Some days ago the BICEP2 experiment made headlines in the
news all over the world. The scientists claimed that they have found evidence
for gravitational waves by measuring the polarization of the Cosmic Background
Radiation (CBR). These gravitational waves were interpreted as observational
proof for the Inflation theory, which is an essential part of the current Big
Bang model. According to the enthusiastic reports in the press, Inflation can
now be considered a scientific fact.
Actually Inflation (the expansion of the universe at a speed
faster than light during the early stages of the Big Bang) has all along been
treated as a scientific fact, because without it the Big Bang theory would have
collapsed long ago. But now some scientists have become so bold to claim that
they have empirical evidence for it due to the results of the BICEP2
experiment.
But what was actually observed by the BICEP2 experiment?
They observed tiny pattern of polarization in the CBP. These patterns are so
week that they could only be made visible by complicated mathematical
procedures that took them several years. They have neither observed the Big
Bang, nor Inflation, nor gravitational waves. These are all just
interpretations of the polarization patterns.
The newly published paper of the BICEP2 project starts right
away with a description of the Inflation model taking it for an established
fact and then interprets the data based on this premise. This is a nice example
of circular reasoning, starting the argument with the conclusion (Inflation is
real.) as one of its own premises. Alternative explanations for the observation
were not even considered. Of course the BICEP2 results are consistent with
Inflation, but this is a typical feature of circular reasoning. It is
consistent, but nevertheless a logical fallacy, since it does not prove
anything.
But the main problem of the BICEP2 experiment is that it
assumes that the observed pattern of polarization is really a property of the
Cosmic Background Radiation, which is pretty far-fetched. The first assumption
would normally be that the polarization pattern is the result from something
that is between the CBR and the telescope.
We are talking about 13.7 billion light years here, so there should be
enough stuff that can polarize the radiation.
The paper refutes this possibility that the pattern is
caused by something in the foreground by stating that they measured no gradient
in the polarization patterns towards the galactic plane, which would exist,
when the effect was cause by interstellar matter inside our galaxy.
But the BICEP2 scientists overlooked the most likely cause
for a foreground effect. It is not some galactic or even intergalactic dust. It
is far more likely caused by the Oort cloud.
The Oort cloud is a spherical cloud of particles that
surrounds our solar system. Whatever light or radiation we observe on Earth, it
has first passed through the Oort cloud and will interfere with its particles.
This expensive and time consuming BICEP2 experiment has
therefore not measured a phenomenon in the Cosmic Background Radiation, but
patterns in the Oort cloud. The results are therefore useless to make any
cosmological statements. The only way to exclude the effects of the Oort cloud
on the measurement would be repeating the measurement in another star system,
e.g. Alpha Centauri.
This shows once again that cosmological questions are a vain
enterprise as long as we have not even left our own solar system. The mysteries
of the universe cannot be solved from an armchair in our bedroom. Without
interstellar space travel asking such questions is a foolish thing.
Again dozens of well-paid scientists have wasted their time
and millions of taxpayer dollars for nothing. Nobody benefits from this kind of
research. The only purpose is to defend the doctrines of the "scientific
religion" that attempts to give the biblical creation story some
"scientific" fundament.
Sorry, but the patterns in the Oort cloud that have been
indirectly observed by the BICEP2 experiment allow no statements about
gravitational waves, nor the Inflation theory.
Inflation remains what it has always been –
pseudoscientific nonsense that is incompatible with Special Relativity.
