Reality Upside Down - One Growing Universe

First let's open with this fun formula:

E = mc²

E = energy
m = mass
c = a constant (the speed of light)

Now take a magnifying glass. Look close. Take a microscope to look even closer. Still too far. Let's go even closer... and closer. At one point, according to that famous equation Einstein created, all matter is composed of nothing but pure energy. Mass can convert in to energy and energy can convert into mass. And deep down at its roots, all mass IS energy. That's really what the formula says.

Think of the atomic bomb. It works by splicing atoms, thereby releasing the energy stored inside it. The crazy part, or perhaps the terrifying part, is that it's still only a fraction of what is contained in there. A lot of energy is lost in the process.

Scientists are hard at work trying to find a way to more purely convert potential energy into useable energy without losing too much of it in the process. This could not only solve the world's energy crisis, but make it as cheap, if not cheaper, as water. It would also potentially mean we would be able to create space ships that could travel to the stars!

Of course, this has some deeper spiritual implications as well. If deep down we are all really made up of the exact same thing, humans, animals, plants, the planets, even -things-... Well, we'd really all be connected in a very real sense, and none of us is ever truly alone!

Now add to this that space is always expanding. We know this. We've been beaten over the head with it until we were silly from hearing it. But did you know it's not expanding at a constant rate?

What would you expect if you threw a rock into a pool of water? The ripples moving out from where it went in start out violently, but tend to move slower the longer you wait. Duh. Expansion slows down with time. Or maybe you would expect the ripples to flow at an even pace.

But that's not what we're seeing in out there. It's not slowing down. In fact, things are expanding faster and faster! It's like a merry-go-round gone crazy. And we have no idea why!

There are some theories that there's something called dark matter, and dark energy, that cause this, which we won't go into right now. But the truth is? At this moment, we just don't really know!