A space rocket at the edge of the universe..?

Question

what would happen if you were to fly to the edge of the universe in a rocket.
would the rocket just follow the Curvature of space time and end up where it started...?..or would it break through into something different..?

Answer 1

There is no edge of the Universe for someone who is inside of it. This means, the Universe is unbounded for us, we cannot see outside the 4 dimensions we live (3 spatial dim. + time). This also doesn't mean that the Universe is infinite or not.
For a better understanding, we have to substract a dimension. Think of a 2 spatial dimension Universe, a balloon, where 2 dimensional bugs traveling along the surface. The balloon has a finite volume, but the bugs will never reach an edge.
Also they will never travel through the same space if the balloon is being inflated.

The example for our Universe is equivalent, but adding another dimension.

Answer 2

The curvature you refer to is theoretical. At this time there has been no detected detected edge, limit, end or other termination point to space. We have been able with our most sophisticated optical and radio telescope equipment to detect objects out to a distance of 40 Billion Light Years in all directions from Earth.

I am not sure what you feel is an "infinite distance." I mean, what kind of distance might be close to infinite? Can you imagine one? In say ten years or so we will probably have some new technique developed to extend our vision out to maybe 60 or 70 Billion Light Years... For me, that distance is so completely and utterly vast that it might as well be infinity.

Now, back to your question...Given that you or someone had a rocket ship that could fly out to 40 + Billion Light Years distance...how fast is it traveling??? Say 50,000 Miles Per Hour...So to get out to the fartherest distance we can see objects right now...would take 370,000 Billion Years at 50,000 Miles Per Hour. Do you suppose anyone would ever remember why they went all the way out there in the first place?

Also, please notice that radio messages to the space ship from Earth would take 40 Billion Years to reach the ship, and 40 Billion Years to get a reply. We had better hope that the radio equipment stays on (working) all that time, and does not fail at something like 38 Billion years and we miss the message entirely.

I can assure you that if any space ship traveled out to a distance of 40 Billion Light Years, it is not going to suddenly appear behind us, having made the trip all the way around some theoretical curve. If that were the case, we would have had all manner of galaxies blowing by us for millions and millions of years as they came by after shooting all the way around the curve. That has not happened. In fact, galaxies are still moving away from each other at blinding speeds, and traveling deeper and deeper into space.

So the prospects of breaking through something that does not exist (the end of space) are pretty much a pipe dream.

Answer 3

The short answer is it would follow the Curvature of space time and never come to any edge, just like sailing a ship around the world that never comes to any edge of the world.

Answer 4

This sounds very crazy there is no edge of the universe.

But according to your concept the rocket would break through into a very different universe where everything happens exactly opposite to our universe.
[Right from the atom i.e., electrons will be in the nucleus and protons would spin around it.The star would rotate around it's planetetc.,]

Answer 5

Surely the rocket originated in our expanding universe so as it reached the edge of the universe the rocket itself would start to expand the universe.

ergo you could never reach the edge of the universe just like you can never reach a rainbow.

the rocket would just always be the furthest edge of the universe.

Answer 6

According to the balloon theory...

You would puncture the side and the universe would deflate rapidly and wizz off through all the other universes making a farty noise until it ran out of air.

Makes no sense but is just as possible as anything else you will read in the answers.

Answer 7

you wouldnt make it there.
By the time you got 13.2million light years away(current estimate), you would be dead, but assuming you arent, the universe would have expanded beyond that and so you would have to go so many more million light years and the universe would have expanded more, and you get the story.

So unless you discover a means of instantaneous teleportation, not happening.

if you do the teleportation, you are pretty much rewriting physics so you can choose whether you want the universe to go on and on or circle back around or you might get to the border checkpoint into the next universe. hope you carried your passport.

Answer 8

Not sure it might possibly go on forever as our universe is constantly expanding, but there is a theory that if it was to go into the centre of a black hole then it would quite possibly go through into the multi universe.

Answer 9

No one know's

If you would like to know more in depth about one of the current theories i would recomment you research String Theory, M Theory, Bubble Theory and Open Universe Theory as a start

Answer 10

Yeah straight into next doors universe - just past the sign that reads
"thank you for flying carefully"