Do any scientists have any idea when and if the universe ends?
Surely there cannot be something that goes on and on with no end. Its bothered me for a while that it cant be possible for it to stretch out to nothingness. if you travel far enough, there must be an end. but what would this end be? a wall? a forcefield, or another universe? Its really confusing
does anyone have any sensible ideas?
2007-08-17 09:48:44 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Right, well the universe is not the same as earth. It is the entity that holds the galaxies and planets that come to be, including earth
toldoengineer is the only one so far that sort of gets where im coming from. is the universe a big circle then?
2007-08-17 10:01:27 · update #1
Yes, the universe is like a big circle. If you kept going in one direction you would probably end up back where you started (although practically that isn't possible, because you could only do so if you travelled faster than light).
I always think of the universe as the surface of an expanding balloon (just the surface, not the interior). At any instant the surface always has a finite size, but If you were walking around on the surface you would never hit a wall or anything. Mathematicians call these kinds of spaces "finite but unbounded" for the same reasons.
The surface of an expanding balloon analogy also fits with the expanding universe. When we look around us in space, we see everything zooming away from us (that is, everything outside our own galactic cluster). But it's not zooming away because we're in some special location, it's zooming away because the surface is expanding and objects on the surface are being carried with it.
The one big difference is that our universe is 3D space, not a 2D surface. And although the "surface of an expanding object" is a nice analogy, there are many kinds of expanding 3d spaces that are not surfaces of 4D objects. But it's still the same concept: the universe is an expanding, unbounded but finite space.
2007-08-17 14:36:50 · answer #1 · answered by Thomas V 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regarding the boundedness of the universe, and what's outside the bounds, here are the main options:
1. Nothing. Just define 'universe' so it includes everything.
2. Space containing no matter and perhaps even no energy.
3. There is no such thing. Space exists only as relationships between matter, so if there is no matter, there is no space. I'm not joking. Some scientists seriously consider this.
4. There is no such thing. Space is expanding along with the material universe.
5. There is no such thing. The universe is a closed topology. I don't think there is any particular evidence to support this.
6. Conjecture whatever you like. We'll never know. It's beyond our event horizon. Imagine parallel universes if that tickles your fancy.
2007-08-17 19:38:35 · answer #2 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There was a theory that the universe would collapse and start a new universe. New evidence suggests that it is actually expanding due to some sort of supposed injection of energy. It that theory is correct, the universe will end when all the fuel burns out or matter simply deteriorates. The times it would take for that to happen was much more than 100's of billions of years but I don't recall the exact numbers.
2007-08-17 09:58:38 · answer #3 · answered by bravozulu 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why does there half to be an end or an edge? Perhaps the Universe is like the surface of a sphere. You can go as far as you want in any direction without every reaching the edge. Such a Universe is said to be finite in size but infinte in spatial extent.
All that aside, the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. Therefore even if there is an edge or end one could never reach it. Its like chasing the horizon.
Look up hubbles law
2007-08-17 09:57:05 · answer #4 · answered by kennyk 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have definitely heard that the universe expands a little every day.... this has puzzled me from time to time as well. I just don't understand, mankind has found amazing inventions, in all departments, sometimes I think 'how the hell did they figure that one out?', but some things are still a mystery and will be for a long time. I think we'll find our when it's our time to find out what's out there, until then let's enjoy the luxuries we do have, and make sure our environment stays safe. There's something out there, and I guess we'll find it someday, not need to guess now, what do u say???
2007-08-17 10:10:10 · answer #5 · answered by Tennisgirl100 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
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2016-11-12 19:08:48 · answer #6 · answered by valderrama 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is where the continuum theory comes in. As, if It is all a sphere and loops back upon itself. The tricky part is the 3d space. If you go up, would you end up under where you started?
It's just like the black hole problem. How do you imagine a hole that you can enter from every direction? It would be more like a nodal point.
2007-08-17 09:57:13 · answer #7 · answered by Toledo Engineer 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Do scientists have any idea? Yes, they have lots of different ideas. Are any of them correct? There's no way of really telling.
2007-08-17 09:58:28 · answer #8 · answered by Dave T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here is a sensible idea:: Don't worry about it!!! Man does not have the scientific knowledge to compute where the end of the universe is!!!
Good luck and may God bless you.
2007-08-17 09:59:02 · answer #9 · answered by kathleen m 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
you are correct. As per Einstein's relativity theory the Universe is finite. that means it has restrains to keep it into one piece.
2007-08-17 10:39:04 · answer #10 · answered by goring 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋