2006-09-08 06:25:08 · 13 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Per the Theory the whole mass of it was concentrated to the volume of a golf Ball.So looking from another perspective it real volume is really known by golfers.Its not that big is it?
2006-09-08 06:58:32 · update #1
Isnt the surface of a sphere the boundary that defines the Sphere?
2006-09-08 08:48:05 · update #2
that' a question similiar to something I always ponder. If the universe is expanding than what is it expanding into. There is just so much we don't know. To be finite than it has to be bound by something so what is that something?
2006-09-08 06:29:45 · answer #1 · answered by Carp 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The Universe may be almost infinite because the big bang happened so long ago and the parts of the universe are traveling faster and faster. But, you are right it cannot be infinite. Carl Sagan in the series Cosmos pointed out that there are less than a goolgeplex of objects in the universe (a goolgeplex is a goolge to the power of a goolge.
Issac Asimov (who wrote I Robot) had a theory about the universe. He said that the universe is so big that we cannot see or interact with all of it. To do so would require us to travel faster than the speed of light to reach or even see the edge of the universe.
Here is another thought for you. The universe is expanding at an increasing rate (the astronomer Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding). The speed of this expansion is increasing. Since we cannot travel faster than the speed of light nor see objects so far that the sight of them will have to exceed light speed for us to see them. The universe is actually decreasing. There are fewer objects that we can see or reach.
Because the objects first created from the big bang cannot exceed the speed of light they are stuck at the 99.99% of the speed of light. This means that these objects are at the edge of the Universe.
Therefore not only is the Universe not infinte, it is decreasing and all of it is plying up at the edges. So we had better get out into Interplanatery space while we can. If we don't do it in time (say a few billion-billion years) then we will never reach other solar systems.
2006-09-08 13:45:02 · answer #2 · answered by Dan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whether the universe is infinte or finite is not known. Either possibility is consistent with BB theory. An infinite universe expands by becoming less dense on average (infinity times an expansion factor is still infinity). What was the size of a golf ball at a very early time is that portion of the universe that is presently visible to us at *this* time, which is limited by how far light could travel since the BB. What often causes confusion is that when people say "The univese", they often mean "The visible universe". Astronomers do this habitually because it's there job to see things, so they don't care about things they can't see. Many go even further and consider the discussion of unobservables scientifically meaningless.
2006-09-08 15:43:07 · answer #3 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They call it infinite because that ball exploded and the universe is still expanding based on that initial explosion (this is evidenced by the red shift in the spectrum of stars). Things that are in a constant state of expansion have no finite boundaries. The amount of matter is certainly finite though.
My question is where did the little ball come from? Were there other little dense balls? What was around that little ball? If it was just in a vacuum, why would a little ball surrounded by nothingness suddenly explode?
Even the most volatile chemicals won't suddenly explode when completely alone in a vacuum - there needs to be some kind of outside force to initiate such a reaction.
2006-09-08 13:28:14 · answer #4 · answered by lepninja 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about a "little" ball, but infinity itself is a logical absurdity. The size of the observable universe is about 28 billion light years in diameter. Beyond that, according to Hubble's Law, objects are receding from us faster than the speed of light, so light from those objects hasn't had time to reach us yet.
Some guy named Obler did the math and calculated that if the universe were infinite, the night sky would be as bright as day. His theory is referred to as "Obler's Paradox." Of course it's theory, but it fits well with the Big Bang Theory.
2006-09-08 13:32:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Modern physics does not, in fact, describe an infinite universe but a universe that is "finite, but unbounded." Like the surface of a sphere, it is finite but has no edge.
2006-09-08 13:32:18 · answer #6 · answered by x 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"They" do NOT say the universe is infinite - they say it is "finite but unbounded" because it is expanding at the speed of light and as it is not possible to exceed the speed of light, you can never get to the actual edge of it. Also, on "human scale" it could easily considered to be "infinite" as it is so vast. Human beings haven't even landed on Mars yet - the next planet - let alone visited the nearest star which is about 4 light years away. Mars is about 20 light minutes away, which gives you an idea of the difference in scale.
2006-09-08 13:29:28 · answer #7 · answered by Paul H 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, but what if that finite little ball is just a molecule on the ring finger of a giant?
2006-09-08 13:48:30 · answer #8 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Surprisingly nobody knows whether or not the universe is infinite. We do know that the currently observable universe resulted from the big bang.
2006-09-08 15:58:42 · answer #9 · answered by bruinfan 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The universe is finite but has infinate posibility
2006-09-08 13:27:44 · answer #10 · answered by campojoe 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋