since i was in grade school i wondered how space could be explained, how? what is space, really?

Question

everything about astrophysics and related disciplines talk about rocks and explosions and fire and matter shifting from e to m etc. gas and rocks at various stages of convergence or whatever. the magnetism and convergence and the heating and cooling of rocks. but all that has to fit in the box of space. they say there iss no edges to space and no center -- by abstruse arguable and mathematics based on the suppositions of "great thinkers" like hawkins and einstein, not to mention planck, maxell eetc. etc. Never have i heard one of the profs i sat in and monitor back i college or watching nova shows are talking to anyone ever talk to me about the space. endless (?) black space. infinite space. if you cannot measure it, how can you prove it is infinite. a tadpole in lake michigan may think the lake is infinite. it is not. i cannot think of anything but math theory that describes things as infinite. it is like in "planet of the apes." futile speculaton and verboten.

GEE WHIZ! Nobody really knows. Nobody really has the foggiest idea, just some wild conjectures, about space. I respectfully respond to your answers and feel so much better. You really don't know anymore about this than I do. Wow! At least I am not alone howling on a hill. I hear other howls out yonder. Arrrrroooooooooouugh! There was some old song about a toad on a long on a frog etc. etc. at the bottom of the sea. Wish i could remember that from way, way back then because it reminds me of where we are. We don't know shinola except a lot of debris is swirling about and maybe the convergence theory explains how some mixed and brought us to the surface. I am not in awe of hawkings and einstein tonight. The mighty brains of astrophysics and math are naked just like the emperor in his new suit. I was bamboozled! Ha ha ha! We are floating around in something so huge, like a bunch of ants on a twig in a whirpool, and we start measuring the rate of rotation and grow smug with our wisdom. Gee!

Answer 1

Basically space is so huge that we quite simply can't detect any end to it. For all we know, space curves back on itself in an endless three dimensional loop. So we call it infinite, because for all practical purposes, it is. Look and how far away the nearest star is. And beyond that, the nearest other galaxy. And the thousands of Galaxies that have been seen. So sure, maybe it's not actually infinite, but maybe it is.

Answer 2

Woooooaaaaahhh.. back up there.

'Space' is simply the void of anything else. If you have a box with air in it, the air fills the SPACE in the box. If you put something in, then that something and air fills the SPACE. It's really as simple as that.

Space is the chess board on which the game that is the Univese is played. It does not interact with the game, the game simply occours within it and is governed by the rules within it's boundrys.

Now, to say that space has 'no edges' and 'no center' does not nessicarily mean that is infinite. Infact, it is our best bet that it is not infinite at all. We are fairly certian that it is expanding, therefore it must have fininite size. Something that is already as big as forever can't get any bigger.

What 'no edges and no center' probably means, depending on who you were talking to, is simply that once you've reached the literal 'edge' of the universe, you will simply cross into the oppisite side of the universe without ever knowing it. The edge of the Universe could be in Montana and we'd never know. It has no center because of the way it's expanding. It's a concept called 'metric expansion' and is pretty complicated.. but I'll try to give you something to visualize.

Take a baloon, completely deflated. Draw two dots on it near eachother and then start blowing it up. With every puff of air you put into it, the dots get further appart. Has the ammout of matter between the two dots changed? No, it's simply stretched thinner. So, you could say the the whole universe IS the center, but that wouldn't make much sense either.

So when scientists talk to the uninitated about these subjects, we try to simplify it by saying that there are 'no edges' and that it 'has no center'. In effect, it's true. We can't point anywhere specificly and say 'that's the center' nor can we point anywhere and say 'that's the edge'. This way we don't have to go through lenghty explinations like this one to a lot of people who are probably not entirely interested in the specifics, to satisfy the few individuals who do.

But, you have taken the first step in asking the questions and seeking answers. And that's what we do. So, if you're still interested or just don't like my answer or even if you do like my answer, don't take my word for it. Go learn about it and find your own answers.

Or just take my or someone elses word for it, that's totally cool too. :D

Answer 3

No you can't file a lawsuit. When they are full, they are full. The other 5th year losers got there before you did. You are not special. You should have stepped up to the plate when you had the chance. You didn't so now you get what is left over. How can you possible place the blame for that on anyone else except you? Try going on line to finish as there are less restrictions of class size on line. Yes, your whole future is on the line. Don't blow it again. EDIT: It is possible that another student moved or dropped out and that left an opening for the one who applied after you. If they do not have a waiting list policy, then it would be on a first come-first served basis and maybe that friend of yours just had good timing. Still that is not the fault of the school and you can not sue them for it.

Answer 4

Glad you asked this, about time someone did!

Think of the "fabric" of space as a 3-D gridwork of three sets of subatomic parallel tunnels criss-crossing each other at right angles, inside of which all matter and energy are contained,. One set is responsible for the negative force, another set for the positive force, a third for photons. This "mesh" does not interact with light, so it is "dark." It can interact with gravitons so it appears as "matter." (What it is actually made from, we do not yet know.) When physical matter and thus, gravity, is not present, it is called "dark energy." Extreme gravity (such as a black hole) can pull the space-fabric together in a "knot" or "clump."

At the moment of The Big Bang, the entire matrix was "bunched up" with all intersections in contact. Thnk of the "inflationary" stage of expansion as if you held a sponge tightly in your hand then released it suddenly. The background radiation is a remnant of this.

This "sponge" is still expanding but should reach a limit eventually. It will pull itself back together to create the next "Big Bang" cycle.

Mathematicans get carried away with abstractions. The supposed infinity of "alternate realities" exist only in potential, NOT as reality. Where would the matter come from for even ONE alternate universe? (It would be a violation of the conservation of energy and matter).

Time is the rate of change from one state (position & momentum) to another. There is only NOW. The past is over. To travel back in time, every particle and photon in the universe would have to be "reset" as well as the time-traveler!

The future has not happened yet. Predictions are based on observed cycles such as tides, day and night, lunar phases, seasons of the year, etc.

Answer 5

You need to get a definition of the word "Theory".

Always remember that theories are based on observations and measurements taken in the last 80 years on a universe that is at least 13 billion years old. It's a darned lousy little bitty snap-shot what "what is" in order to try to explain "what was". A lot of times, I refer to theories as scientific fairy tales. They require repeated observations and measurements in order to define and refine the "explanation". So, along comes increasing "red shifts" and space and the "Big Bang" get a whole new perspective and scrutiny -- hence Membrane Theory. (Remember, it's a scientific fairy tale in need of factual proof.)

Don't get frustrated with the constant changes, or the seeming inconsistencies. "The truth is out there."

Answer 6

a boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction.

Space is treated in a number of articles. For a philosophical consideration of the subject, see metaphysics. For a discussion of the relativity of space and time, see relativity. For a description of space as the region of the universe beyond the Earth and its atmosphere, see Cosmos. For coverage of the scientific investigation of this region, see space exploration.

See also astronomy.

Answer 7

well to make a long answer short, space is the mostly the absence of anything measureable. Since space is nothing it can never end.

Answer 8

Space is the absence of anything solid or gaseous.