The Universe
- Thread starter HK_01
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That's just a theory. Remember that fact, every day of every second.
Just like religion is.. To me, at the very least.
Just like religion is.. To me, at the very least.
No, it's finte but unbounded in three dimensions. Much like the Earth has a finite surface but no edge; walking around the earth, you never hit a spot where someone could say it ended. If you walk far enough, you get back to where you started. In theory, Space works the same way, though, because it's expanding, you'd have to be going faster than the speed of light to make it back to where you started before the heat death of the universe.
The universe is infinite, the stuff inside it isn't.
When the big bang occured, assumimg it did, the universe went from being a singularity to being infinite in size at a ridiculous speed (read >1000000*c). The energy within it moved at a much slower rate as the four fundamental forces were established, and matter and antimatter were formed. Fairly recently it was discovered that the universe was accelerationg in it's expantion, making it far older than had been previously calculated.
The reason for the expantion is thought to be Dark Energy, and that it more than counteracts the force of gravity excerted by matter, antimatter and Dark Matter.
When the big bang occured, assumimg it did, the universe went from being a singularity to being infinite in size at a ridiculous speed (read >1000000*c). The energy within it moved at a much slower rate as the four fundamental forces were established, and matter and antimatter were formed. Fairly recently it was discovered that the universe was accelerationg in it's expantion, making it far older than had been previously calculated.
The reason for the expantion is thought to be Dark Energy, and that it more than counteracts the force of gravity excerted by matter, antimatter and Dark Matter.
No one really knows for sure. I would contend that it's because there are multiple sizes of infinity. Don't believe me?
Make a number set of all whole even numbers, there are an infinite number of numbers in this set.
Make a second set of all whole numbers, odd and even, there are an infinite number of numbers in this set.
The second set, however, has exactly twice as many numbers as the first, even though they're both infinite.
So, if there are different sizes of infinity, then it stands to reason a smaller size of infinity could expand.
Make a number set of all whole even numbers, there are an infinite number of numbers in this set.
Make a second set of all whole numbers, odd and even, there are an infinite number of numbers in this set.
The second set, however, has exactly twice as many numbers as the first, even though they're both infinite.
So, if there are different sizes of infinity, then it stands to reason a smaller size of infinity could expand.
I'm pretty sure the universe isn't infinite. Just that it's so vast that it's just for the moment classified as infinite to the human mind since we can't really even comprehend how big it is.
Just from the pictures from the Hubble, you can see that it goes on for what looks like an eternity. Galaxies millions of light years away and you can still make out smaller stars behind them.
Absolutely amazing.
Just from the pictures from the Hubble, you can see that it goes on for what looks like an eternity. Galaxies millions of light years away and you can still make out smaller stars behind them.
Absolutely amazing.
The universe is NOT infinite, I dont think theres any basis for this belief, no measure of MATTER can be infinite.HK_01 said:
The universe is not infinite as far as i know. Let me explain a widely accepted THEORY.
Big bang, universe expanding NOT infinite, but expanding at an extreme rate.
This rate slows as the combined gravity of the current universe drags the expanded matter inwards toward the middle which is believed to contain super dense black holes.
From this point the universe should contract into a massive crush at which point we will revert to our super dense state. Have fun being a single atom across.
The term "universe" does not include empty space that contains no matter. ie 'Space' is infinite, but the universe (compiled of planets, stars, black holes and the like) is expanding.
I could be wrong on that though, its been I while since I studied astrophysics.
I could be wrong on that though, its been I while since I studied astrophysics.
Two things provide critical evidence of the big bang: backround radiation and color shifts caused by the doppler effects that are seen when viewing astronomical bodies.
The "expansion of the universe" often refers to all matter, not the space it can occupy.
If the Big Bang was real, and did cause all matter and energy we are currently familiar with to exist, then it isn't really over. Energy is still being expelled, and all the matter and energy is still flying away.
If there isn't enough matter and energy to have a great enough gravity to hold this expansion together, everything will continue to expand, and the universe will cool and die. This is called an open universe.
But its only a theory.
Another theory is that there is enough matter to cause the universe to collapse into itself, creating a new big bang, called a closed universe. But neither of these are determined to be the truth.
Here are some more theories currently toyed with:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_universe#Open_or_closed
The "expansion of the universe" often refers to all matter, not the space it can occupy.
If the Big Bang was real, and did cause all matter and energy we are currently familiar with to exist, then it isn't really over. Energy is still being expelled, and all the matter and energy is still flying away.
If there isn't enough matter and energy to have a great enough gravity to hold this expansion together, everything will continue to expand, and the universe will cool and die. This is called an open universe.
But its only a theory.
Another theory is that there is enough matter to cause the universe to collapse into itself, creating a new big bang, called a closed universe. But neither of these are determined to be the truth.
Here are some more theories currently toyed with:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_universe#Open_or_closed