If the universe is expanding, what is it expaning into?

Question

if it is expanding then wont it get thinner and eventual get so thin as its being streched break?

Answer 1

The universe is expanding with space-time. Space is expanding into time. There is nothing on the "outside" of the universe. Time and space do not exist at this point so you cannot define what it is expanding into.

As per the second issue of stretching...

The universe is not stretching as a rubber band or balloon stretches. Space-time is rolling out, but the fabric of the universe is not stretching.

for "need2know":

Good for you. Using your noggin is to be applauded. Physics teachers often use this analogy to express the space-time continuum and it is indeed not typically used correctly.
The primary point of the balloon idea is that not only is it expanding, but we live inside the rubber inside the wall of the balloon. We can travel anywhere inside the walls of the balloon, but cannot go into the air inside or outside. So when the balloon is expanding, we have more distance to be able to travel around, but really all the places remain in the same place. (as the balloon blows up, points on opposite sides of the balloon seem to get farther apart.)


for jcurrieii:

There are still competing theories about what will the fate of the universe be. Recent redshift data from distant pulsars and quasars seem to currently indicate that the universe is expanding at varying rate that we don't quit understand yet. Sometimes, it expands more quickly than others.


The whole point here is that your educated guess is as good as anyone Else's. The universe could be expanding into a sea of intergalactic pickles for all we know. Scientists really don't know much about this, so don't expect to get a definitive answer.

Answer 2

Each answer you have here so far has elements of the different explanations that have been documented over time. Time though is currently being looked at because it only exists to assist us with our lives as having linear time enables us to sequence things and brings about an order to our otherwise chaotic existence. We made it up and so for me that rules out any explanation that bases itself on time being essential to it. I think the latest research to work out what type of universe we're in actually found the opposite explanation to the one given by another member to be true. Scientists had expected it to be expanding at a certain rate & were astonished to find it was expanding 10 times faster than their calculations had predicted meaning the whole thing was gaining in speed. Taken on the basis of what can't be imagined doesn't exist this would mean the universe can and does expand into nothing. It fills the void with what is being imagined and the fact that we are evolving at such a speed these days supports the pace that universal expansion is happening at as we fill the void faster than ever before with new ideas. Funny don’t you think how people tend to argue about the existence of god and try to use science as a way of showing there is no such thing. They’ll then say give me evidence solid proof that Gods existence is true and can’t grasp the concept of taking it on faith, yet that’s exactly what they expect you to do when they tell you things like there’s nothing outside of our universe to expand into. The big bang seems to me might have been more like the small click cause if you back engineer the expansion of the universe on the basis that it's faster than ever then it means that it should get slower when you try tracing its origins.

Answer 3

First there was nothing, then a cosmic boom that caused a big bang. What came after the big bang was reality. Reality can only be observed by those that are able to understand something has happened to cause creation. we the human being are the start of an ever lasting evolving spiral which we may or may not be able to comprehend in the life span of the human race. We do not even know whether we exist or not. Reality is confined to the balloon that is expanding. We measure that reality in terms of dimension, Length x breath x height and add another dimension called time. How ever many dimensions there are it will not answer your question for without having a concept of reality and adding it to our calculations of universal exploration we will go little further in space exploration. Neither will we understand the concept of God.

Answer 4

I remember having a huge row with my Physics teacher about this. He said that the universe is expanding as if you were blowing up a balloon but it isn't expanding into anything. My natural response was BS cos the balloon expands into the room so therefore the universe must be expanding into something! The official answer is NO. I dont believe him so I'll be keeping track of your question cos it would be super cool if some science bod out there can tell us different! Cheers. Good question.

Answer 5

It is expanding "into" itself.

As for "breaking," no. Last info I can remember hearing is that the universe is believed to be a closed system. It will eventually reach a point where it's own mass will cause it to collapse back into itself, starting the process all over again as it collapses into an unstable singularity, and the next big bang occurs.

Answer 6

The answer sounds so simple

I SWEAR what you will read next is the honest answer.

''the universe CREATES new space as it expands''.

EXPLANATION: No need to worry about where to get the space from if you simple create it

I know your thinking, 'but where does the space come from'?

The universe doesn't work like that.

Let me try to explain....

What exists outside the universe.......
What exists beyond your imagination......

The answer is the same.

If it can be imagined, it can exist.

I love this analogy.

Answer 7

lewis:

If the universe creates space, then where does it create it?
Space is just the 'space' between objects. It's always been here.

Answer 8

lol, I just asked the same one just now...,
The thing that gets me is what are we expanding into?, just whiteness, Black starless sky?!....