this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
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If expansion were caused by "explosive forces from the big Bang", it's rate would be decreasing, not increasing.
Since current observations are inconsistent with that, we have to have a different (or at least additional) cause for expansion.
As the universe expands, distances grow, but mass does not. This causes the overall force of gravity to decrease. This means gravity is "losing" and will never catch up. (Gravity is weakening and expansion is growing). But, if it the rate of expansion were decreasing, that would mean gravity was "winning", and might continue "winning" until it could reverse expansion.
But the rate of expansion would increase until a point where it no longer did? Are we somehow able to confidently assume we are past that point?
If gravity could ever overcome expansion, then there would be some period where expansion was happening, but the rate of expansion was decreasing, eventually followed by expansion stopping, then contraction happening and the rate of contraction increasing. There would not be any period in which the rate of expansion was increasing.
(When you throw a ball up, after you release it, there's a period of time when the ball is moving up, but it's speed is decreasing, then it reaches the apex, and it start falling down and it's speed increases until you catch it. There is no period where it upward speed increases.)
Current observations show not just that expansion continues, but that the rate of expansion is increasing.
(Not only has the big bang thrown the ball, but the ball's upward speed is increasing.)
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