OK, if space doesn't end as it is infinite? How come?

Question

We all know the world, the ground beneath our feet. This planet is finite. Fine, that's OK. But we are in space. If it doesn't end and it is infinite then, how come? There's no point just telling me it's infinite. Tell me how it is infinite. It doesn't make sense. Trouble is, if it is finite what is behind that, as per my previous question. Been thinking and mindf*cked about this questions since I was about 12 (many many years ago). Go on really try and imagine it and think about the ludicrousness of the whole concept of space and infinity. And then try and imagine how religion fits into it. These are people who don't bother thinking about this kind of thing and are so short sighted they just rely on their belief in God; as to really think about God would prove his none existance and throw up the kind of questions I am asking now

Answer 1

The general concensus in the scientific community is that space is finite it's just getting bigger...

The thing is existance is a two way street, stuff needs space to exists in and space needs stuff in it to exist.

If you go as far as the furthest point out on the edge of space from the earth there is something there. Say a single photon... This photon has space between it and everything else. It can be billions of light years away from earth and that distance is the Space between it and earth. That space is subject to the same laws as all other space, gravity can bend it and such.

But if you go the other way there is nothing past the photon. You can't say there is space there because there is nothing to measure towards. The laws of our universe can't exist there because they haven't reached beyond that single hypothetical photon.

Beyond that point we have no idea what exists because nothing is coming from that direction for us to learn from. So space is only as big as space. There may or may not be something past it there is no way to know, when there is no way to know there is only room for faith.

Science is man's attempt to understand and religion is truly the first science. The main fault found with religion is that the guesses of eons past are given as abosute truths not to be tested and thus there are those who believe the earth is only 6000 years old and flat with no other evidence than a collection of wood pulp and ink which has been translated, edited and censored by men through the ages that they choose to believe is finally in this version the inviolate truth against no other claim will stand.

But there are those who do reconcile those same words with new evidence and whose religion does try to keep pace with science and in the end their faith can not be contradicted by any evidence found.

Either you believe or you don't. Or to paraphrase Twain. You can't reason a man out of a position he didn't reason himself into.

Answer 2

I suggest you read A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It's really good at breaking down these questions by analogy and is written for the layman. Actually, nobody KNOWS that space is infinite. There are several theories - two of the most popular go like this: Space is continually expanding as a result of the release of energy in the big bang, it will continue to expand forever and eventually all energy will dissipate and atrophy (heat death). Space would be a cold relative vacuum of incalculable volume. OR Space is still expanding from the Big Bang (as evidenced by the Doppler effect) but eventually the force of gravity would act to bring all matter crashing back to a central starting point (the very beginning point of the original Big Bang). The result of this compression of matter would result in another big bang and it would all happen all over again. Imagine this - you could have asked this same question a billion times before and will ask it infinite times again. Now that's mind boggling. ;-)

Answer 3

I believe that this questions they have to do more with the subject of cosmology and not astronomy but i would do my best to answer this question and the answer is NO the universe it dose not has an end somewhere in space we see a super nova "killing" the X part of the universe somewhere lase there is another star was born (what we call star in that case is a Galaxy galactic system and so on ..so if you believe at the BIG BANG the case that everything started for some-were then you have to keep in mind also the theory of the BIG BOOING that everything ended once a pon a time but also stared all over again and again...As for the part of God it's just something that we don't know that's why we use the "art " of philosophy" to explain everything with one Major question WHY?...well to except theories and fact's like that we have to be very open minded something that i don't see yet

Answer 4

I've thought of this many times too. I believe it is finite but constantly growing with new stars and planets being born in the expanding blackness which is beyond space. I did once think that maybe beyond the blackness is bright white with black matter. Where the black matter eventually takes over the light, it becomes the black space we all know. Is this God? I don't know. I'm not sure if I believe in God and heaven, but I do believe in the universe and Patrick Moore. Maybe God wears a monocle?

There are theories that once the universe gets to a certain size, it will all of a sudden shrink back and collapse, only to explode again in a never-ending cycle of birth and death and rebirth. Maybe this is an argument for buddhism and reincarnation?

Answer 5

But relativity comes to our rescue here. It is only infinite to the extent that we can observe it as being so. And since we cannot travel faster than the speed of light and we have only been around for so long, we can't get all that far to then stretch our arm out and feel some more. But then you look and the stars and galaxies seem to go further and further still, every bit as far as when you looked from your home planet. And then you realise that it is only what you can see. And seeing as opposed to feeling and stretching the arm, is not the real reality - its just a trick of the eye.

Answer 6

If it isn't infinite, then whats at the end and beyond the end? Sorry, but what's god got to do with space? Surely god was created by people thinking about this kind of stuff?

Answer 7

Our minds can't comprehend the concept of infinity.We want to be able to draw the universe as a border but what would be outside that border.There are more things we do not know than we have already learnt.This is why atheists can't get their heads around God...they need to see or understand him before they believe,it does n't work like that.When they experience His presence then they will understand,in the meantime they continue to try to undermine people's beliefs.

Answer 8

no begining that what you have to get your head around , and no end, one big bang is total rubbish there are lot of big bangs all the time its a cycle , black hole reaches critical, and years of observation to come will prove right , and so it starts again bang,expand ,black hole. religion, what ever is born planet or people with in that cycle , some body will always think there is a higher being, a reason to be ,is we are, so look out universe if we ever get off this rock

Answer 9

Your not the only one who has ever thought of this question and it's resulting million or so sub-questions.
What you must have spent a good few minutes typing can be summed up into one brief phase that everyone will understand better.
What is the meaning of life and why are we here?
The answer is, i dont know, no-one knows and i doubt will ever know.
Your not about to find the causality expletive on Yahoo answers my friend.

Answer 10

It is infinite because gravity bends your path as you travel which means eventually you will come back to where you started. Just like you can never get to the end of the Earth, you can never get to the end of the Universe.