[Goto]

Aww, I totally knew that one. My fault for not checking the topic, I guess.

[Zziggywolf5]

New Question Bump

[Rylkan]

Easy one then.

Olbers Paradox:
Assuming a Solid State Universe, meaning infinite size and eternal, the light of all the stars as one extrapolates out towards infinity would result in our night sky being as bright as day. Olber (who was not the first to ask this question, though) asked why then is the sky obviously dark. His answer was the interstellar medium is full fo dusk obscuring the light of all the stars from reaching us. (Assuming an infinite universe, as you go out towards infinity, the volume would reach infinity, so it is a plausible argument in one sense). But he is wrong for an important reason. Why can it not be clouds obscuring our view of the light?

(And no answering simply that we know it is a finite universe, not the question here. )

[Zoo]

The stars would look fuzzier and bigger than points because the dust would scatter the light

[Rylkan]

Nope. With infinite obscuration from the clouds, no light would reach us. So it has to do with what happens when all the light is absorbed by the clouds.

[Goto]

It's not an example I've heard before, but just as a stab in the dark...

If all of the (infinite) light is absorbed by the clouds, they'd have to radiate that energy back out again as they couldn't continuously absorb energy eternally? And of course if that was the case then it would no longer be dark.

[Rylkan]

Correct! Thermal Radiation would cause the clouds to radiate the light back out after absorbing it. So it would end up bright anyways. The clouds were what olber believed to be the reason for the darkness, but they didnt know much about Thermal Dynamics back then from what I understand.

[Rylkan]

New Question then, unless Goto wants to take it.

If I were to say that I am currently located at the point where the big bang took place, I would be partially correct. Why?

[Zoo]

because the universe at the big bang was infinitesimally small, as I understand it, and it expanded from there, i.e. this spot, as well as all others, were there

[Rylkan]

We have a winner!

[Zoo]

What do alligators use their nictitating membranes for?

[Ratty]

To nictitate?

[Zziggywolf5]

To see underwater?

[Moogalite]

They use it when they aren't underwater or hunting so as to protect the eyes from debris in water/ wind.

[Zoo]

Funny rat . Nictitate = wink or blink. I imagine the name for it comes from the fact it tends to show briefly (in many animals that have them, such as dog and cats) when the animal blinks.

Well, that is one Ziggy, but it's probably not strictly necessary for that. Elaborate

And no, they use it mostly underwater. They don't need it doing things like basking in the sun. *waits to see if there was perhaps a typo*