if the universe is expanding whats in the space its expanding in to?

Answer 1

You've been watching to many 'Sky-TV' adverts haven't you? Those scary kids ask the very same question, then people post them on here. Minus ten points for originality.

Answer 2

i'm going to try and answer this question in the reverse order.
before the big bang there was nothingness, then suddenly bang space, matter and time came into existance, since then the speed of the universe expansion has accellerated and space is expanding with it. so space did not appear out of nothingness, space was created with the big bang, so with that there is no space outside the universe. therefore the universe is expanding into nothingness.

i know that this might sound a bit bleak however there seems to be a merger of einstein's general theory of relativity and quantum theory called quantum cosmology which have some very interesting views on 'NOTHING'. ie nothing became unstable it started to decay and then boil forming billions of expanding bubbles. each one of them bubbles are universes. therefore universes are created from nothingness. given the word 'nothing' a whole new dimension

so our universe could be expanding alongside other expanding universes

Answer 3

Interesting question! There are two theories to this. One is the 'Big Bang' theory which traces back the origins of the Universe to a massive explosion of matter from a highly dense atomic particle and has been ever expanding since with creation of new matter. The other theory says that the Universe is now actually shrinking! Its like a balloon that shrinks when air escapes from it. Won't get into technicalities now.

The Universe could be described as a collection of matter or bodies that are scattered into space and has no boundaries, no beginning or end. This means that the space itself is vacuum and the Universe has filled some portion of it. The question is does space have any dimensions? We don't know.

Have you ever thought that there could actually be many such Universes like ours? Lets ponder ;-)

Answer 4

The Universe is expanding into nothingness - no time, not even a vacuum and as there is nothing ouside it to stop it, the Universe can continue to expand. The other Universes which have been mentioned below are thought to exist in the same space as ours but in a different dimension.

Answer 5

I'm not sure that there is a limit to the amount of empty space around us but that is a marvelous question.

I've also heard that in each galaxy there is a black hole.

Not to mention that scientist speculate that the universe was only the size of a pea at one time.

It makes you wonder if it's all just a cycle of expanding and compressing matter creating new systems of reality every time a new random sequence of events occures.

People still have not determined what the smallest peice of an atom is. Perhaps there is no need for atoms at all in order for some form of reality to exist.

It all makes you think not only about science but about philosophy. The whole tree in the forest thing.

Who knows what is out there. Its a huge adventure waiting to be explored.

Answer 6

Your question implies that you think of the big bang as a conventional explosion with materials expanding from a central point.

It is, however, an explosion OF SPACE, not an explosion in space.

According to the standard models there was no space and time before the big bang. There was not even a "before" to speak of. So, the Big Bang was very different from any explosion we are accustomed to and it does not need to have a central point.

If the big bang were an ordinary explosion in an already existing space we would be able to look out and see the expanding edge of the explosion with empty space beyond. Instead we see back towards the big bang itself and detect a faint background glow from the hot primordial gases of the early universe. This Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is uniform in all directions. This tells us that it is not matter which is expanding outwards from a point but rather, it is space itself which expands evenly.

The fact that the universe is expanding uniformly would not rule out the possibility that there is some denser, hotter place that might be called the centre, but careful studies of the distribution and motion of galaxies confirm that it is homogeneous on the largest scales we can see, with no sign of a special point to call the centre

Answer 7

As the Universe includes all space, the universe isn't expanding INTO space. That's a common misconception. In fact, it is space that is expanding! so, the Universe as it stands now, with its encompassed space is the universe in the future, only space has been further "stretched" or expanded, and hence why objects which lie in space move further away from each other as time progresses.

Answer 8

The problem with space is that, as far as we know, it is infinite. This is difficult for humans to comprehend because we live in a finite world. Our planet is now easy to understand in terms of its dimensions. Similarly our system is mostly understood in terms of orbits and number of planets and satellites etc. Our sun is called Sol so our system is the Sol-ar system. Our sun is a star and as anyone who looks into the sky at night can see there are millions of stars.

Space on the other hand has no known end, so the universe is basically what we know (or think we know). It is comprised of all the galaxies including our own Milky Way.

However, there's an even more intriguing question. The term universe implies that there is one. uni = one, as in unicycle.
I can compare this to monotheism. In ancient times civilisations such as the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans had many Gods. Perhaps there are many universes - or rather a multiverse.

Answer 9

Only the part of space which actually has something in it exists. Neither matter nor energy are reality. Everything is supposed to be either a particle or a wave. However neither of these definitions stand up all that well in every case and some things have the properties of both. It is likely that only one thing exists and everything is made of it. Solving what that one thing is gets you into philosophy rather than theoretical physics as the ability to experiment is pretty much non-existent.

Answer 10

I have struggled with this myself. The answer is Nothing. Yea, I know, its not a very satisfying answer. Try not to think of the universe as a sphere, the current thinking is that it is flat. So, if you were able to some how build a space ship and go at the speed of light you would never reach the end. You would never run into a sign that said, "You are leaving the Universe". If you were outside of the universe and looking down at it, then by definition, you would be inside of it. This is a very hard concept to understand. I'm a physics major and I struggle with this myself.

The best way to think about it is like the: The Universe is finite and unbounded. If you can understand that, then maybe it will help you to understand the answer to your question.

Answer 11

Ah But there is also a theory out there that Say's we are not expanding any more but residing in theory. But the current explanation out there that makes the most seines is that space makes space, Think of it like a wave that goes out like a spear the energy will continue to Carry on so long as there is nothing in it's way, I.E. Space creates space.