Does Space really go on forever?

[Ipso Facto]

Originally Posted by sometimes

Absolutely, whch is why I was keen to refer to god not God.

We are not good at coping, we 'invent' to help us cope.

But isn't that also the basis of good science - we invent theories, which we call hypotheses, to explain the inexplicable and then those hypothese stand as 'fact' until they are either proven or disproven.

Over the years there have been many hypothese that have been torn to shreds and consigned to the bin whilst others have been shown to have been well founded. For example, many of the minor particles were only discovered when someone said, "for my equation to balance, there must be something out there that looks like ...." and then others have gone away to look for the evidence. Conversely, some will never believe in the concept of dark matter until they have seen some (or is it not seen some?) in a bottle because they only have a hypothesis (be it quite a good one!) that it exists.

The existence of God could be likened to dark matter (as long as you don't try to push the analogy too far). For many, there is a hypothesis that God exists only in matters of religion the word 'hypothesis' is usually displaced by the word 'faith'. However, unlike theories of the the physical world, this particular hypthesis is difficult to either prove or disprove.

Again over the years many of the things that were thought to be 'of God', i.e. by direct intervention, have been disproven - take Darwin for example - but that should not be taken as proof that God is only a figment of our collective imagination. I have heard even confirmed atheists stumble for words when asked for a better 'hypothesis' of what happened immediately prior to the big bang.

I personally think that there is more to God (yes, I am one of those 'people of faith') than creation, science or tooth fairies - but as some have suggested already, that is probably for a different forum.

[snowdrop]

The latest theories are.. Space as we know it is made up af multiple universes each the shape of a doughnut. ( yes I know, the mind boggles. )
So our space is enclosed in a membrane, as are the other worlds.

These thoughts are the result of a progression of theories beginning with the string theory...and the inclusion of gravity.

[Ipso Facto]

Originally Posted by snowdrop

The latest theories are.. Space as we know it is made up af multiple universes each the shape of a doughnut. ( yes I know, the mind boggles. )
So our space is enclosed in a membrane, as are the other worlds.

These thoughts are the result of a progression of theories beginning with the string theory...and the inclusion of gravity.

"Membrane" suggests something that separates two entities ... so what is on the other side? - any theories for that??

[ChristinaMarieUK]

If I remember correctly, from a book by Stephen Hawking on Branes (membranes), the hypothesis is that 2 branes collided which started the Big Bang. I think of it like bubbles in a bath, the foam being the Multiverse with each bubble being a Universe.

[russj1975]

This is a taxing question, to which there is i believe no answer. What was there before the big bang? how can something go on forever? Its like contemplating what things would be like if there were no colours, no black and no white or anything in between. it is beyond comprehension. If there is a creator, that provides one answer, but it does not answer the question, who created the creator....

Infinity exists, but does it exist only as an idea? We can count and there can be no end to the counting - it goes on forever, but we can stop counting if we chose to. Did infinity exist before Neanderthal man got clever and invented numbers? Then again, did the numbers exist before man got clever and merely discovered them?

I personally believe that space does go on forever (the universe has a size but is expanding into the nothingness of space) but i dont tend to think about it that often as it can make one mentally unstable, lol

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by 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 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.

Even Nothing is Something

Incidentally, a theory is something that has been subjected to scientific testing and (generally) accepted. Something that has been proposed as being the case but not tested or accepted is an hypothesis.

Cheers,

Adam

[Strontium]

Originally Posted by Ipso Facto

"Membrane" suggests something that separates two entities ... so what is on the other side? - any theories for that??

The membranes thing is just a hypothesis for the 11 dimensional universe that comes before the creation of our space-time universe. The extent of space is not known, and its time span is unknown. These kinds of theories are only just now being tested at CERN. But the general idea is its infinite, and there are membranes spanning space, like layers of jam between the sponge layers of a cake. The big bang happened when two jam layers collided, and suddenly our time space-time 4D universe began expanding from a singularity - like a bubble expanding.

[Ipso Facto]

Originally Posted by russj1975

This is a taxing question, to which there is i believe no answer ... i dont tend to think about it that often as it can make one mentally unstable, lol

You are right: it's good to ponder the imponderable from time to time (some people even do it for a living) but not to let it ruin your life.

[Ipso Facto]

Originally Posted by Strontium

The membranes thing is just a hypothesis for the 11 dimensional universe that comes before the creation of our space-time universe. The extent of space is not known, and its time span is unknown. These kinds of theories are only just now being tested at CERN. But the general idea is its infinite, and there are membranes spanning space, like layers of jam between the sponge layers of a cake. The big bang happened when two jam layers collided, and suddenly our time space-time 4D universe began expanding from a singularity - like a bubble expanding.

What flavour was the jam? I hope it wasn't black currant; I hate black currant!

[hsl]

Originally Posted by Strontium

The membranes thing is just a hypothesis for the 11 dimensional universe that comes before the creation of our space-time universe. The extent of space is not known, and its time span is unknown. These kinds of theories are only just now being tested at CERN. But the general idea is its infinite, and there are membranes spanning space, like layers of jam between the sponge layers of a cake. The big bang happened when two jam layers collided, and suddenly our time space-time 4D universe began expanding from a singularity - like a bubble expanding.

that makes no sense whatsoever and just throws up more questions than answers imo.