If the universe started with a "big bang" ie at a central point, where is the outside?

Question

By definition, if there is a central point, then the universe must be finite and must have an outer boundary, otherwise there can be no central point. if it is finite, where is it and what lies outside it?

Answer 1

this is actually a common misconception about the big bang. the universe is finite yet has no boundary and no center. it may be something like the two dimensional surface of a sphere. nothing inside or outside the sphere exists for the surface. space-time originated in the big bang. the whole universe was the big bang, and everywhere in the universe was once the big bang. there is no "outside". to quote a dead writer, "there is no there, there".

read this:
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0009F0CA-C523-1213-852383414B7F0147

Answer 2

You misunderstand what the Big Bang theory says. Part of the problem is that the term 'Big Bang' suggests an explosion, which is not what happened. There was and is no central point to the expansion. It did not come from an initial piece of matter that blew up. It should be pointed out that 'Big Bang' was the phrase given by a detractor to the theory, not a supporter of it.

What happens in the Big Bang scenario is that space itself is expanding. Every point in space sees exactly the same picture as every other point. So there is no outer boundary nor does the universe have to be finite. Now, under the original versions of the theory, it was possible for the universe to be finite, but unbounded. This can happen in a curved space, which is what the model and the mathematics called for. It now looks like the universe is infinite (although the evidence is still not completely conclusive there) and will expand forever.

Answer 3

The boundary of the universe is expanding at the speed of light, this means that the boundary is still at the point of the big bang. It is theoritically impossible to travel faster than light, to do so would mean you were effectively travelling back in time.

Have you heard of the microwave background, this is where scientists trained a telescope into the furthest depths of the universe (nearer the boundary) and saw the heat from the big bang when the universe was still very young.

Answer 4

We don't know but it's about 15 MLY at by E=MC^2 calculations.
But the universe is infinite, as if there was a boundary what's behind that? Yes infinite space, there would, is and should be no boundary, there is a boundary to the hemiverses as it only resembles the mass between the centre and the 15 MLY boundary.
15 Million Light Years and Energy=Mass x speed of light squared in relativity of Einstein. E=MC^2 and 15 MLY.

Answer 5

Recent estimates have placed the size of the universe at at least 156 billion light-years wide. its measured in light years as the number of miles is so huge as to be completely unfathomable... light can travel 7.5 times around the world in just 1 second (Thanks NASA) NASA also gives us the following information, to show just how big a light year is 'In a year's time, light can travel six trillion miles (6,000,000,000,000). It takes over 4 years for the light from the nearest star to reach the Earth'

As to what lies outside, one can only assume one of two things, either more universes, or nothing...

one theory is that one day the universe's expansion will stop, and it will start imploding again, though thats a long way off yet!!! bear in mind that all estimates of size and the way it started etc are just theories... and very little is actually *known* about these subjects, simply theorised and guessed.

Answer 6

The universe is a finite but unbounded space. Remember asteroids the video game? Off one end of the screen back on the other? The universe is like that... no edges,

Answer 7

in accordance to the large Bang idea, we could continually regard area as an somewhat lengthy row of hills and valleys. the area will amplify until eventually gravity will be extra helpful than the forces of the initial explosion that led to the boom of the point in which a limiteless mass replaced into centred and then the completed universe will shrink to the length of the initial aspect and explode lower back.

Answer 8

LOOK HERE IS THE TRUTH, FORGET GODS OR INVISIBLE PINK UNICORNS...


YOU REALLY CAN'T BE THAT BRIGHT IF YOU THINK WE KNOW IT ALL...


UNIVERSE IS A MASSIVE PLACE AND WE ARE ANS SIGNIFICANT AS A GRAIN OF SAND IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.





in other words we wont know the truth for at least another 1000 years when we can build teleopes 3 galaxies long and two deep. And other universal sized instruments


think about it


This does not mean the god , space unicorn or other rubiish made it

Answer 9

The universe isn't infinite and it isn't boundless but it's too big to ever be crossed even if you did manage it you'd end up back where you started cause space/time is curved within it (by going straight you'd end up doing a circuit)
Dependant on what theory you choose. outside is a multiverse or there isn't anoutside and other universes occupy our space/time but in other dimensions.

It's all wierd stuff ;o)

Answer 10

There was a huge black hole in another reality/universe, as the unimaginable forces and matter travelled through the black hole the singularity ripped through the very fabric of time/space it created a "rip" into this existence. At this point matter/time exploded into this reality and thus created everything in it. This process is happening in billions of other Galaxy's in our "Own" universe, creating other dimensions in this complex infinite multiverse/reality existence!!! I know this is true because an Alien visitor told me.