Right then BRAINIACS....?

Question

If how some say that the UNIVERSE is expanding, then what is it EXPANDING into?

Answer 1

this is actually a common misconception about the big bang. the universe is not expanding into anything. the universe is four-dimensional, but a two-dimensional version may be something like the surface of a sphere. it is this surface that is expanding. the universe seems to be finite in size, yet it has no center and no edge. nothing, not even space-time, seems to exist "outside" the universe. the big bang was the entire universe, and everywhere in the universe was once the big bang. the earliest, or oldest, radiation we can observe is the cosmic microwave background, and we see it in every direction we look, but the universe was much smaller at that time. the universe had expanded and cooled enuf for electrons and atomic nuclei, about 74 percent hydrogen and 26 percent helium, to combine and form neutral atoms. before this time the universe was much like a heavy fog, but when atoms formed, there were no free electrons to scatter light, and the universe became transparent. today, we see this light stretched to microwave wavelengths by the expansion of space-time.

do yourself a favor, read this:
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0009F0CA-C523-1213-852383414B7F0147
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_cosmology

Answer 2

Into Nothing! If there's enough mass compared to how fast the galaxies are currently moving, the universe will eventually stop expanding and begin contracting. So you will have to look into the possibility that universe will stop expanding and start contracting. This results into an event known as the Big Crunch.

However, if there's too little mass in the universe to slow the expansion down, then it could expand like you said it will. But what will it expand to? I believe the universe will expand forever with the universe becoming more and more spread out into eternity.

Answer 3

The expanding universe!
The wave front,the cosmic interface expands outward into nothing. The rate of expantion is limited by the parameters in our universe that limits the speed of light.
We say "Expanding space" but space is a quantum entity.
Let us look at the baloon analogy for a bit. If we inflate a balloon from a cylinder of hydogen ,the balloon expands the pressure inside increases. As the number of hydrogen atoms increase ,we take away the cylinder and [ in some way] cause the balloon to continue expanding. The hydrogen atoms stay the same size but the space between increases.
Space is a quantum entity.
As space expands the pressure decreases [Like the hydrogen atoms] It will reach a pressure that will begin the demise of the universe.
Space will drop to a dencity that cannot sustain the existance of a universe!

Answer 4

The universe is expanding. The redshift of distant galaxies shows that. An analogy can be drawn if you take a balloon and put several dots on its surface while it is mostly deflated. Measure the distance between the dots. Then inflate the balloon and remeasure. You'll find that the dots are farther apart, even though they have not moved with respect to the location where you put them, the surface of the balloon just expanded.
As for what the universe is expanding into....the answer is the future. The universe expands from the past into the future with space-time being "now". If you use the same analogy of the balloon, you blowing air into the balloon is time passing from the future into the past.

Answer 5

Not that anyone has a good sound grasp on this, but you have to think of it like this.

A shepherd 10,000 years ago demands to know why you claim if you started off walking west how you'd eventually return to the same spot from the east. The problem is, the Shepherd thinks the world is flat, though you and I know it's not. If you were to tell the Shepherd the world was somewhat spherical, the shepherd would then demand to know why people don't fall off.

The universe is not expanding into 3D space. 3D space is within the universe. Beyond this point, we can only speak about things mathematically and in theory, on which we try to form analogies that our humble 3D minds can understand the way you can explain light to a blind person and sound to a deaf person but the blind person can't SEE light and the deaf person can't HEAR sound.

Answer 6

Matter was somehow, the how is not universally accepted, introduced to the vacuum. The force in a vacuum is expansionary and tries to make everything equal throughout the vacuum. The initial force of the expansion was obliterating and since the laws of physics do not apply in a vacuum, the initial speed was much, much faster than the speed of light filling the vacuum with a cosmic cloud of equally spaced atoms and particles almost immediately creating space. As the vacuum was transformed into Space the force of the vacuum lessened and remaining larger objects were allowed to exist. The larger objects had already received propulsion as a result of the initial expansion. They continue to travel into space growing farther apart from each other as they do.

Since the vacuum was infinite, Space will be infinite and the vacuum may not be totally stabilized yet causing our current mode of propulsion to be inflation. Space, made up of smaller more easily propelled particles, will continue to advance in front of the larger objects if that is the case.

Answer 7

Our universe is infinite, which means it has no boundary or edge. It goes on for ever. When people say that the universe is expanding, they are talking about the elements within the universe. Galaxies, stars, and planets are moving away from each other. Our Moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of 4 inches per year.

Answer 8

The "universe" may just be an experiment, in some space lab, expanding in a vat. Perhaps put to one side and forgotten about ?

Answer 9

Your question is meaningless because as it expands the Universe creates its own time and space. There is no 'beyond'.

Answer 10

I asked a NASA scientist once if he believed there were other universes. He looked down his nose at me and said "When we don't know anything about our own universe then why bother worrying about other ones"

The point I'm trying to make is no-one knows, we just know it is expanding.