[walleeee]

I'm definitely no physicist or cosmologist, but my understanding is that we can't detect expansion at the scale of molecules, humans, earth, etc. We only know about it at cosmological scales because we can observe redshifted light over huge distances (millions of light-years). Gravity is postulated to bind matter together strongly enough at smaller distances that expansion does not occur. In other words, it pretty much only happens between galaxy clusters, where gravity is too weak to overpower it.

[lfnoise]

My pet theory is that the universe isn't expanding. Rather, all the objects in the universe are shrinking. If your ruler is shrinking then it looks like space is expanding. /:-)

[newen]

The objects are shrinking because of the Big Chill. Makes sense.

[drran]

It was big, but now it shrunk.

[aunetx]

Maybe I am wrong, but isn't it the same? I mean, if everything is shrinking (excepted the distances between galaxies), then it is exactly the same as if the galaxies were spreading in the universe... only the point of view changes right?

[drran]

Expanding consumes energy. Shrinking releases energy. When object is pooled to another object by gravitation, energy is released, so these objects must shrink to obey law of energy conservation!