Poll: Do You Believe Outer Space is Infinite

[Random Variable]

If it's not infinite, what's on the other side of where it ends?

 

[Dudd]

Originally posted by: shinerburke
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein

Hehe, that's on the wall of my calc classroom.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Vespasian
If it's not infinite, what's on the other side of where it ends?

A fair question and maybe this oft used analogy will help

Imaging you are an ant walking on the surface of a balloon.
No matter how far you walk, you never come to the end of the ball.

 

[jorken]

Originally posted by: y2kc
...it is still expanding and when it expands to it's fullest it is going to contract back to the atom from which it came and BOOM! the whole process will start again....Big Bang II

Big Bang II? Or Big Bang 283187127634209?

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

I don't believe the universe is infinite, but I do believe space is though. Is space a physical mass? The universe has mass, but where did all that matter come from in the first place? Intriguing

 

[y2kc]

Big Bang II? Or Big Bang 283187127634209?

indeed.

 

[Masas]

nope. i know EXACTLY where it ends.
I SAW IT.
took pics with my digital camera, but the camera was worth crap and its just black....
stupid cheap camera :disgust:
maybe next time i go i'l take a nice 4 megapixel one.

 

[Insomnium]

Originally posted by: shinerburke
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein

That has been in my sig since the day I registered I vote infinite.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

BTW guys, it looks like the universe may be a one time thing. The mass of the universe seems much too low to stop the expansion.

 

[nord1899]

Infinite or just so massively huge it appears to be infinite?

Personally I think its finite and likely globe shaped. I mean people thought the Earth was really funky (flat, fall off the end into oblivion) until we actually visited the whole Earth. Until we visit the whole Universe, how can we say its infinite or finite. There will always be that extra bit of unexplored space which could go on forever or just stop at a white picket fence.

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: Vespasian
If it's not infinite, what's on the other side of where it ends?

Absolutely nothing. It's pointless to even ask. That's the fun part. To think otherwise turns the argument from physics to philosophy, and at that point you've abandoned rational discussion.

 

[glenn1]

A fair question and maybe this oft used analogy will help

Imaging you are an ant walking on the surface of a balloon.
No matter how far you walk, you never come to the end of the ball.

That anology works perfectly if you use as your premise that the universe is more than 3 dimensional. The ant walking along in the surface of the balloon is working in two dimensions, since the ant is simply walking along the surface of the balloon. Since the balloon is 3 dimensional though, if he walks far enough, he'll come back to where he started.

Apply the same principle to the universe and you have your answer. Instead of being an ant operating in two dimensions on a 3 dimensional object, we're instead people working in 3 dimensions in a four or more dimensional universe.

 

[crypticlogin]

It's like that old Danger Mouse episode where they travel to the ends of the universe but are stuck going past nothingness.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: glenn1

A fair question and maybe this oft used analogy will help Imaging you are an ant walking on the surface of a balloon. No matter how far you walk, you never come to the end of the ball.

That anology works perfectly if you use as your premise that the universe is more than 3 dimensional. The ant walking along in the surface of the balloon is working in two dimensions, since the ant is simply walking along the surface of the balloon. Since the balloon is 3 dimensional though, if he walks far enough, he'll come back to where he started. Apply the same principle to the universe and you have your answer. Instead of being an ant operating in two dimensions on a 3 dimensional object, we're instead people working in 3 dimensions in a four or more dimensional universe.

So what are we up to now? I think it is 11 dimensions, but I lost count.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: glenn1

A fair question and maybe this oft used analogy will help

Imaging you are an ant walking on the surface of a balloon.
No matter how far you walk, you never come to the end of the ball.

That anology works perfectly if you use as your premise that the universe is more than 3 dimensional. The ant walking along in the surface of the balloon is working in two dimensions, since the ant is simply walking along the surface of the balloon. Since the balloon is 3 dimensional though, if he walks far enough, he'll come back to where he started.

Apply the same principle to the universe and you have your answer. Instead of being an ant operating in two dimensions on a 3 dimensional object, we're instead people working in 3 dimensions in a four or more dimensional universe.

I think I just made a new friend, I could not have said it better myself.

Everybody is saying how the universe is still expanding (as is the scientific community). My question to the folks that say space is finite, where are we expanding to then? Do you people think there is a wall or something out there??

 

[glenn1]

So what are we up to now? I think it is 11 dimensions, but I lost count.

Yes, albeit some of those are completely hokey (like the "reflective dimension," come on, give me a break) and were created to fit the requirements of theories, rather than being observed and the theory being used to describe the observation.

Although some might disagree with the religious connotation of it, i think an apt description of what's outside the universe could be fairly called "God." That's not God in the Christian or other organized religion sense, but rather a simple shorthand for the unknown and unknowable.

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider
BTW guys, it looks like the universe may be a one time thing. The mass of the universe seems much too low to stop the expansion.

AFAIK, the jury's still out on that. After all, they're still looking for various kids of dark matter.


anyway, for the original topic...the universe is not infinite.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: lirion
It doesn't grow into anything. It makes more space as it grows.

This is the answer 911

The universe IS space. As it expands, more space is created. Like the balloon expanding. The surface of it increases, but it wasnt hiding somewhere. It just grew with the expansion

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider

So what are we up to now? I think it is 11 dimensions, but I lost count.

Well IIRC Superstring needs either 10 or 26 dimensions.

I keep waiting for the model to help describe the Super G-String Theory though.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: MartyTheManiak

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider BTW guys, it looks like the universe may be a one time thing. The mass of the universe seems much too low to stop the expansion.

AFAIK, the jury's still out on that. After all, they're still looking for various kids of dark matter. anyway, for the original topic...the universe is not infinite.

THe problem is not matter so much, but it seems that there is a cosmological constant from dark energy which acts as a kind of antigravity. This fuels expansion that accelerates over time. They are doing some experiments now, but all the conceivable baryonic and non-baryonic matter would not come anywhere close to stopping expansion. Guess we are gonna find out

 

[911paramedic]

This is the answer 911

The universe IS space. As it expands, more space is created. Like the balloon expanding. The surface of it increases, but it wasnt hiding somewhere. It just grew with the expansion

OK, where is this "balloon" expanding. If it was a finite area, the balloon would stop, would it not? I love watching subjects on this, as I stated, I read physics type books for fun.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic

This is the answer 911 The universe IS space. As it expands, more space is created. Like the balloon expanding. The surface of it increases, but it wasnt hiding somewhere. It just grew with the expansion

OK, where is this "balloon" expanding. If it was a finite area, the balloon would stop, would it not? I love watching subjects on this, as I stated, I read physics type books for fun.

S


Love physics too.. The problem with this analogy, and why I was reluctant to use it right off is it implies that you can watch the universe from outside and watch it expand. That is not true because the universe makes space. You arent watching the ant, you ARE the ant. Asking what is outside of it is therefore like asking what time is it outside of time. The question itself makes no sense, although that is not as intuative.

 

[UberDave]

uhhhh... what happens when you hit the edge of the universe?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: UberDave
uhhhh... what happens when you hit the edge of the universe?

ARGHHH!!!!!

 

[Utterman]

Originally posted by: UberDave
uhhhh... what happens when you hit the edge of the universe?

You will end up at the resturant