Does Space really go on forever?

[paulchandler6]

This is a fascinating thread, still trying to get my head around it all. Amazing concepts and theories. even the universe being "moose" shaped
Good stuff keep it coming.

Paul

[Birchy]

Does space go on forever? After 61 posts to this thread and reading all the interesting theories to this question I think yes it does go on forever. Think about it we can all get all scientific about it and post thousands of questions and answers and after all that none of us really know the answer do we? But if space did end at some point what are you going to hit, a brick wall? or a big wooden door, locked. I think it must just keep on going forever. That still BLOWS MY MIND big style but I think it's right.

I can't thank you people out there enough for a fantastic thread and am just amaized how many people have posted replys. It's great!!!!

It would be great if people carry on posing to this thread and no doubt disagree with my conclusion. I would love this thread to become the longest thread as it was my first one I ever. And just to let you know it's the third longest on the astronomy forum so far.

Birchy

[Strontium]

Some of the experiments at CERN atm are all about trying to find the Higgs boson, and at teh same time get a glimpse into the other of the 11 dimensions that our 3D world is just an explosion in? perhaps our 3D world is just a bubble in the 11 dimensions, and they keep forming more universes when the membranes collide.. I guess we need to wait on what the experiments say about those dimensions before we can talk about whta an 11 dimension universe looks like

[ChristinaMarieUK]

If the Universe is continually expanding, then what it is expanding into is nothing. In other words, space is being continually created. IMO.

If the Universe goes on forever, then the Universe must be everlasting. This would mean our night sky would be full of light from the stars and galaxies etc. There would be no darkness between the stars and galaxies from our vantage point.

I'm pretty sure that according to astrophysics that if someone was to travel into space towards the edge of the Universe, they would end up back where they started from, because of the curvature of space-time.

[coasty]

I think space does go on forever , some things do.. Take my wife for example .

Also the whole idea of the space time malarky fascinates me . There is a thing called the twins paradox which I find perplexing

Twins are split up and travel in space ships.The twins are each equipped with a clock and powerful telescopes so they can view each other's time. For the sake of interest, an obliging alien has placed a clock on the star synchronised to Earth time, which can be viewed both by Ann from Earth, and Bob during his space flight.

The theory proposes that the twins age at different times. There are lots of explanations on the net they are well worth a look if you feel that your mind needs stretching, this link is excellent

Relativity Example - More Detail

[ChristinaMarieUK]

That reminds me of one of my faves. As well as asking 'what does the Universe expand into?' we can also ask 'what happened before the Big Bang?' The answer is the same - nothing. This is because time as well as space is created by the Big Bang.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Ambriel

Blancmange?

If it's blackcurrant flavoured I'll get my spoon ready for when we get there. Did I mention I'm immortal

Cheers,

Adam

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by ChristinaMarieUK

That reminds me of one of my faves. As well as asking 'what does the Universe expand into?' we can also ask 'what happened before the Big Bang?' The answer is the same - nothing. This is because time as well as space is created by the Big Bang.

I'm afraid I know nothing of astrophysiscs and its terminology, but I once saw a programme that stated that the most likely origin of the big bang was that a particle that exists for only a fraction of a second in our dimesion was unstable and exploded thus resulting in the big bang. These particles have been proven to exist and they performed an experiment on the programme which showed this.

Incidentally there is nothing north of the North Pole because you start heading south again.

If beyond the edge of our universe is a vacuum as some have said, is there anything required to contain such a vacuum or can it self-sustaining on such a scale.

Cheers,

Adam

[Birchy]

The big bang!!! everyone is taking about it but who came up with the idea that there was such an event? I mean it's just an idea or theaory that someone has thourght of isn't it? And everyone just seems to accept that it's it. The big bang was the start of the universe. was it?

Billions of years ago!!!!!!!!!. Do we really have any idea what happened. The fact that there was nothing before the big bang is mind blowing. So there was no time, matter, anything. I am thick really about all of this stuff and I started this thread but to say there was just nothing is silly. Then answer this. WHERE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING COME FROM, IF THERE WAS NOTHING TO START WITH WHERE DID IT COME FROM?. There must have been something there from the start to make the big bang.

Sorry for being so contriversal but what I am talking about makes sense to me. If there's nothing there then nothing can start. There was a therory that the universe has a cycle, like anything. It started then one day it will end and then it will all start again. That makes more sense to me.

[sometimes]

Aren't we waiting for the light from the other side of the visible universe outer limits to reach us, consequently we can't know what's out there for certain. Also if the universe is expanding, it seems sensible that matter on the outside is moving fastest away from us, (hence red shift?), there must be a point where matter is travelling so much faster than us we can't see it as it's travelling at the speed of light?
We can move backwards and forwards in three different dimensions, unfortunately we can only travel through time at a constant rate in one direction relative to us as individuals, not necessarily each other.
Of course there is no 'before the big bang' since time didn't exist before it.

A supplementary question, has the centre of the universe been identified? If so where is it?