Speed of light not on autopilot?

Lotsa light!     (Photo by Rhlius)

Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity proposes that the speed of light is, always was, and always will be a constant.  In religious terms, this could mean that God said, “Let there be light, and let it forever travel at 299,792,458 meters per second.”

Not so fast (or perhaps even faster)!  Scientists are now wondering whether Einstein might have been human, after all.  It seems that the Universe originally had a rather “lumpy density.”  If this were the case, then why does it now seem to be fairly homogenous?

Scientists have harbored an “inflation theory” for years, which states that the Universe may have “evened out when it was very small and then suddenly expanded.”  This leads right to another question:  What “special set of conditions” created an “inflation field” in the first place?

Professor Joao Magueijo from England and Dr. Niayesh Afshordi from Canada suggest that “there may have been a time after the Big Bang when the speed of light was much faster than it is now.”  So much for constancy.  God remains unpredictable, even to geniuses.

Resources

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bridaineparnell/2016/11/28/could-einstein-have-been-wrong-about-the-speed-of-light/#9fcf5c211090

Copyright November 28, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved