is only its explanation, right?