Ok Mind breaking question. If the universe wasnt infinate then what would be beyond it? space? matter? what?

Question

If space ends and please lets just suppose it IS NOT infinate. what would the edge of it look like and what would be beyond it.

GOD BELIEVERS PLEASE DONT ANSWER THIS QUESTION

Answer 1

Boy, I've heard this question a thousand times. I do appreciate the god admonition, though. I know what you mean. Sheeesh. Anyway, the concept of curved space is very difficult to wrap your mind around, but there are lots of good books on cosmology, and I'll recommend a few. What is particularly difficult to really grasp is that time and space are very much intertwined with each other, giving rise to the term "spacetime." The universe didn't "expand" into anything, it brought our 4 dimensions (including time) with it. Before space itself expanded at lightspeed, or if Inflation Theory is right, faster than lightspeed, there was no "time." Leaving multiverse theories aside for the sake of brevity, our universe, including time, is all there is. That's why it's called a universe. So you are asking a question about space ... matter... or what ... of something that is out of time. Or another way of putting it, it doesn't exist. It's not black, it's not "infinite" --it just simply doesn't exist. Our universe is not "inside" something, we are inside the universe. The question is more problematic than any answer. Philosophically speaking, there is "mind." "Mind" exists in time. No time, no "mind" and whatever mystery drives existence and ultimately our awareness would not be there. There is no "edge" to time. It either is, or it isn't.

Answer 2

Correct answers from Dwayne and the nearby answer from Jonathan.And the question from the author shows that he/she has the correct understanding that SPACE cannot end.
Although the UNIVERSE is just the matter from the big bang theory ( caused by God or otherwise) and so is easily finite.But SPACE is infinite because there is no Great Wall Of Space with no space on the other side.So planets and stars/suns might not inhabit most space but the space will still be everywhere! SPACE , the FINAL FRONTIER !
Thank You for giving the opportunity for me to give you the best answer.
Also the idea of ending up where we started travelling from is infantile. he is talking as if space is a global planet . SPACE is more of a FLAT EARTH type of theory than a global planet theory.
Damn bloody short life for humans , it is not fair .
I want to live forever so I can travel forever through SPACE !
So time must go one forever too.
So do we agree that the universe and space are not the same and that the universe is the product of a possible big bang and that INFINITE SPACE is beyond that?

Answer 3

I believe one of the most accepted theories is that our universe wraps around into itself. However, I can't explain how that theory was derived.

My answer to your question though is purely speculation on my part, and not a scientific theory (or at least I have never heard of such a theory). Whether our universe is "infinite" or a closed system that wraps into itself, I suspect that what we know as "the universe" is really just a small speck within the super universe. The super universe being everything mankind knows as the universe, plus anything beyond that.

I suspect that some day we will find that within the super universe there are many other universes similar to our own, and many others that are very different from our own. I don't expect we will actually be able to observe other universes from within our own universe, but we might be able to predict them mathematically or some other way.

In a sense though my answer doesn't really answer your question because you are still left with the question what exists beyond the super universe.

The conundrum is that an infinite universe or super universe is no easier to comprehend or accept as a finite universe or super universe. While I can imagine an infinite universe, I am left unsatisfied knowing that all the stars and other matter from our "local" big bang exists, but there is an empty infinite space around it. Why couldn't there just as easily be other big bangs occurring out in the infinite space somewhere?

It is more comforting to think our universe, or the super universe, is finite, but as soon as you define it as such, you have to define a line where it stops. Then you ask, "What is on the other side?"

Even if what we know as the universe wraps around into itself, and you assume the big bang theory is correct, one has to wonder how the universe can expand after the big bang, if there is nothing beyond what we know as the universe. What is the universe expanding into?

The conundrum is similar to the question regarding the existence of anything at all. How can nothing exist? The fact that nothing can be described as such implies that it must be something.

Answer 4

Well....it could be nothing like most people are saying. However, another possibility is another entirely different universe. Think of it like this...you have translunar travel (the traveling between planet and moon) next you have interplanetary travel(the traveling between planets in your home solar system) next there is interstellar space travel (which is the travel between stellar systems or the stars...then you have intergallactic travel (the traveling between galaxies...galaxies are the largest known coherent structures or bodies in space-time....what if you traveled to the end of our universe and there was a gateway at the end of our universe to another....and there were thousands of universes out there....interuniversal space travel anyone! The only problem with this theory is that universe is defined as all matter and anything that exist anywhere in space time.....that would mean if the above stated was true.....what we thought was the universe......would simply become the largest known coherent structure....a step up from a galaxy....mind bending huh! I would conjecture that the universe must be infinite. How can nothing exist...the fact that it can be defined means that it IS...and even if it was just a void it would still exist in space-time which means it's a part of the universe. Haha...i do, however, believe in god.....but there is a logical and intellectually stimulating scientific answer for you!

Answer 5

Well according to quantum mechanics if you break down atoms you would get electrons and if you keep going you would hit something called branes. It is like a looped string vibrating. This is the reason scientists believe cause the discrepancies between quantum mechanics and theory of general and special relativity. Some scientists believe that our universe is inside a brane which is stretched almost like a CD. Then if you want to go deeper into that the scientists, or rather the theorists believe that our universe is created when two branes collided with each other and the energy from the collision created our universe. I am pretty sure this is what I read in An Elegant Universe By Brian Greene.

Answer 6

See, I think that space is infinite and a universe is finite and a product of its own big bang.

My reasons:
Space is everything that our mind cannot comprehend. Everybody is wondering what would be on the other side if space ends. Well, wouldn't it be easier to believe that since space is the absents of matter then it equals that "nothing" that everyone is trying to imagine.

The universe is finite due to the limited amount of matter it started out with.

The universe that we live in exist in the infinite amount of space (or the infinite amount of nothing).

Answer 7

The Universe isn't actually infinite and it can be shown that it is in fact expanding and contracting (red and blue shifts). For something to be expanding implies it's not infinite. My own opinion is that there is nothingness to where the Universe hasn't expanded. Remember, outer space really isn't empty (there's slight matter and radiation)

Answer 8

The answer is nothing. The universe contains all things; beyond the universe is nothing. Now, try wrapping your mind around the thought of true nothingness. Mind-boggling, isn't it?

Answer 9

ohgoo I believe in God but that doesn't mean I think science is heresy and everyone should be burned.

With that in mind you first assume what if the universe wasn't infinite. If you MAKE it not infinite in your imagination, you should also provide an appropriate filler like a weave of cosmic strings or ice cream.

Answer 10

Mind-breaking answer -- totally unknown. By definition, the "universe" is everything there ever was, is now, or ever will be. To know about anything else would require that we somehow leave the universe.