Monday, November 16, 2020

Philosophy Wire: Starlight. Starlight. Moon bright…

From their laboratories on a rocky planet dwarfed by the vastness of space (Earth), Clemson University scientists have managed to measure all of the starlight ever produced throughout the history of the observable universe. according to the new measurement, the number of photons (particles of visible light) that escaped into space after being emitted by stars translates to 4x10^84. Or put another way: 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons. [1] Moon bright. Moon bright. Sleeping under the starry night. Dreaming during a day blindly bright. Walking alone under the light. Awake and yet ready to go to bed tonight. In the beginning there was nothing. How can we ever dream of something? At the end, the cosmos will be dead. Does it matter how many photos were there at the end? Light stopped existing from the moment the first photon was emitted. Even at the moment of death, you dream of life. For once you were born, there is nothing else you are thinking of. Close your eyes now. There is still light. Can you see? You were there when it first came to be. And even in the midst of the darkest night. Do you care about anything else than for the hope of that shimmering light?

(c) Philosophy WIRES - Commenting world news from philosophy's perspective…

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...