Where is the universe expanding to?

Answer 1

The evolution of the universe is described by the physics of general relativity, which was discovered by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century. When compared to Newtonian physics, this theory provides a radically different framework for the physical description of the gravitational force.
ADVERTISEMENT (article continues below)
Sci-Doku A Sudoku puzzle with a twist

In the Newtonian interpretation (where celestial bodies move according to the laws of Newton), space and time are absolute, with time no more than a parameter in the equations of motion. Meanwhile, gravity plays the role of a mysterious force of attraction between massive bodies.

The physics of general relativity is conceptually distinct--even if its equations of motion can be reduced to Newtonian equations in many practical cases, such as with respect to the motion of the moon, or, as we will see shortly, the overall evolution of the universe.

In general relativity, space and time are merged into one four-dimensional grid, whose properties are uniquely specified (via gravity) by the bodies inhabiting them. Gravity curves the spacetime grid, so general relativity thus describes gravitational interactions as manifestations of the spacetime curvature. Objects "fall under gravity" from less curved parts of spacetime to more curved parts of the spacetime. (When spacetime becomes infinitely curved, as in the case of black holes, the gravitational force is so strong that spacetime closes on itself, creating what is called a singularity in the fabric of the underlying spacetime continuum. Nothing can escape such objects.)

According to Einstein's general relativity equations, the spacetime containing matter cannot remain stationary and must either expand or contract. Galaxies and other sources, then, are not strictly expanding away from each other but rather are attached to the fixed grid on the expanding fabric of spacetime. Thus, the galaxies give us the impression of moving away from each other. Imagine the surface of a balloon, on which you put dots. Then start inflating the balloon. The distances between the dots will increase, so if you live in one of these dots, you will interpret this as the dots--which represent galaxies in this example--moving away from each other. In reality, of course, they remain in the same positions, with respect to latitudes and longitudes on the balloon, and it is the fabric of the balloon that is actually expanding.

In Newtonian physics, one can construct a mathematical analogy to the expansion of the universe by defining a system that is expanding or contracting under its own gravity, such as a galaxy made of stars or the solar system. In this framework, however, this expansion is not linked to stretching the fabric of any spacetime. Instead, space is some abstract absolute and fixed entity that all objects move through without affecting it. Thus one can ask not only "Where is the universe expanding to?" in the Newtonian framework, but also "What happened before the initial push?"

In the framework of general relativity, however, both of these questions become meaningless. Asking the question, "Where is the universe expanding to?" implies some other coordinate grid outside spacetime. But since spacetime is linked to matter, there is no outside to the surface of the balloon. Rather, it is all the spacetime that is available..

Answer 2

The Expanding Universe
For thousands of years, astronomers wrestled with basic questions about the size and age of the universe. Does the universe go on forever, or does it have an edge somewhere? Has it always existed, or did it come to being some time in the past? In 1929, Edwin Hubble, an astronomer at Caltech, made a critical discovery that soon led to scientific answers for these questions: he discovered that the universe is expanding.

The ancient Greeks recognized that it was difficult to imagine what an infinite universe might look like. But they also wondered that if the universe were finite, and you stuck out your hand at the edge, where would your hand go? The Greeks' two problems with the universe represented a paradox - the universe had to be either finite or infinite, and both alternatives presented problems.

After the rise of modern astronomy, another paradox began to puzzle astronomers. In the early 1800s, German astronomer Heinrich Olbers argued that the universe must be finite. If the Universe were infinite and contained stars throughout, Olbers said, then if you looked in any particular direction, your line-of-sight would eventually fall on the surface of a star. Although the apparent size of a star in the sky becomes smaller as the distance to the star increases, the brightness of this smaller surface remains a constant. Therefore, if the Universe were infinite, the whole surface of the night sky should be as bright as a star. Obviously, there are dark areas in the sky, so the universe must be finite.

But, when Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, he realized that gravity is always attractive. Every object in the universe attracts every other object. If the universe truly were finite, the attractive forces of all the objects in the universe should have caused the entire universe to collapse on itself. This clearly had not happened, and so astronomers were presented with a paradox.

When Einstein developed his theory of gravity in the General Theory of Relativity, he thought he ran into the same problem that Newton did: his equations said that the universe should be either expanding or collapsing, yet he assumed that the universe was static. His original solution contained a constant term, called the cosmological constant, which cancelled the effects of gravity on very large scales, and led to a static universe. After Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding, Einstein called the cosmological constant his "greatest blunder."

At around the same time, larger telescopes were being built that were able to accurately measure the spectra, or the intensity of light as a function of wavelength, of faint objects. Using these new data, astronomers tried to understand the plethora of faint, nebulous objects they were observing. Between 1912 and 1922, astronomer Vesto Slipher at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona discovered that the spectra of light from many of these objects was systematically shifted to longer wavelengths, or redshifted. A short time later, other astronomers showed that these nebulous objects were distant galaxies.
The Discovery of the Expanding Universe
Meanwhile, other physicists and mathematicians working on Einstein's theory of gravity discovered the equations had some solutions that described an expanding universe. In these solutions, the light coming from distant objects would be redshifted as it traveled through the expanding universe. The redshift would increase with increasing distance to the object.


Edwin Hubble

In 1929 Edwin Hubble, working at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, measured the redshifts of a number of distant galaxies. He also measured their relative distances by measuring the apparent brightness of a class of variable stars called Cepheids in each galaxy. When he plotted redshift against relative distance, he found that the redshift of distant galaxies increased as a linear function of their distance. The only explanation for this observation is that the universe was expanding.

Once scientists understood that the universe was expanding, they immediately realized that it would have been smaller in the past. At some point in the past, the entire universe would have been a single point. This point, later called the big bang, was the beginning of the universe as we understand it today.

The expanding universe is finite in both time and space. The reason that the universe did not collapse, as Newton's and Einstein's equations said it might, is that it had been expanding from the moment of its creation. The universe is in a constant state of change. The expanding universe, a new idea based on modern physics, laid to rest the paradoxes that troubled astronomers from ancient times until the early 20th Century.

Properties of the Expanding Universe
The equations of the expanding universe have three possible solutions, each of which predicts a different eventual fate for the universe as a whole. Which fate will ultimately befall the universe can be determined by measuring how fast the universe expands relative to how much matter the universe contains.

The three possible types of expanding universes are called open, flat, and closed universes. If the universe were open, it would expand forever. If the universe were flat, it would also expand forever, but the expansion rate would slow to zero after an infinite amount of time. If the universe were closed, it would eventually stop expanding and recollapse on itself, possibly leading to another big bang. In all three cases, the expansion slows, and the force that causes the slowing is gravity.

A simple analogy to understand these three types of universes is to consider a spaceship launched from the surface of the Earth. If the spaceship does not have enough speed to escape the Earth's gravity, it will eventually fall back to Earth. This is analogous with a closed universe that recollapses. If the spaceship is given enough speed so that it has just enough energy to escape, then at an infinite distance away from the Earth, it will come to a stop (this is the flat universe). And lastly, if the ship is launched with more than enough energy to escape, it will always have some speed, even when it is an infinite distance away (the open universe)

Answer 3

My own personal theory is, our universe began with the big bang, which in reality is like a drop of water. When a drop of water falls from the sky, it splashes against the ground, first malforming into a flat patch, and then dissipating as it evaporates. In much the same way, our universe will evaporate, and be reabsorbed into whatever realm it came from. From our limited view of things, it seems as though it will go on forever, expanding into oblivion as the energy slowly evaporates, but what kind of sense does that make?
It makes more sense that our universe's various elements will be absorbed into a greater system, where it's various parts will be recycled in various 'God' projects.
That's my two cents for ya.

Answer 4

The universe is expanding into nothing.
It is a finite entity and when the force that drives it stops[time]
The universe will begin to dissipate and finally disappear and never occur again.

Answer 5

Undefined Universe lands in confusion and utter chaoticstatements. East -West center for interaction helps to resolve these issues.Who protects Intellectual property rights if the answer lies hrough Conscious Planes ?
Presently Cosmology is undergoing REVISION and BIG-BANG,Dark Matter,DARK ENERGY and Blackholes are
all under question.Evolution needs to catch up with creation.
Search Cosmology Vedas books provide search links,routes and many COSMOS QUESTIONS that form links to COSMOS YOGA SERIES as follow-up.
PURPOSE OF INTERLINKS:
1. The Science of Philosophy: Divinity, Vedas, Upanishads, Temples & Yoga
2. Philosophy of Science : Plasmas, Electro-magnetic fields and Cosmology
3. Resource : Reflectors,3-Tier Consciousness, Source, Fields and Flows
4. Noble Cause : Human-Being, Environment, Divine Nature and Harmony
Hindu cosmology in consonance with Modern Science
http://in.geocities.com/vidyanand1941/Seminars.html

Answer 6

we are able to assert that the Universe is increasing by ability of potential of making use of Hubble's regulation which tells us that a galaxy's % of recession (the fee at which that's shifting removed from us) is proportional to its distance from us, i.e. a galaxy further away strikes removed from us speedier than one on the verge of give way human beings. The pull of gravity isn't as tremendous on those further away basically so that they flow speedier. that's in a lot of circumstances complicated to understand pondering that could want to point we are in the centre if each little issue is shifting removed from us - so attempt to imagine of the galaxies as dots on a balloon. As you inflate the balloon, each of the dots get further removed from one yet another and at the same time as you're sitting on one dot, it would not look including you're shifting yet truly that each little issue else is. There are 3 fashions for the increasing universe: the first is the position the mass interior the Universe isn't tremendous adequate to triumph over the fee of strengthen. The Universe will advance continually. the 2d is the position the fee of strengthen isn't adequate to triumph over the mass and gravity pulls each little issue shrink back to the position it began. the brilliant style is the position the Universe includes adequate mass to stay faraway from non-end strengthen, yet now no longer a lot that it will provide way - it is going to stay in a unmarried position, now no longer increasing or contracting. I bear in options studying that the initial burst of light from the finished Bang higher out in a halo of light and if shall we get to the cutting-edge 'section' of the Universe, shall we see that tender, yet does now no longer be able to substantiate some thing previous it, pondering tender hasn't reached there yet! i love that idea XD

Answer 7

Universe is expanding to infinity it is going to expand to its maximum and one day burst like a balloon.

Answer 8

there is no definite direction that where's the universe expanding. Our universe has no begining and no end.it is infinite

Answer 9

Nothing

Answer 10

We have no idea. Many theories, but no one actually knows.