how fast would one have to travel to reach the edge of the expansion, or could it be described as the beginning of time? Please explain simply as I only have a D in Physics and Biology and left school over 16 years ago.
2006-11-18 11:50:51 · 16 answers · asked by Rosie E 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Very Very, Unbelievably, Stupidly Fast, the edge is THOUGHT to be at least 3 Billion years away, at light speeds.
The universe is THOUGHT to have been developing from the expansion known as the big bang.
There is not enough observable mass to account for this hypothesis, NOT theory, so, the so called, scientists invented DARK MATTER, to try to plug the gap in their heamoraging hypothesis.
You can't prove dark matter exists, or it wouldn't be dark. (very convenient)
Anyway, if there isn't enough matter, the universe will keep on expanding, getting thinner and thinner, untill it gradually falls apart, however, if there is enough matter, gravity will cause it all to implode (collapse on itself) and we will have the reverse of the BIG BANG, or GNAB GIB as we Real Scientists like to call it in our lighter moments (When we are not mocking the pseudoscientists). After Gnab Gib, or Event Final, it can all start again.
Apparently, this is the seventh time I've been sat here typing this... Aaaaaaaaargh!!!!!
The moral of the story.... Stick to what can be proved, leave the guessing to Arts Students.
2006-11-18 21:18:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its not expanding in to anything - our spacetime bubble is all that there is - to visualise how something can expand without having edges you have to think about the old analogy of a doughnut shaped universe. Imagine an old video game like asteroids - you fly off the edge of the screen and appear on the other side - so the sides are contiguous - so imagine folding the screen in to a cylinder - now it makes sense - but if you fly off the other 2 sides the same happens - how you have to link the two ends of a cylinder - this, in 3 dimensions is the reason for the universes expansion despite being all that is. Imagine a grid you're standing on, each point on it is getting further away from all the other parts but it wouldnt necessarily make you think what was happening at the edge. Read up on cosmology if you're interested in these ideas.
2016-05-22 01:53:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The universe is expanding, as far as we are aware, but it isn't expanding INTO anything - it's creating space and time as it goes.
Even if you had the time, you could never reach the edge of the universe and peer out - space-time is curved, and you would just end up back where you started. So, the universe is "finite but boundless" as Stephen Hawking put it.
Have you read Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Nearly Everything.? Brilliant, and explains all this stuff in a simple and easy to understand way. Can't recommend it highly enough.
2006-11-18 11:56:59 · answer #3 · answered by Hello Dave 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Truth is, nobody really knows for sure, and any answers you get will only be based on theories. My personal favourite theory is that there are an infinity of Universes (which I accept makes the term "Universe" an oxymoron) all expanding into each other. They start with a bang and these bangs happen all the time. Our Universe is probably mixed up with little bits of billions of other Universes! In order to get "out" of our Universe, you'd have to travel at the speed of light for 13 billion lightyears.
2006-11-18 11:58:40 · answer #4 · answered by Kango Man 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Two thoughts. If there is enough mass in the universe, it's suggested that eventually gravity will take control and pull everything back together in an event some refer to as the "Big Crunch." Another Big Bang might follow -- an oscillating universe. If there isn't enough mass for gravity to pull everything back together, the universe will continue to expand until all stars die -- and so the universe.
2006-11-18 12:26:06 · answer #5 · answered by Joe Y 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The big bang theory has not yet been proven. However the universe IS expanding and I don't think anyone knows when it will end. Maybe when life ends.
2006-11-19 09:25:02 · answer #6 · answered by Gooner 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will expand into a bigger universe. Until eventually it will go BANG and then it will start all over again. So get a Good Nights sleep because you have get a long wait ahead of you.
2006-11-18 12:19:56 · answer #7 · answered by whatsinaname58 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Universe is expanding into the 4th dimension. If you imagine our 3D world as a flat 2D surface, the 4th dimension would be like our 3D world.
2006-11-19 07:39:13 · answer #8 · answered by wilde_space 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the universe is not expanding, it is collapsing onto itself...you would have to travel the speed of light, from the time you are the age of ninety to reach the end of the time. remember traveling at the speed of light will in theory make your age reverse.....but this is all fantasy, because it is beyond human physical and mental capacity.
2006-11-18 12:01:39 · answer #9 · answered by jojothedogfacewonderbody 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
scientists have yet to find out but you could never reach the edge as it is expanding at the speed of light
2006-11-18 11:54:27 · answer #10 · answered by gaxe8 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋