what is infinity?

Question

i asked whats beyond the stars and some people said infinity. But what do we class as that? And how is it ever proved?

Answer 1

we can't prove it because infinity is a theoretical concept (since it can never be reached)

Answer 2

infinity is not a thing. It is a mathematical concept. Sometimes confused with "boundless" (and, frankly, in many applications, there is no difference).

Infinity expresses a quantity so large that it cannot be measured or expressed. It is like eternity or "forever" (for time).

The list of numbers in infinite; there is no such thing as a "biggest number" therefore the list is not "finite" (the word finite means: it has an end).

A number that can be expressed (like three, or forty-five million, or fourteen quintillion) is said to be "finite" (simply becasue it is not infinite). Any finite number, regardless of how big, is a dot compared to infinity.

Boundless means it has no end. For numbers, this has the same meaning. For geometry, though, the meaning could be different.

The surface of the Earth, when you look at it as a 2-dimensional object, is boundless. If you start off in a given direction, you will not come up to a wall that says: Earth's surface stops here, please turn around. You will be able to go on forever in the same direction. However, the Earth is not infinite: every 40,000 km (25,000 mi) you will pass over your start point.

The Universe is likely boundless. It is possible that it is also infinite. In that case, there is nothing beyond it because, simply, there is no beyond.

Answer 3

Infinity in cosmology
An intriguing question is whether actual infinity exists in our physical universe: Are there infinitely many stars? Does the universe have infinite volume? Does space "go on forever"? This is an important open question of cosmology. Note that the question of being infinite is logically separate from the question of having boundaries. The two-dimensional surface of the Earth, for example, is finite, yet has no edge. By walking/sailing/driving straight long enough, you'll return to the exact spot you started from. The universe, at least in principle, might have a similar topology; if you fly your space ship straight ahead long enough, perhaps you would eventually revisit your starting point. If, however, the universe is ever expanding then you could never get back to your starting point even on an infinite time scale.

Answer 4

Infinity has many meanings depending on the context. Your question, what is beyond the stars, has three answers as far as I know. The first one is the simple one, space unlimited. A spaceship could go on forever. The second one is space limited, but unbounded. A spaceship would start a trip and eventually it would reach the starting point. The third possibility is space bounded. limited. A spaceship would not find a wall, but to the people on it, it would seem to keep going forever at the same speed. However, to an external observer, the spaceship would seem to be going at an ever slower speed, until one day, it would be barely moving.
Infinite has other meanings, but such is a complicated subject, and I would prefer if you elaborate on your question before explaining

Answer 5

First of all it is a concept that is hard for the human mind to understand, since we, humans, live in a world where everything has an end. Our house, our car, our appointments, and unfortunately even our lives.
However we do know something, numbers:
1,2,3,4,5 and then? we all know that number 6 is after dont we?
So we understand that there always be a number after another, no matter how far we go, there will always be a number after another. That is infinity.
Regarding space, its pretty much the same thing, what is beyond the stars? more stars, and more space, and so on? endless. That is infinity as well.

Answer 6

infinity is often classed as n+1.
n being an infinitely big number and +1 implying a number, one bigger than n. This is to say infinity has no ending just as a circle has no start or end. On another note we cannot prove that space goes on for an infinitely nor finitely. imagining something that is infinite, I feel is impossible as we only have an limited amount of resources in our brains which are exhautsed at 'n' but there will always be a +1!

Answer 7

this question has been answered elsewhere by jeremymiles-ga - Thought I would share.

There is a book called "Please explain" by Isaac Asimov, which is a
collection of columns answering questions sent in by readers,
originally published in the magazine "Science Digest". One of the
questions that Asimov answers is, basically, yours.

Asimov answers that they stuff beyond the universe is so incredibly
different from what we have here, that we cannot even begin to
consider it. He uses the example of an ant, which lives in the desert
where it has never rained. The ant can walk a long way, and has a
large magnifying glass, which it holds up and enables it to see for
miles. But all the ant can see is sand.

The ant cannot begin to imagine that there is stuff called "water" or
what it is like. We are in the same situation as the ant, when it
comes to the universe. Asimov's answer is that the only thing that we
know to be beyond the universe is "non-universe".

Whilst this isn't much of an answer, it is the best that we can do.
Whatever is beyond the universe is very different indeed from what we
have here. Space and time are uniquely tied together, and will not
exist in the same way outside the universe.

Physicists are arguing about the fundamental nature of matter, and
they don't agree with one another. There are theories that propose
different numbers of dimensions of space, and different relationships
between space and time.

Here is a page that might begin to help:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/202284.asp#BODY

Searh strategy:
superstring theory dimensions
://www.google.com/search?q=superstring+theory+dimensions&spell=1

I hope that this answers your question, if not, please feel free to
request clarification.

jeremumiles-ga

Answer 8

Actually, most prominent scientists, Stephen Hawking for one, believe that the universe is indeed finite, not infinite.
The best way to get a grasp on infinity is with mathematics. In essence, you can continuosly count and count and count with no end in sight. Our universe is so vast, that it appears to be infinite. Still, the universe is like a big baloon that is constantly expanding as if someone were actually blowing it up. This explains, or is consistent with the big bang theory and the expansion that we observe with red shift of far off galaxies.
The surface of the baloon explains or is consistent with the generally accepted premise that space is curved.
It's all so fascinating !
hope this helps.

Answer 9

good question maybe in ten thousand years we'll have developed technology that allows us to explore apparently according to scientists some of the stars are so far away that the light from them takes thousands of years to get here and that there are some stars that came into bieng thousands of years ago who's light hasn't reached us yet and that some of the stars who's light we see could have exploded more than a thousand years ago but as it takes so long for it to get here it won't dissapear from our sky for many years to come also each and every star is meant to have it's own solar system so the only answer i can give is beyond the stars are even more stars that we cannot see yet and that the universe does not have a finite end therefore there are infinite possibilities

Answer 10

the general accepted size of the universe is not infinite but finite. for all intent and purposes some people think that the universe is infinite due to the near inconceivable distances of space.
everything that makes up our universe: space, time, matter and energy began with the event referred to as the big bang about 13.7 billion years ago. there is no outside to our universe because there is no space, time, matter or energy. so it can't stretched on to infinity because there is nothing there to be stretch.

mathematical infinity can be proven eg .9999999 recurring.

or how long would it take you to find an angle on a sphere.

Answer 11

Infinity is something that cannot be defined. Something can be infinitely large, or infinitely small. In the end it is the nature of the mind which defines infinity and it is the mind which remains in the end. But it is also the nature of the mind in its primal state which makes it possible to let go of concepts of infinity and actually experience it.