Category Archives: Philosophical

Q: Do time and distance exist in a completely empty universe?

Physicist: This is a classic philosophical question! For a while, it was generally assumed that without matter distance and time would still exist.  After all: why not?  Time is time and space is space, and the material things in them … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Philosophical, Relativity | 25 Comments

Q: Will the world end in 2012?

Physicist: Firstly, happy new year! So, there’s been a lot of hoopla around 2012 doomsday stuff for a while.  Maybe not as much fuss as there was over the techno-apocalypse of Y2K, but still.  Although there are a variety of … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Paranoia, Probability, Skepticism | 17 Comments

Q: Could God have existed forever? Is it actually feasibly possibly for some ‘being’ to have just existed, infinitely?

Physicist: Far be it for me to tell a god what it can do. Without knowing more about the exact properties of gods, there’s not much to work with.  The best way to answer this is to get a few … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Philosophical | 21 Comments

Q: Are there universal truths?

Physicist: That something exists, that it is more complex than trivially simple, and it includes me (cogito ergo sum, and all that). It doesn’t seem like you can say much more.  At least, this brain-in-a-box can’t. Philosopher: Depends on what … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, -- Guest Author, Philosophical | 8 Comments

Q: Is there an equation that determines whether a question gets answered on ask a mathematician/physicist?

Mathematician: Yes, but neither the Physicist nor I know it, and its shortest representation in standard mathematical notation is much too long to ever be written down. More precisely, there are an infinite number of such equations. These equations “exist” … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Mathematician, Philosophical | 8 Comments

Q: What is the three body problem?

Physicist: The three body problem is to exactly solve for the motions of three (or more) bodies interacting through an inverse square force (which includes gravitational and electrical attraction). The problem with the 3-body problem is that it can’t be … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Equations, Philosophical, Physics | 29 Comments