Astronomers say space is growing, hurling outward. Into what? What space is space taking up?

Question

Think of space as a balloon. As it expands there must be space that it's expanding into...right? So, what's on the other side of the fabric of space? I'd hate to think we're just candy in a pinata waiting to be hit by a stick!

Well, I really like the answers, it'll be tough to choose the best. I guess the best way is have everyone prove their therory...HA!

My answer is expanding into Nothing. Nothing with an abscence of light, darkness, dimension, shape, matter, or vaccuum. Or, Dr. Zuess could have nailed it when he wrote "Horton Hears A Who!"

Answer 1

It isn't expanding into anything. Not even empty space.

Imagine you are standing at the South pole, and I ask you, what is south of the south pole?

What would your answer be?

Asking what is south of the south pole has no meaning, and neither does asking what space is expanding into. Things in the universe are getting farther apart from each other, so space itself is expanding. But it isn't expanding into anything.

Answer 2

You can think of space as a balloon, which helps if you're having trouble with the idea that everything is getting farther away from everything else.

But you don't have to. Consider the surface of a cube. You can unfold it into a cross, and keep track of which edges were attached to which others. But you don't have to think of it as being the surface of a cube: you can also think of it as a cross where you go off one edge and come back on the other like the wrap of a video-game screen. To have that off-one-on-the-other effect, you don't have to assume that the cross exists in a third dimension in which it can actually be folded up into a cube.

What's experimentally meaningful about space is where you can go in it, with what physical effects if you do. You can visualize it as a balloon expanding in an extra dimension. Or you can visualize it as being all the space there is, with no extra dimension, just the physical effects that the extra dimension provides an easier way to describe.

Answer 3

Hawking's metaphor with the south pole, stating there is nothing south of it is somewhat confusing to people. (I think one answerer used this)

Basically, we can't really tell what is beyond our space. No, it isn't infinite, but it would be another dimension...a 4th dimension (or, more accurately, a 5th when you include Time).

Confused? Think of it like this: Say you are an ant living in a two dimensional world: it's like you're on a string and can only go up the string or down the string (not left to right). If someone asked you what was beyond the string, you couldn't tell them, because you are stuck within just one dimension.

Answer 4

Space structure of the Universe can be considered as a Flat ellipsoidal ballon. If the ballon has a skin, maintaining a volume into a constainment,then its constricted by its boundaries.
Basically it is the radius vector of the Galaxies that are expanding or contracting witnin This constainment called Universe.

What is called the fabric of space is not a weaved frabric. It is really a space structure of the Substance of space.
This substance is what they discovered recently ,and they call it Dark matter.

It is very vely simple.

Answer 5

Space is a finite entity so it must have a maximum size.
It expands at the speed of light and when it attains it's maximum size it goes out of existence.
There is nothing beyond the confines of space so it's maximum size is restricted by time.

Answer 6

we are expanding into space. people that hate to think that our lives are so boring are the ones that become UFO theorists, and think the government faked the lunar landings. it is just space and nothing more. this vacuum has 0 matter and 0 energy, because it has not has energy reach it. 0 energy vacuums are believed to have special properties. anyways, we are just expanding into more space that hasn't been taken up yet.

Answer 7

Space is infinite!!!!