Cosmic strings are super-massive, ultra-thin cracks in the universe

[Swede]

Cosmic strings are theoretical fault lines in the universe, defective links between different regions of space created in the moments after the Big Bang. And they might be theoretical no longer - distant quasars show the fingerprints of these strings.

Compared to cosmic strings, black holes seem downright sensible. These strings - no relation to the subatomic strings of theoretical physics - are one-dimensional objects, meaning they have length, but no height or width. They are defects in the fabric of the universe, a byproduct of the universe cooling in the first instants after the Big Bang. The easiest way to think about these strings is to see them as the cosmic equivalent of the cracks that form in ice over a frozen lake.

http://io9.com/5661564/cosmic-strings-are-super+massive-ultra+thin-cracks-in-the-universe

[Mojambo]

1. I saw this on Doctor Who last year.

Amy Pond fixed it.

[DJ13]

2. First thing I thought of too

:thumbsup:

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. I saw that too!

it was really cool

but if you fall through one you cease to exist and that is kinda a bummer

[givemebackmycountry]

5. Sounds like a perfect place for a...

TEA PARTY CONVENTION!
Shit, how about the Republican Party Convention!

[Occulus]

8. "two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together"

This was by far the best season of Who yet. I loved the season-long story arc, and the fact that it's continuing into next season... well, it's just awesome.

By the way, NASA found one eleven light years away:



It's just gas and dust, but what's really creepy is that the shape is the same as the one on the show.

And River. Oh. My. God. River Song is fabulous. Best supporting character in the Whoniverse. "You defaced the oldest cliff face in the Universe!" "YOU wouldn't answer your phone!" :rofl:

"Amy Pond fixed it."

Amy Pond fixed everything. Did you know, "Amelia Jessica Pond" can be anagrammed into "a special dame joins"? True. And the line in the finale.... "Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue".

Sorry, don't mean to threadjack, but damn.... Matt Smith just kicked the shit out of the part this season. I think he's at least as good as David Tennant, and I wasn't really certain about Smith at first, but wow.

And we still don't know who River really is, or why the Tardis... did what it did... or what the voice was that was saying "silence will fall"... or why silence will fall...

'Kay, I'll stop now.

[silverweb]

4. The comments at the link are great.

:D

[mindwalker_i]

7. Yeah, I looked at those

and saw the one commenting on how cosmic strings affected the telepathic powers of betazoids. The first thing to pop into my head was, "only the ones with galaxy-sized bazongas."

I need another drink :D

[The Doctor.]

6. Sorry.

Living in the cracks does take its toll.

[Occulus]

9. I thought you didn't care for repeats.

:D

[The Doctor.]

10. So much as events are unestablished... no.

These particular strings have very little effect on local space/time. They may be supermassive, but they are more the side-effect of The Constant than they are the product.

The Constant interacts with/augments mass in becoming Gravity. You might think Gravity is a 'pulling' force, but it is not. It really is the mass below you accelerating in multiple dimensions through/with The Constant. The gravity you feel is actually the planet pushing up and out against you at a roughly constant acceleration, relative to the expansion of the Universe, in both space and time. This is why the Universe is likely much older than people think.

These particular 'Cosmic Strings', however, are the result of ripples in the cosmological expansion. Think of them like when ripples in water collide... for a moment, the convergence increases the density at the dimension of impact. This is not so different. Unlike massive bodies, the density of the 'string' is expressed in an exceptional compression rather than part of the 'wave form' constant.

In short; they're nifty.

[skoalyman]

11. brings a whole new meaning to plumbers crack lol