What is the Universe expanding into?

Question

And how did it get there in the first place?

Answer 1

bing bang is a common theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_bang

In physical cosmology, the Big Bang is the scientific theory that the universe emerged from a tremendously dense and hot state about 13.7 billion years ago. The theory is based on the observations indicating the expansion of space (in accord with the Robertson-Walker model of general relativity) as indicated by the Hubble redshift of distant galaxies taken together with the cosmological principle.

Extrapolated into the past, these observations show that the universe has expanded from a state in which all the matter and energy in the universe was at an immense temperature and density. Physicists do not widely agree on what happened before this, although general relativity predicts a gravitational singularity[citation needed] (for reporting on some of the more notable speculation on this issue, see cosmogony).

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apparently through the use of a high-powered telescope and 'red shift' (measurement of light) we've discovered that the universe is expanding at the same rate of speed in every direction

one might hastily conclude that if the universe is expanding in every direction, at the same rate of speed, and the expanding borders of the universe are the same distance all around us, that it is Earth that is the center of the universe.

skeptics believe that this is a perceptual error, or phenomenon

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dont the rest of you people have anything constructive to do, other than offer this person entirely worthless solutions that you've just decided to make up?

Answer 2

Everything that we measure is within the Universe, and
we see no edge or boundary or center of expansion. Thus the Universe is not expanding into anything that we can see. so the answer to the first part of the question is 'NOTHING'. the second part of your question how did we get there in the first place. well it started with the big bang and now after 13.7billion years of expansion we are at this point.

however the word 'NOTHING' might not be as final or bleak as it sounds.

The point of all this is that scientists have known for a long time that the Theory of Relativity (which involves things on a huge scale) and Quantum Theory (which involves things on the subatomic scale) are not compatible with each other.

Until now, that is.

A remarkable general agreement has been developing recently around what is called "quantum cosmology," where scientists believe that a merger of the quantum theory and Einstein's relativity may resolve these aged old questions.

In particular, an appealing but startling new picture is emerging in quantum cosmology which may be able to synthesize some of the great mysteries of the universe.

Quantum cosmology proposes a beautiful synthesis of these different viewpoints. In the beginning there was Nothing. No space, no matter or energy. But according to the quantum principle, even Nothing was unstable. Nothing began to decay; i.e. it began to "boil," with billions of tiny bubbles forming and expanding rapidly. Each bubble became an expanding universe.

If this is true, then our universe is actually part of a much larger "multiverse" of parallel universes, which is truly timeless.

As Nobel laureate Steve Weinberg has said, "An important implication is that there wasn't a beginning; that there were increasingly large Big Bangs, so that the [multiverse] goes on forever - one doesn't have to grapple with the question of it before the Bang. The [multiverse] has just been here all along. I find that a very satisfying picture."

Universes can literally spring into existence as a quantum fluctuation of Nothing. (This is because the positive energy found in matter is balanced against the negative energy of gravity, so the total energy of a bubble is zero. Thus, it takes no net energy to create a new universe.)

so taking all these views together leaves me to think that the universe will keep expanding into nothing until it dies along with all the rest of the propose parallel or alternative universes. so eventually their will be nothing left and perhaps nothing will become unstable again, repeating the whole process over and over and over etc etc etc.

Answer 3

Its not expanding into anything. A difficult concept to grasp
is that of space/time. This gives an object a position in space as well as a time. You can say you are at a certain point of longitude and a certain point of latitude at a particular point in time.

As these two work together it follows that they are a consequence of each other so as the universe expands space as well as time are created. Therefore time does not exist beyond the current bounds of the universe and so nothing exists there.

It makes my head hurt just typing it!

Answer 4

It is not expanding it is now coming back together. The theory is that the big bang exploded the universe into its current state and the force of gravity is now pulling the universe back into itself which will result in a very large explosion – another big bang which will cast the universe back out again – starting again. This will go on forever with the universe constantly renewing itself.

Or something.

Answer 5

There can be no logical answer to this question. And anyone who tells you they have all the answers are kidding themselves.

How can anyone know what the "universe" is expanding into when no one has been to the end of the universe to attain concrete evidence.

We like to think we know all the answers but the TRUTH is we know NOTHING Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaa.

This is a question that literally sends people insane - just look at me. lol

Answer 6

The universe is expanding into nothing. Space is expanding into nothing. There is nothing out beyond the universe.

Answer 7

Well no one knows for sure...the science dudes are still striving for the perfect formula, but i dont think we'll ever get it. its possible that there are many universes, billions even, contained, maybe not. or there is this one and it is an endless infinite cycle of "big bangs" and collapses. the universe will collapse once it reaches its "critical density" , but theres no way of determining if/when this will happen. i dont believe that the universe is infinite, there has to be a cut off point, but again this is impossible to determine with our current technologies.

Answer 8

It's not expanding into anything there is nothing there to expand into. Not empty space (which is something), but nothing!

How did it get there? Wow! That's the big one. Some say God, some say it's a recurring cycle, I say - we don't know and never can.

Answer 9

What is the Universe expanding into?

A disaster!

Answer 10

It isn't really expanding into anything - it's creating it's own space and time as it goes.

Where did it come from? God only knows (although I don't mean that literally, since I don't believe in him).