From John DiPrete
Could the spatial expansion of the universe discussed by Amanda Gefter be explained if the distribution of galaxies were fractal (8 March, p 32)? That is, if the distribution were mathematically similar to the pattern found in “Cantor dust”, and the space interspersed within it were also fractal. This would imply that the number of its dimensions was not a whole one.
An apt description of the universe is that it resembles an expanding lump of dough on which “raisins” (stars and galaxies) grow more distant as the dough expands. If space is fractal, then its size increase should be non-uniform, because fractals scale upwards non-uniformly in comparison to normal geometrical expansion. The apparent rate at which galaxies move apart in space should similarly increase non-uniformly.
I wonder how this notion would affect our interpretation of the universe’s increasing velocity of expansion.
The editor writes:
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• David Wiltshire’s model, which we reported, is in fact consistent with a fractal galaxy distribution. We have also reported the search for evidence of space being fractal (9 March 2007, p 30).
Warwick, Rhode Island, US
