Universal mystery?

Question

If the universe is expanding what is it expanding into?

Answer 1

When we say the universe is expanding, what is meant is that all the bodies in it are moving away from each other. The most distant ones are moving into empty space. I have no difficulty with that.

Answer 2

No one knows where the universe is expanding in. Before people know that they should be able to know the features of universe, like how much it expands a month or so, what is it's diameter (that would take really long), how many galaxies there are and everything. Even though it is really-really hard to find these answer, I think they won't be able to do anything about the question you asked.

Answer 3

The Universe is not expanding into anything as far as our three dimensions are concerned. The universe is simply every that is in contact with each other. Like all the stars and galaxies in our universe. Our universe however, maybe expanding into a higher dimension. Some theories say that our universe may be the 3D surface of a 4D sphere. In that case, our universe would be finite yet boundless. If you were to "walk" in one direction you would eventually come back to the same place.

I should also note that it is not the things in the universe that are expanding, spacetime itself is expanding.

Answer 4

The expansion of the universe is detected by red shift that has occured in all distant objects viewed from earth, meaning that they are moving away from us. If all objects seem to be moving away from us, they are in fact retreating from us into an expanding space, hence an expanding universe. If there is an infinite amount of 'space' out there to expand into, we will eventually encounter another expanding universe coming our way. However, assuming this is the case, there must be infinite expanding univeres out there, and the sky, barring dark matter, would be light all the time from the passage of photons from all these big-bang events that an infinite universe should have produced in an infinite time. Assuming our universe to be the only ever 'big bang' event is also rather 'high and mighty' of us, infinity produces an infinity of possibilities, all of which must come to fruition. Theories abound, and some of them are well founded in modern astrophysics, but is there yet a correct one? Obscure answers that state we are arriving where we left only hide our ignorance, and I mean that literally, of what is really happening. If we are truly expending and the universe is moving outwards, why do we bother to model colliding galaxies, they would all be moving away from each other with no opportunity to collide.

Answer 5

Whatever it is must not be very dense. Could it be expanding into space created from the shock waves of the big bang? I Don't know. Its all speculation from the edge on.
String theory/ M Theory suggests a universe sized membrane that we are confined inside of.
It also suggests 11 dimensions.So does the expanding universe cause the membrane to expand further?If so then wouldn't it pile up on the edge/outskirts? I'll bet that is a huge problem for M theorists.
Well you have definitely asked the 64 million dollar question! I want to know.Don't we all? I think that question raises a host of problems for Relativity and M theorists.Good question.Good day!

Answer 6

Some scientists, not all, say and try to prove that the universe is expanding to support their Big Bang theory. In order for Big Bang to work, the universe has to have an end. We don't know that it is expanding. We only know that there is movement.

The vacuum that was infinite was replaced by the universe. The universe must be infinite. The vacuum created the movement that exists now. The speed of movement of matter in the universe has been slowed by gravity to the point where complex matter can exist. Fortunately, the amount of available space is so large that large things rarely run into each other as they are moving about.

Answer 7

the universe is finite yet has no edge and no center. it is four-dimensional, but if you can imagine a two-dimensional version the it seems to be something like the surface of a sphere. it is this surface that is expanding. space-time is stretching.

within the first tiny fraction of a second, the universe suddenly became very, very much larger in an amount of time that was an even smaller fraction of a second. this super-fast expansion is called inflation. after inflation, the expansion began to slow, but beginning about five billion years ago, the expansion seems to have begun to accelerate. the expansion of the universe is now accelerating not slowing.

the big bang was not an explosion of matter in empty space. the big bang was the entire universe, and everywhere in the universe was once the big bang. nothing, not even space-time, exists "outside" the universe.

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

Answer 8

The Universe isn't expanding. For something to have expanded you'd have to have known its original size. Expansion is a comparrison. By 'Expanding" what is actually meant is that everything as far as we can tell is spreading out in relation to each other. This started from the 'Big-Bang and due to a lack of friction or resistance in space will continue indefinately.

Answer 9

The universe isn't expanding "into" anything. It is merely spreading out. There is nowhere to go other than somewhere besides where it is now. The only thing out there is more of the same.

Answer 10

It's not expanding into anything, it's just expanding. The universe, by definition, is everything - it's just getting bigger.