2007-01-12 22:03:05 · 25 answers · asked by cliffrocker 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The expanding of the universe is very different from the expansion of matter into space, as with an explosion for example, but it is actually interpreted as an expansion of space itself, while all matter within is not stretched, etc, but is merely carried along with the expansion. One useful analogy of the expansion is to imagine the universe as being represented on the surface of a balloon with dots drawn on it for galaxies, etc - when you breath into it, the area expands and the dots move further apart - with this expanding there is no expanding into anything, nor a point that the universe expands from ie. there is no centre to the universe (also there is not an end of the universe, if you travelled faster than the expansion, you would end back where you started, as with the balloon surface again).
2007-01-13 00:52:17 · answer #1 · answered by some_blk 2 · 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.
2007-01-13 01:03:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some nice answers to your question, don't you agree? But it is fascinating that there are so many people who still believe that the Koran, or the Bible can supply the answers. There are some more ancient books that say the Universe sits on the back of a big turtle, or a big carp. Both of which beat the hell out of the Koran or the Bible story! But I suppose if you believe the answers are in some old book, you can retreat into a nice cosy world where all the questions have already been answered.
We can then settle down and all be like Jade Goody.
2007-01-13 09:21:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The universe does not expand into anything! It creates its own space time as it expands. Its a hard one to get your head around, I know and it calls for a leap of scientific faith to understand it. The universe is all that there is so to use terms such as outside it really has no meaning.
2007-01-15 23:45:19 · answer #4 · answered by frankiethebear2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cannot ask that, because it is a meaningless question. Space-time is a property of the Universe, so there is no space outside the universe and there is nothing for it to expand "into". Likewise, it is meaningless to speak of "before the Big Bang" because time did not exist then. Your intellectual pitfall, which is a very common one, is to implicitly apply the rules for OUR everyday existence to existence outside the universe, which is a fallacy. The laws of physics are absolute and unchanging WITHIN THE UNIVERSE but there is no way to predict anything outside.
2007-01-12 22:50:40 · answer #5 · answered by poorcocoboiboi 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The overall size of the universe was infinite and will continue to remain infinite with no change in size so it is not the universe expanding it just the distance between galaxies being stretched.
2007-01-13 02:18:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's not expanding into anything, it's just expanding... it's the universe, which means it is everything. there is nothing left to expand into, so that's what it does - it expands into nothing. The distance between things is increasing.
2007-01-12 22:07:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
From what we know, the big bang isn't expanding into anything. And from what we know, there was nothing before the big bang... but really i dont believe in all that, physics is overrated.
2007-01-12 22:53:17 · answer #8 · answered by jason6x6x6 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Our universe is expanding into a parallel universe which is shrinking
2007-01-13 04:39:14 · answer #9 · answered by Bailey B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When they say expanding it means that the distance between the galaxies is increasing... therefore there is more distance between the galaxies and the further galaxies are expanding at greater rates.
2007-01-12 22:08:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋