“More is unknown about it than is known. We know how much dark energy there is because we know how it affects the Universe’s expansion. Other than that, it is a complete mystery. But it is an important mystery. It turns out that roughly 68% of the Universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest – everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter – adds up to less than 5% of the Universe. Come to think of it, maybe it shouldn’t be called “normal” matter at all, since it is such a small fraction of the Universe.
One explanation for dark energy is that it is a property of space.  Albert Einstein was the first person to realize that empty space is not nothing. Space has amazing properties, many of which are just beginning to be understood. The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein’s gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: “empty space” can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear. As a result, this form of energy would cause the Universe to expand faster and faster. Unfortunately, no one understands why the cosmological constant should even be there, much less why it would have exactly the right value to cause the observed acceleration of the Universe.” 

Most scientists would agree the best case scenario would be to understand the causality of dark energy and how it interacts with its environment in terms of observations and our currently accepted theoretical models.

However, presently there are only two scientific disciplines that address those interactions.  The first or the laws of thermodynamics defines the forces associated with heat early in the universe’s evolution and the second or Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity defines how gravity influences that evolution.

Unfortunately neither of them, in their present form address the expansive force of Dark Energy and how or why it interacts with its environment to cause it to accelerate.

Yet one of the most obvious difficulties in integrating it into Einsteinâ€s space-time universe is that observations tell us that three-dimensional space is expanding towards a higher spatial dimension not a time or space-time dimension.  

Therefore, in order to explain the observed spatial expansion of the universe one would have to assume the existence of a another *spatial* or fourth *spatial* dimension in addition to the three spatial dimensions and one time dimension that Einsteinâ€s theories contain to account for that observation.

This would be true if Einstein had not given us a means of qualitatively and quantitatively converting the geometric properties of his space-time universe to one consisting of only four *spatial* dimensions.

He did this when he defined the geometric properties of a space-time universe and the dynamic balance between mass and energy in terms of the equation E=mc^2 and the constant velocity of light because it allows one to redefine a unit of time he associated with energy in his space-time universe to unit of space in a universe consisting of only four *spatial* dimensions. 

In other words by defining the geometric properties of a space-time universe in terms of the equation E=mc^2 and the constant velocity of light he provided a qualitative and quantitative means of redefining his space-time universe in terms of the geometry of four *spatial* dimensions.

The fact that the equation E=mc^2 allows us to quantitatively derive the physical properties of energy in a space-time universe in terms of its spatial properties is the bases for assuming, as was done in the article “Defining energy” Nov 27, 2007 that all forms of energy can be derived in terms of a spatial displacement in a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.

As mentioned earlier it is difficult to integrate the causality of three-dimensional space expanding towards a higher *spatial” dimension into Einstein space-time universe because it does not define a higher spatial dimension. 

However it is easy if one reformulates it, as was shown above to be possible in terms higher fourth *spatial* dimension.

Yet this also allows one to understand how and why the force called Dark Energy is causing an accelerated spatial expansion of our universe in terms of the laws of thermodynamics because it gives one the ability, as mentioned earlier to use his equations to qualitatively and quantitatively define energy in terms of a spatial displacement in a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimensions.

We know from the study of thermodynamics that energy flows from areas of high density to one of low density very similar to how water flows form an elevated or “high density” point to a lower one.

For example, if the walls of an above ground pool filled with water collapse the elevated two-dimensional surface of the water will flow or expand and accelerate outward towards the three-dimensional environment surrounding it while the force associated with that expansion decreases as it expands.

Yet we know from observations of the cosmic background radiation that presently our three-dimensional universe has an average energy component equal to about 3.7 degrees Kelvin. 

However this means according to concepts developed in the article “Defining energy” that the three-dimensional “surface” occupied by the particles in our universe which has an average energy component of 3.7 degree Kelvin would be elevated with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.  

Yet this means similar to the water molecules occupying the elevated two dimensional surface of the water in the pool, the particles occupying a region of three-dimensional space that is elevated because of its 3.7 degree temperature will flow and accelerate outward in the four dimensional environment surrounding it.

This shows how reformulating Einstein’s theories in terms of four *spatial* dimensions allows one to use the laws of thermodynamics to explain what the force called Dark Energy is and how it can be seamlessly integrated into his general theory of relativity.

Later Jeff

Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2014 

The post How Einstein may have explained Dark Energy appeared first on Unifying Quantum and Relativistic Theories.

However, it is unfortunate that some have not made an effort to find it in terms of its continuous properties instead of its quantum mechanical ones.

We observe that all particles have mass, which is associated with gravitational force.  However, for the past century the brightest minds of the scientific community have been unable to define how this force can be propagated by a particle using the current quantum mechanical paradigms.  Additionally, even with the recent advancements in observational technologies, no one has observed the graviton or particle that many feel is responsible for the propagation of gravitational forces.

However, the fact that we have been unable to define a unifying mechanism either mathematically or conceptually for the observed quantum mechanical and gravitational properties of nature in terms of the current paradigms may not be due to their theoretical structure but to how we are attempting to integrate them.

For example, the fundamental assumption of Quantum mechanics is that energy/mass is contained in discrete irreducible units or packets of energy/mass called quarks andleptons.

However, the graviton or particle many physics associated with gravitational force has not, as mentioned earlier been observed.  Some feel that this is due to the fact our instruments are not yet advance enough to detect it but it could also be because gravitational force is not propagated by a particle but by a continuous geometric property of energy/mass.

We have shown throughout this blog  that observations of our environment suggest that it would be possible to unify the quantum mechanical properties of energy/mass with the continuous properties of gravity if one assume the existence of four *spatial* dimensions instead of four-dimensional space-time.

In the article “Defining gravity” Dec. 15, 2007 it was shown that one can theoretically derive the relativistic properties of motion, space, time, gravity and the fact that it is equivalent to an accelerated reference frame in terms of a continuous geometric property of four *spatial* dimensions in a manner that makes predictions identical to those made in “The General and Special Theories of Relativity”.

While in the article “Why is mass and energy quantized?” Oct. 4, 2007 it was shown that one can derive the quantum mechanical properties of energy/mass by extrapolating the laws of resonance in a classical three-dimensional environment to a matter wave on a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.

Briefly it showed the four conditions required for resonance to occur in a classical Newtonian environment, an object, or substance with a natural frequency, a forcing function at the same frequency as the natural frequency, the lack of a damping frequency and the ability for the substance to oscillate spatial would be meet in one consisting of four *spatial* dimensions.

(In an earlier “The geometry of quarks” Mar. 15, 2009 it was shown how and why quarks join together to form these resonant systems in terms of the geometry of four *spatial* dimensions.)

The existence of four *spatial* dimensions would give the “surface” of three-dimensional space the ability to oscillate with respect to it thereby fulfilling one of the requirements for classical resonance to occur.

These oscillations would be caused by an event such as the decay of a subatomic particle or the shifting of an electron in an atomic orbital.  This would force the “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension to oscillate with the frequency associated with the energy of that event.

However, these oscillations in four *spatial* dimensions would, if one extrapolates the laws of three-dimensional space to it generate a resonant system or “structure” in it.  These resonant systems are what defined a particle in the article “Why is mass and energy quantized?“

This cannot be done in terms of four-dimensional space-time because time or a space-time dimension is only observed to move in one direction forwards and therefore could not support the bi-directional spatial movement required to establish classical resonance.

However, as mentioned earlier the article “Defining gravity” showed one can derive the properties of gravity in terms of a continuous geometric properties of four *spatial* dimensions while the article “Why is mass and energy quantized?” showed that one can derive the quantum mechanical properties of energy/mass in terms of a resonant system with that same geometry.

This suggest as mentioned earlier that one may be able to define a theory of everything by assuming that the quantum mechanical properties of energy/mass are a result of the continuous geometric properties of four *spatial* dimensions instead of assuming that the continuous properties of gravity and space are a result of the quantum properties of energy/mass

Later Jeff

Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2010

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